How to Be a Foster Mom in Massachusetts

Become a foster mother to a child in need.

Becoming a foster parent in Massachusetts allows you to take on the challenges of raising a child while helping a child in custody of the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families. As long as you are 18 or older, have a stable residence and source of income and your home meets the safety standards, you can become a foster mother. A wide range of children are in the foster care system ranging from infants to teenagers from a variety of ethnic and cultural backgrounds. Before you can become a foster mother, you must complete the requirements outlined by the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families.

Instructions

1. Fill out the Registration of Interest Form that a social worker either delivers to your home during a personal visit or, upon your request, mails it to you. Send the form back to the Department of Children and Families.

2. Prepare your home to meet the safety guidelines and standards required by the department. Your home must have smoke detectors, carbon monoxide detectors and adequate sleeping and living arrangements to properly accommodate the number of people in the household.

3. Submit to a background record check. Each member of your household 14 or older must agree to have one done to verify that your home is a safe environment for foster children to enter.

4. Fill out the Foster Care Application Form that the department sends to you once your home has passed the standards assessment and the background checks come back clean. Mail the completed form back to the Department of Children and Families.

5. Attend the Massachusetts Approach to Partnership in Parenting, or MAPP, training program. The program is three hours per week for several weeks to educate you on issues surrounding foster parenting including self-esteem, communication, guidance and discipline.

6. Prepare for a home visit by a MAPP Social Worker. The worker will meet you and any other members of your household and take references from reliable sources. She will prepare a report that outlines your family's strengths and weaknesses for the most appropriate match with a child.

7. Wait for approval from a Department of Children and Families Supervisor, which happens after you have finished the MAPP training program and had a home study successfully conducted. Once he reviews your application and verifies that everything is in order, he will approve you to house one or more children and you become officially licensed by the state of Massachusetts.

Tips & Warnings

• Call the Massachusetts Health and Human Services hotline to answer any questions you may have regarding becoming a foster mother and to begin the process.

• Don't get frustrated along the way. The process is time consuming but well worth it in the end when you help a child in need.

• Remember that the department is only taking proper precautions to ensure the child is placed in the most suitabl environment.

• The goal of most cases in the foster care system are to reunite the child with his parent or parents and a child must remain in touch with his family while in your care as outlined by the case worker.

References

• The Official Website of the Office of Health and Human Services: Foster Care FAQs
• The Official Website of the Office of Health and Human Services: Becoming a Foster Parent

Resources

• The Official Website of the Office of Health and Human Services: Foster Care Services and Licensing Information