5 Questions To Consider Before Becoming a Foster Parent

Everyone needs a "foster parent friend" -- someone you can go to if you're thinking of becoming a foster parent. I'm that friend (or friend-of-a-friend) for many people, which means I have a lot of conversations with people who are thinking of becoming foster parents. Each time I do, I find myself coming back to these five questions. They are so important.
If you are considering becoming a foster parent, I encourage you to think through these questions before you take the next step.
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[@Sara-jr8ro]

I'm binge watching your videos right now

[@arielm1112]

Yet another excellent video! As a foster and adoptive parent, I couldn't agree more with all 5 of these questions.

[@KlickSipYT]

Thank you so much for your videos. You have been such an amazing resource for me and my family!

[@afosteredlife]

I am soooo glad you’ve found my resources helpful!

[@ElizabethJones-pv3sj]

I'm late to the party but I think the people who aren't ready to support reunification don't realise how much they are hurting the child. They assume that the child is better off with them and possibly even assume that by damaging the relationship with the bio parent the kid won't be re-unified but my sister was a social worker and worked with cases where the court had decided the bio parent was ready to take over care and the kid was unprepared for this move it just hurt the kid. It wasn't always or even often the foster parents fault, more often due to judges not setting a long enough time for building up that relationship not either bio or foster parent's fault, e.g. in one bio mum still not capable but bio dad has been located & demonstrated to be related by DNA so courts ordered bio dad should take custody not taking into account the fact that bio dad was a stranger to this toddler.

[@bethdowsepollock8619]

Trying to decide between domestic adoption or Foster w hopes to adopt . We know the differences etc. Any suggestions on how to decide ?

[@afosteredlife]

Hi Beth, the two options are truly night and day. Fostering is first and foremost a commitment to supporting a family's reunification. So if your hope is to adopt, I recommend one of two paths: either domestic adoption, or foster a child who is *already legally free for adoption with no plan for reunification.* If the plan is still for reunification, which is the case for most babies in foster care, you will really have a hard time supporting reunification efforts if your hope is to adopt from the get-go. I hope this helps, and I wish you all the best in your journey.