Foster Care: Getting Started
Provide a Ray of Hope
Complete and return the Foster Application (below), including the criminal history forms for all family members 14 years of age and older to our office. Simply click the link to get a copy, or contact the office in your area to request an application packet. Angelheart will provide you with community related resources for training, as well as training facilitated by the Angelheart Staff.
Foster Parent Requirements:
Prior to being considered as an Angelheart Foster Parent...
You must be:
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25 years of age or older
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A Texas resident
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Married at least 1 year (if married) or divorced or widowed at least 1 year (if divorced or widowed)
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Healthy, responsible and mature, capable of meeting the special needs of children in care
You must have:
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Dependable transportation
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An available bedroom of at least 80 square feet for the foster child
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A negative T.B. test
You must not:
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Have a criminal record
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Have a history of abusing children
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Be dependent on the income from being a foster parent to support yourself and your family
You must also:
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Pass a health and fire inspection on your house
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Complete several required hours of Foster Parent training
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Agree and abide by our no physical discipline policy
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Abide by the state agency standards, policies, practices and procedures
Angelheart Values Foster Families
Advisory Meetings
Quarterly, collaborative meetings with Families and Administrative staff.
Teamwork
At Angelheart, we feel that a team approach is vital to the success of the children in foster placement with the focus on the family as the central unit.
Emergency Assistance
An on call worker is available 24 hours a day. Families are provided with the contact information for all Administrative staff.
Respite Assistance
Angelheart has a respite policy for foster parents to be reimbursed for taking a needed break. The respite reimbursement policy is calculated on the number of children in your home and based on a 48 hour break. The first child is reimbursed at $75.00, every child thereafter is reimbursed at $25.00 per child.
Mileage
Reimbursement is 40 cents per mile for travel as defined in our foster parent handbook.
Commitment
Our goal as an agency is to provide strong clinical support to families. Angelheart is also committed to ensuring that our Case Managers are accessible to foster families to ensure that all aspects of quality care are being obtained.
Reimbursement Rates
In order to meet the needs of children in care, foster parents are partially reimbursed monthly for expenses of children in care. The reimbursement is to pay for clothing, food, shelter, recreation, etc. Daily rates are based on the levels of care which are determined by specific behaviors of the child or youth.