FOSTER CARE
MEANS

What is foster parenting?
Who are foster parents?
Who are the children in foster care?
Who can become a foster parent?
How do you become a foster parent?
Social Services Information
Foster Parent Testimonies

What is Foster Parenting?

  • Foster parents provide a loving, safe, and temporary home 
    for children. Foster parents work with caseworkers to reunite children with their families.
  • When reunification isn't possible, foster parents provide
    care and stability for children who are waiting to be adopted.

Who Are Foster Parents?

A foster parent should be someone who.....

  • wants to make a difference in the life of a child.

  • has skills and patience to help children cope with the behaviors and feelings that are
    associated with being in foster care.

  • can work as a member of a team with children, biological parents and DSS caseworkers.

  • can help prepare a child for return to their birth family or 
    for adoption.

Who are the Children in Foster Care?

  • They represent all ethnic groups and may be infants
    through teenagers
  • They may be a sibling group needing placement together.
  • They may have physical or emotional conditions and need special care.

Who Can Become a Foster Parent?

     You can be a foster parent if you.....

  • are able to provide loving care, guidance, and a safe and healthy home for a child.
  • are at least twenty-one years old.
  • are married or single.
  • have a source of income to meet your own family's needs.
  • are in good health.
  • have enough living space to care for a child.
  • want to work closely with children, their families, and professional staff.

How Do You Become a Foster Parent?

To become a foster parent you will need to....

  • attend an orientation session.
  • be cleared by the State Central Registry for child abuse.
  • agree to be finger printed for a criminal history record check.
  • participate in a home study.
  • provide personal references and current medical reports.
  • complete foster parent training.

Rockland County Department of Social Services will provide......

  • a monthly stipend and clothing allowance for the child.
  • medical and dental care for the child.
  • ongoing training and casework counseling for the foster parents.

For more information call:
Jill Stoll (845) 364-3535
Rockland County
Department of Social Services

What our foster parents say:

"The love we share with a child is the greatest gift we can give. The difference we make in a child's life is the greatest gift we can receive."
Allie Marriott, Foster Parent  

"Helping a child is the way to change the world! The love and support you give to your foster child helps to build a brighter future for them. It gets reflected back to you in every pitfall they avoid, every happiness they find, and every success they achieve."
Susan and Sal Vitale, Foster Parents