SAFY Offers 8 Reasons to Become a Foster Parent

What are some reasons to become a foster parent?

1. See the world from a different perspective. Foster parents are as unique as the children they foster. Every child offers a fresh look at the world. Some parents choose to foster teenage girls, while others may foster medically-fragile infants. (Specialized training is offered and required for fostering medically-fragile children). Other families welcome children of all ages.

2. Expand your family. Youth may be placed individually or together with siblings. Some foster families seek permanent custody of children in their care. 

3. Serve as a role model and mentor. Foster parents can be those positive influences that children deserve and need at all stages of development. Foster parents don’t need to have their own biological children to be great parents.

4. Provide a safe and stable space for a child. Sometimes biological parents need some help while they take steps to get their lives in order, such as attending drug or alcohol rehabilitation, taking parenting classes or finding housing. Foster families provide that stability for the children until reunification is possible.

Ready to take SAFY’s 30-second assessment to see if becoming a foster parent is right for you? 

5. Continue to parent after your own children have grown. Many foster parents are adults whose own children have grown up. They may be retired and have more time, or just miss having children in the house.

6. Share your experience and worldview with someone else. Not all families are biological. There are plenty of single adults and married couples who can’t or choose not to birth children and have valuable experience to share. Fostering provides a great opportunity to connect with kids who need you.

7. Learn valuable skills for trauma-informed care. As a foster parent, you have access to training and resources for kids who have experienced trauma. These skills can be life-changing for youth who need them.

8. Be an Agent of Hope. At SAFY, we believe foster parents and foster families are Agents of Hope who make a difference in the lives of children. Helping families and children is at the heart of what we do. Strong families are the foundation of strong communities. We help stabilize our communities’ foundations by providing a strong framework of services helping families heal, have hope and thrive.

For 35 years, SAFY has strengthened families and communities through therapeutic foster care, behavioral health, adoption, family preservation and older youth services. SAFY focuses on helping children achieve permanency, safety, well-being and self-sufficiency. 

For more information about SAFY’s programs and services, please call 1-866-635-9714 or email info@safy.org.