Become A Foster Parent
Foster Care at Camelot Care Centers
Every child needs and deserves to grow up safe and protected from abuse and neglect. Caring foster parents offer children support and stability when they need it most. They provide care and support and help them with emotional and behavioral issues that result from the traumas they’ve experienced.
Camelot specializes in higher level foster care for children and adolescents that may need extra support. For that reason we partner with our foster parents/homes to provide trauma informed care and additional services, including in-home counseling, tele-psychiatry and therapeutic mentoring.
Our most successful foster parents are open-minded, dependable, patient and willing to try different parenting styles for children with different needs. Having a flexible schedule, being tolerant and demonstrating the ability to work as a member of our team are all important qualities for success.
Foster families willing and able to accommodate sibling groups are in high demand, as are those who are able to take older children and teens. Children aged birth to 21 may need foster care for just a few months, or may be in placement for longer than a year, while others may have a longer term goal of adoption or guardianship. Youth in foster care are diverse in background and experience:
- Some children are stepping down from residential treatment
- Some have developmental delays
- Many have suffered abuse
- Others have never benefited from expectations or structure
- Most have built walls around themselves to keep out the hurt.
- All have lost their homes and familie
Our training and support to foster parents is valuable when helping a child who has known such pain and upheaval.
Camelot can help you become a licensed foster parent and provide support as you open your heart to children in need of a safe, loving home. We stand alongside our foster parents to ensure they have the resources and support they need to care for the children temporarily placed in their homes.
Ready to Get Started? Apply to Become a Foster Parent
Please also download and fill out the DCFS inquiry form. Click Here to Download Form.
What Does it Take to Become a Foster Parent?
BASIC REQUIREMENTS
The basic requirements for individuals or families wishing to become foster parents are set by the State of Illinois.
- Applicants can be single adults or couples that are in civil unions, same sex unions, or are married.
- At least 21 years of age
- Space/Capacity in the home
- They can be parents as well as individuals who have never had children of their own.
- They can also be individuals with previous relationships with the youth or family prior to the youth coming into care.
- They must be law-abiding citizens, in good physical and mental health, and have sufficient household income to suitably care for themselves and their own children in their homes.
- Pre-Placement visits are arranged when possible
All licensed foster parents are compensated for their work with and support of our children. The specifics are established in our contract with DCFS and depend on various factors that will be explained throughout the licensing process. In addition to compensation, Camelot Care Centers provide In-Home Counseling, Case Management, Afterhours Support, Extensive Training, and Paid Respite Days.
Once licensed, the intake process begins with a matching process that matches a child with a family based on the strengths, experiences and preferences of the foster families and needs of the child. Information is shared with the foster parents. Once a successful match is achieved, pre-placement visits are arranged that often lead to permanent placement from the prospective referral. Learn more about our step by step process here.
Above all, Camelot Care Centers seeks foster parents who are willing to change the life of a child – someone who can make the commitment to provide a safe and stable environment along with quality, loving care for troubled children and youth in Illinois.
Ready to Get Started? Apply to Become a Foster Parent
Please also download and fill out the DCFS inquiry form. Click Here to Download Form.