Family Services
Foster Care
What is Foster Care?
Foster Care is a service, which provides a family life experience in an approved household for children who temporarily cannot remain in their homes and whose needs can best be met in a foster family setting. The basic purposes of foster care are:
- To provide a safe, nurturing environment, which promotes the child’s maximum growth and development
- To work toward achievement of the permanence goal of the child.
The Children
Foster children come from all sectors of our community, from all cultural backgrounds. They may come from homes torn apart by illness, drugs, and/or alcohol. Some have been physically, emotionally, or sexually abused. They deserve to have a loving family.
The Foster Parent
As a foster parent, you become a key member of a team that sets the goals and contributes to the plan for each child in your care. You take part in important decisions affecting the child’s future. You will work closely with an experienced Case Worker, the worker’s supervisor, consulting therapists, birth parents, the school, and other community agencies when needed.
Do You Qualify?
- Are you able to…
- Open your heart to a child in need,
- Share your time and your family,
- Be flexible,
- Work together with TRY as a team,
- Help a child maintain relationships with family by assisting with visitations,
- Help the child in your care find a permanent home, a “forever family”,
- Be a good listener,
- Perceive feelings and needs,
- Be objective not judgmental,
- Emphasize the positive,
- Let go when the time comes…
Family Partnership
The Family Partnership Program is an intensive in home crisis intervention program that preserves and strengthens families who are at risk for having one or more children placed due to abuse, neglect, or severe parent-child conflict. The Family Partnership Program strives to reduce the need for out of home placement of children and youth by strengthening the family unit, and increasing the life skills and coping capacities of each family member. The Program provides crisis counseling and management, in home family and individual counseling, family reunification, academic support, parent education and home management skill development, information and referral. The program delivers developmentally and culturally sensitive, family focused and strength based services to families experiencing crisis.
Referral Information
Referrals to the Family Partnership Program are made by Allegheny County Department of Human Services, Office of Children, Youth and Families. Referrals are accepted 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
