About ChildNet
ChildNet recruits and supports foster parents in Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino, Riverside, and Kern Counties. Its field offices are located in Long Beach, Bakersfield and Riverside to serve Southern California. ChildNet concentrates on the needs of children who are at risk and is instrumental in identifying nurturing homes for its young clients whom have been abused, neglected or abandoned.
The gifts of love and sacrifice that foster care parents provide are immeasurable. The foster care programs offered through ChildNet Youth & Family Services and their Foster Family Network provide temporary care and custody to youth dealing with emotional difficulties resulting from their past experiences which lead to them being removed from their biological caregivers.
How a Foster Child Is Affected
Youth in foster care can experience severe personal loss when separated from their families. They can feel disoriented and depressed as these children are being taken out of an abusive environment and placed in a brand new foreign home. Their sense of belonging and comfort in performing familiar daily routines is disrupted.
Entering the environment of a new home can be stressful for the youth, but also may have an impact on the foster parent and their family. Becoming a foster parent is not an easy undertaking, nor one that should be entered without understanding the impact it will have on the foster parents, their children and everyone they know. Fostering a youth requires commitment, compassion, diligence, consistency, and caring. Yet, providing a stable, loving home where a young person can be nurtured and given the tools that they need to live healthy, productive lives and where deep scars have a chance to heal is an invaluable gift for a young person. Foster care offers an opportunity to heal, establish new relationships, and dream and hope for a promising future.
Foster Care Certification
ChildNet encourages people to consider becoming a foster parent and get certified to care for a foster child. ChildNet meets individually with each person looking into becoming a foster parent and is intent on making sure that all questions are answered fully and that all concerns and issues are addressed.
Attributes of Effective Foster Parents
Through decades of experience, ChildNet has identified the following attributes that effective foster care parents have in common. They:
• enjoy a wide range of children — different ages, genders, races, and cultures
• are prepared for surprises
• use open communication
• have good emotional survival skills
• will advocate for the child when necessary
• can cope with rejection and anger, not take it personally
• realize that not all problems can be overcome; most take time
• enjoy the challenges of parenting
• can express love and trust
• can handle change calmly
• have a sense of humor
• have a flexible lifestyle/schedule
• have open-minded expectations about foster care
• embrace working as a part of a team
• have patience and a desire for learning and self-growth
• can accept a child with a history of trauma or difficult behaviors
Call ChildNet
We encourage people in Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino, Riverside, and Kern Counties who are interested in becoming foster parents to call ChildNet and have a candid conversation about the opportunities for making a difference in children’s lives through foster care.
Please call Genevieve Andrade at 1-800-945-KIDS and find out how you can change a child’s life for better as a foster parent. Consider what you can do to have a positive influence on a child who would greatly benefit from being under your care.
