More Aboriginal foster parents needed in province

Page 10

While the ideal place for children to grow up is in their own home with their own parents, sometimes, due to child neglect or abuse, that situation becomes less than ideal. When that happens, the children affected are often placed in foster care.

With the high number of Aboriginal children and youth in care in Saskatchewan-more than 70 per cent of those in care within the province are Aboriginal-there is always a great need for Aboriginal people who are willing to become foster parents.

While there are no hard and fast rules saying Aboriginal children have to be placed in Aboriginal homes, such placements usually make for an easier transition for the children, and enable them to more easily stay connected with their language, tradition, and culture.

This preference toward placing Aboriginal children in the care of Aboriginal foster parents is entrenched in provincial legislation, with the Child and Family Services Act stating that, while keeping the best interest of the child as the main focus, consideration should be given to placing the child with a member of their extended family. Barring that, efforts should be made, where practical, to "attempt to maintain the child in an environment that is consistent with the child's cultural background."

To become a foster parent in Saskatchewan, candidates must complete a home study, done by the department of Social Services, along with 40 hours of training delivered by Social Services and the Saskatchewan Foster Families Association, an organization that works to improve the quality of care provided to children and youth living in foster homes.

There are currently five different kinds of foster homes operating in Saskatchewan, designed to meet the differing needs of children placed in care.

Emergency foster homes, as the name suggests, take children on short notice, and for short periods of time, until other arrangements can be made for their placement. Children can stay in emergency foster homes for up to two weeks, during which time the foster parents work with social workers to determine the individual needs of the child.

Short-term foster homes take children in for periods usually ranging from three months to about a year. Foster parents operating a short-term foster home work with the children in their care, preparing them to return home to their family or extended family, or to a permanent foster care placement.

Long-term foster homes provide permanent placements for children in care, where the children will remain until they are old enough to live on their own.

When children in care have behavioral, emotional, social or developmental problems that can't be met in a regular foster care setting, these children are placed in therapeutic homes. These homes provide the children with the best of both worlds-the special attention and care they require, but in a supportive, family setting rather than in an institution. The child's family is involved in the therapeutic process, along with a therapist worker, and other professionals. Due to the nature of therapeutic foster homes, these foster parents must go through a more detailed training program, a course 150 to 200 hours in duration, which must be completed within two years of them starting up a therapeutic foster home.

A fifth type of foster home has been set up in Saskatoon, TAPS, or Transitional Adolescent Parenting Services. These homes work with families within the home communities of youth in care, helping them to work with the youth, and the youth's family, to provide a stable home environment and deal with any behavioral problems.

For more information about becoming a foster parent, contact the Saskatchewan Foster Families Association toll-free at 1-888-276-2880, or by e-mail at sffa@sk.sympatico.ca. You can also contact the department of Social Services at 1-800-667-7002, or visit the department's Web site at www.gov.sk.ca/socserv/.