Looking for a way to give back to your community? To help a child in need? You can make a difference in the life of a child! You can become a Licensed Foster Parent! Hundreds of children are removed each year due to Abuse and Neglect and need a safe place to stay until they can return home to their parents. Sometimes, if these children cannot return home, they need a permanent home through adoption. Children are generally in foster care for 6 months to 15 months. Griffith Centers for Children Chins Up provides the training, the background checks, your home study and on-going support in completing the process to become licensed. All of this is free of charge to foster parents.
Although we need foster parents for all ages of children (0-18 years old), there is a special need for foster parents who would be willing and able to work with special needs children, teenagers, teen moms and their children or to provide a home for sibling groups of three or more children. It DOES NOT cost anything to become a licensed foster parent at Griffith Centers for Children Chins Up and you can make all the difference in the world to a child in need of a safe, stable temporary home!
Become licensed as a foster or foster/adoptive parent and you will be able to:
-- Provide healing and hope when you open your home to a child who has been removed from his/her family of origin.
-- Provide a child with a nurturing, safe and structured environment in which to live and thrive.
-- Adopt a foster child, if the need arises.
There are no restrictions on who can foster or adopt based on place of origin, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation or expression, gender identity, marital status or religious beliefs.
Qualifications:
-Must be at least 21 years old and physically able to care for children.
-Must be able to pass CBI, FBI, Child Abuse Registry and DMV background checks.
-Must complete the Colorado State mandated CORE training (offered free at the agency)
-Be trained/certified in Red Cross First Aid and CPR (offered free at the agency).
-Must participate in a SAFE Home Study and Home Inspection conducted by our Licensing Specialist.
--You MUST have another verifible form of income other than relying solely on foster care reimbursement funds
-You can be: Single, Married, Partners or Divorced
--You can: Own a home, Rent a home/apt, or Live in a mobile home
--You can: Work, Stay-at-home, Be retired, or Be in the Military
Benefits:
-CORE Training and First Aid/CPR training as well as other foster/adoption related -trainings are given FREE of charge to all foster parents licensed through Griffith Centers for Children.
-Financial assistance/reimbursement is given to foster parents to help meet the child's needs and is based on the level of care needed for foster children placed in your residence (usually $500-$1200 per month/per child).
-Ongoing support group meetings for all foster parents available on Zoom during COVID-19 restrictions.
-Twenty-four hour per day/seven days per week support from our team of professional foster care staff.
- Griffith Centers for Children is also one of the few agencies in the state that has on staff licensed therapists to intervene if foster children or parents need assistance.
For Further Information, Contact our foster care department at (719) 220-4066 or e-mail us for more information at: fostercarerecruitment@griffithcenters.org
Our agency abides by all county COVID-19 restrictions and our staff wear masks and follow social distancing guidelines. Information and an application to become a foster parent can be e-mailed to you to complete!