What is Foster Care?
When children cannot safely live at home, the court may temporarily transfer legal custody to Child Protective Services (CPS). A caseworker from CPS is then assigned to ensure the children are placed in a secure environment while their biological parents work towards regaining their parental rights. Temporary placements can include foster family homes, residential group care facilities, or facilities managed by another state agency.
Foster Care in Texas
Texas faces a critical challenge: there are not enough safe, loving homes for children in foster care. Because of this shortage, 55% of foster kids are placed far from their communities, disrupting their lives even further. As of 2022, over 22,000 children in Texas and over 3,400 children in the greater San Antonio area need a safe place to call home. We urgently need more supportive families to provide the stability these children deserve.
Is Foster Care Permanent?
Foster care is designed to be temporary until the parents demonstrate they can safely care for their children. However, if reunification with a family member is not possible, the court may determine parental rights should be terminated and the children become legally free for adoption. Foster parents are often the ideal candidates for adoption, but it's an uncertain road that you must be prepared to travel.
How to become a foster parent
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STEPS TO FOSTER
If you’re just starting to explore foster care, we encourage you to begin by attending our orientation class. This introductory session covers the basics, answers your questions, and helps us get to know each other. Soon, we’ll be like family! As you delve further into your foster care/adoption journey, you’ll need to take the following steps:
Fill out our inquiry form so we can connect about next steps and register for the orientation class.
Attend an info meeting. This is where you will first meet our team and get your questions answered.
Complete training. Get your home ready, complete paperwork, and begin preparing your support system.
Become licensed. 1HOPE will complete a detailed home study for your family.
Welcome a child! Once you complete all the steps, be ready to receive a child any day!
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To become a foster parent or adopt a foster child in Texas through 1HOPE for Kids, you must meet the following qualifications:
Be at least 25 years of age
Be a legal resident of the United States
Have a clean criminal record for at least five years and no history of abusing children
Have a high school diploma or GED
Have been married, divorced, widowed or single for at least one year
Be gainfully employed and financially stable with monthly income more than expenses
Have a driver’s license, auto insurance and dependable transportation
Complete the foster/adopt parent application process and submit all necessary documents
Complete approximately 35 classroom hours of pre-service training
Become certified and maintain certification in CPR and First Aid
Your home must pass health and fire inspections
Have a bedroom of at least 80 square feet for one child or 40 square feet per child if sharing a room
Be willing to abide by a policy of no physical discipline
Pass a home study assessment
Maintain annual training requirements of 30 hours/year for each parent
Be a responsible, mature adult capable of meeting the needs of children in care
Demonstrate a lifestyle that embraces the basic tenets of the Christian faith, including involvement in a local church
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Foster families are, in effect, local missionaries. By accepting a child into their home, they also open their door to caseworkers, CASA volunteers, birth families, therapy team members, school teachers, medical professionals and others. They have the opportunity to share the tangible love of Christ in hurting places. By ministering as foster families, you are contributing to the sharing of the gospel of Jesus Christ—the one HOPE of the world!
“My heart’s desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved”
- Romans 10:1
1HOPE Is Ready To Help
We believe God calls ordinary families to foster children, and we are here to partner with you to answer that call.
Through 1HOPE’s trauma-informed training and robust verification of families, we are able to place children in your safe, loving home. Knowing that God “sets the lonely into families” (Psalm 68:6), 1HOPE feels called to provide foster care services to kids in crisis by:
Recruiting, training, and verifying foster families through the local church
Facilitating excellent matches of children and families
Providing continuing education and support for foster families
Helping develop care communities to support each 1HOPE foster family in wrap-around support
Assisting area churches in developing Foster Care and Adoption Ministries