How to Be a Foster Parent in Atlanta, Georgia

It takes a loving heart and a desire to share your life and home with a child in need to become a foster parent. There are additional requirements in Atlanta, Georgia. Your income should be sufficient for your own needs. You have to be at least 25 years old and 10 years older than the child if you are single. If married, you must be 10 years older than the child. You must have a medical exam and drug screening. References and home safety checks are mandatory. You must also have a Georgia driver's license.

Things You'll Need

  • Georgia driver's license

Instructions

    • 1

      Decide if you meet the requirements listed above to become a foster parent in Atlanta, Georgia.

    • 2

      Contact the Department of Family and Children's Services (DFCS) in your county and tell them of your interest in becoming a foster parent.

    • 3

      Ask to speak with the resource and development representative. She can tell you about the upcoming training schedule and arrange a meeting with you about how to become a foster parent.

    • 4

      Attend a two-hour orientation meeting.

    • 5

      Complete IMPACT: Partnership Parenting, the 20-hour training program. IMPACT courses cover topics such as the effects of abuse and neglect, relationships with birth families and how fostering a child will affect you and your family.

    • 6

      Allow the home evaluation process, which includes at least two home visits from a case manager. The case manager will examine your home for safety issues. He will also thoroughly document that you meet all the requirements for becoming a foster parent in Atlanta, Georgia.

    • Being a foster parent requires a unique individual, one who is truly interested in helping children by providing a safe and caring home and is prepared to face the challenges of providing foster care. Qualified foster parents are always in high deman
    • In order to assist foster children, President Bill Clinton signed the Foster Care Independence Act into law on December 14, 1999. This Act is intended to help foster children who have not gotten adopted, as well as selected former foster children who
    • Foster parents provide much more for children who have been separated from their parents by the state. They also provide a warm, loving environment under which foster children can heal from abuse and neglect or simply the grief of separation. However