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Foster Care

Father & Son Playing Basketball | Our Community Our Kids

Become a foster parent!  

At OCOK, we connect prospective families with quality child placing agencies to reduce the number of times children are moved between foster homes.  

We help you connect with an agency in our network.

Foster families are responsible for housing, feeding, transporting, educating, and loving the children placed in their care. Children in foster care can be placed with a single foster family of one or more parents, caring for up to six foster children in their home with their own biological or adopted children.

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What is a Foster Family?

Attend a foster care and adoption meeting

Foster Parent FAQ

The length of time depends on the agency through which you choose to become licensed. Each agency has different training schedules and requirements. This is a question to ask the agencies you are considering.

Foster youth may share space with biological youth but there are age and space restrictions around this.

Yes, the requirements are as follows:

§749.3021. How much space must bedrooms used by foster children have? Subchapter O, Foster Homes: Health and Safety Requirements, Environment, Space and Equipment Division 4, Space and Equipment January 2007 Medium (a) A bedroom must have at least 40 square feet of space for each occupant and no more than four occupants per bedroom are permitted, even if the square footage of the room would accommodate more than four occupants. The four occupants restriction does not apply to children receiving treatment services for primary medical needs. Medium (b) Single occupant bedrooms must have at least 80 square feet of floor space. Medium-Low (c) The floor space requirement must not include closets or other alcoves. Medium (d) Floor space must be space that children can use for daily activities. No Weight (e) If a foster home was verified before January 2007, then a foster home is exempt from the maximum bedroom occupancy requirement until: (1) The foster family moves to a new home; (2) The foster home is structurally altered by adding a new room; or (3) The foster home’s verification is no longer valid.

Absolutely! Your foster children should be treated as a member of your family while they are in your home. Vacations do need approval from the child’s permanency specialist, but we certainly hope to promote normalcy for your foster youth while they live in your home.

Visitation with biological parents is scheduled through the child’s permanency specialist.

This depends on the move. How far was the move? Do you still have the same community/supports?

Yes, a newborn is a major life change. Your baby should be at least one year old before you consider becoming licensed to foster.

Relatives and other people with whom the child or family have a significant relationship often can provide stability when children can’t live with their birth parents. Kinship placement can serve as a temporary foster placement or a long-term adoption, based on the status of the case.

Join the Foster and Adopt Community.