Big Needs Require People with Big Hearts
If you have love to give and a safe environment to share, we encourage you to keep reading. We are looking for adults with big hearts to become traditional foster parents for children in Kansas.
Cornerstones of Care is a behavioral health organization with roots going back more than 150 years. We help children and families in Missouri, Kansas, and beyond live safer and healthier lives by providing the therapy, education, and tools they need to heal from trauma. As a foster parent, you will be compensated to meet the basic needs of your foster child.
Why Should I Become a Kansas Foster Parent?
You’ll receive expert training and support every step of the way. Our team will give you the confidence to manage the challenges of foster care, and our trauma-informed care, certified by the Sanctuary InstituteTM, provides the tools you need to support a young person in foster care.
How to Become a Foster Parent in Kansas
Becoming a foster parent in Kansas involves several steps to ensure the safety and well-being of children in need. Here is a quick overview of the process:
- Submit an interest form.
- Talk to one of our team members.
- Have a home visit.
- Complete a training course.
Who Can Become a Foster Parent? Kansas Foster Parent Criteria
To become a foster parent in Kansas, you must meet specific requirements. Before we explore those, let’s first clarify some common misconceptions about what isn’t actually required to become a foster parent.
- You can have any level of education.
- You don’t need to own your home; you can rent.
- Foster children do not need to have their own bedroom; they just need their own bed. (Bedrooms must be up to code, however. Bedrooms must have at least one outside window or door that can be opened from the inside).
- You can be single, in a partnership, or married.
- You can own a firearm but you must take precautions.
- You don’t need to cover the cost of healthcare for the children in your care; that is fully covered by the state.
- You don’t have to pay for daycare for children in your care; those costs are also covered for you.
Now let’s talk about the criteria you must meet:
- You must be at least 21 years old.
- Everyone living in your house above the age of 18 has must pass a background check.
- You must agree to use only non-physical forms of discipline.
- You must have reliable transportation.
- You must have a working phone.
Start Your Journey
Fill out an interest form below so a representative can reach out to learn more about you and share details about the licensing and training needed to become a treatment foster parent in Kansas.
Resources to Learn More About Becoming a Foster Parent
- Make a Difference in a Child’s Life – In this first video in a series of four, you’ll learn about Cornerstones of Care and how we facilitate foster care parenting.
- How a Child Comes Into Foster Care – In the second video in the series, learn more about how and why children enter the foster care system.
- Types of Foster Care – The third video in our series dives into the types of foster care. Cornerstones of Care is currently recruiting traditional foster parents in Kansas and therapeutic foster care parents in Missouri.
- How to Get Started – The final video covers the steps you can take to get started on your journey to becoming a foster parent.
- Foster Care Success Story – This blog post details a foster care success story. You can be part of stories like this if you open your heart and home to foster children.
- Foster Family Handbook from the Kansas Department for Children and Families – For official information on foster care laws and procedures, the official handbook from the state of Kansas is especially handy.
If you will take a child where they are at, love them unconditionally, and provide them a home, then you will be a good foster parent.”
– Merle Bowers, Kansas Resource Family Development Recruiter