Local agencies in Miami provide training for foster parenting.
Becoming a foster parent in Miami-Dade County, Florida is a process guided by state rules and regulations but monitored locally. Since 9,000 to 10,000 children are in need of foster care yearly in Florida, the state's local care agencies provide guidance and monitoring of foster care homes. All applications for foster care go through these local agencies. Follow-up is also provided by the local agency as they guide you through the process of becoming a foster parent.
Instructions
1. Register with a Miami-Dade County foster parent organization and enroll in their foster-parent training program. You must be 21 to enroll. The lead agency for foster parenting in Miami-Dade is Our Kids of Miami-Dade/Monroe. Additional organizations include The Family Resource Center of South Florida, Alternate Family Care, Devereux Therapeutic Foster Care, Children's Home Society and the Center for Child Enrichment. The Florida State Foster Adoptive Parent Association can also help locate an association near you.
2. Submit to fingerprints and local, state and national background checks, including abuse investigations of all adults living in the home. Children 12 or older undergo a juvenile records check. The foster parent association's full case manager you work with arranges all the details for undergoing these tests and there is no cost to you.
3. Prove that you have enough household income to support your current family plus the addition of a child. This information is obtained to make sure that the new addition will not become a burden to your family. All substantiation is confidential.
4. Submit to a household examination performed by your case manager to deternine if you have enough room in your home for a child. You are not permitted to have over five children under the age of 17 in the home. The foster child must have his own bed and cannot share a bedroom with anyone over the age of 18.
5. Submit to an inspection of your home by a member of the local health department. Your home must be clean, have working smoke detectors and a fire extinguisher. If you rent your home, you must have your landlord's approval for an additional member to be added to the household.
6. Interview with your agency's management provider who will assess your mental, physical and emotional well-being. Your personal history and that of all adults in your home will be investigated, with questions asked about your childhood and your family relations. You cannot have a history of causing abuse or neglect, and no child of yours can have been in foster care.
7. Take water safety classes if your home has a pool. Your agency case manager will make these arrangements with a local organization once the presence of a swimming pool has been established. Your pool area will be noted in the household exam, as well as safety precautions installed, as per state law. The class covers rescue and revival of a child if a swimming pool accident occurs.
8. Take 30 hours of pre-licensing classes based on the Florida Mobilizing for Action through Planning and Partnerships, or MAPP, program. These classes are held through your agency. MAPP training is also provided through the One Church/One Child of Florida organization that has facilities throughout the state.
9. Prove your current relationship has been in effect for over 12 months. You can be single, married, in a relationship, or separated to become a foster parent. The case worker is looking for stability in your homelife.
10. Admit your case worker to your home for monthly visits. Visits are announced. If the case worker doesn't come to your home, you are to telephone your agency's supervisor to find out why.
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