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Rights and Responsibilities of Foster Parent

Foster parents are the core of any foster family program. As distinguished team members, foster parents have specific Rights and Responsibilities:

Foster Parent Responsibilities Include:

  • Providing temporary care for children, helping each to feel accepted and secure;
  • Providing guidance, discipline, a good example and as many positive life experiences as possible;
  • Encouraging and supervising school attendance, participating in teacher conferences, and keeping the child’s agency worker informed about any special educational needs;
  • Working with the agency in arranging for a child’s regular and/or special medical and dental care;
  • Assisting a child in achieving his/her permanency goal;
  • Understanding the goals and purposes of parent-child visits;
  • Helping a child to adjust emotionally to the stress of separation and placement;
  • Informing the child’s agency worker promptly about any problems that arise or service that is needed.

Note: More detailed explanations will be provided in the pre-service training and are outlined in the foster parent agreement, which must be signed per-certification.


Foster Parent Rights Include:

  • Accepting or rejecting a child for placement in the foster home;
  • Participating with the Agency in pre-placement planning, whenever possible;
  • Limiting the number of foster children that can be placed in the foster home;
  • Expecting regular visits from the child’s agency worker for the purpose of mutual exchange of information and joint planning efforts;
  • Receiving agency-wide support on behalf of the effort that is made to care for a child;
  • Requesting a clinical evaluation, when indicated, for any child to be placed or already placed in the foster home;
  • Agency recognition of the foster parent’s personal privacy;
  • Being included in all agency planning that concerns the future of each foster child living in the foster home;
  • Receiving pertinent information on each child who is to be placed in the foster home;
  • Having the opportunity to learn about all agency policies and procedures that have relevance for foster parents;
  • Having the opportunity to participate in training programs for foster parents;
  • Receiving agency help promptly, if requested, for any special needs or crisis that arise;
  • Having the opportunity to file and discuss any complaints and disagreements with the agency without fear of reprisal;
  • Having the agency give preference over all other applicants to a foster parent’s application to adopt a child who have been continuously in care with them for at least 12 months;
  • Notification and the right to participate in any Family Court review hearing on a child placed voluntarily who has been in the foster home continuously for a period of 12 months or longer.
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