How Can You Help?
Why Does HCS Care?
How Have We Helped?
Why It’s Important
Currently, in Michigan there are approximately 10,000 children in foster care that need a safe, nurturing place to live until they can be safely returned to their families.
We can help by providing personalized support and training to take on an exciting and rewarding role of foster parent.
Your Path to Becoming a Foster Parent
1
Contact Holy Cross Services
Fill in the contact form and our team will reach out to you. A licensing worker will send you the basic information about foster care. Look through the materials to begin understanding the fundamentals of becoming a foster parent.
Orientation
After going through the initial materials, make sure to book an orientation session. Get to learn more about foster care, needs of children in care and the process involved in obtaining a foster home license. Evaluate Your Decision: Find out from the orientation if you and your family are ready and fit to open up your home to a child in need. However, attending the orientation does not imply that you have decided to become a foster parent.
2
3
Become A Licensed Foster Parent
Making the decision to become a licensed foster parent can be overwhelming considering all the licensing regulations and home assessments you will need to pass. We want you to take this process very seriously because the role you play in the life of a child will have a lifelong impression. Following your orientation and you remain interested, Holy Cross Services will have a licensing worker come to your home and walk you through, step by step, on how to become a licensed foster parent. Holy Cross Services welcomes you to be a part of our journey in reunifying families and securing permanency for those we serve.
Can I Be a Foster Parent?
Foster Parents Must Be…
18 or more years old
Residing in the U.S. legally
With flexibility to manage changing schedules
Have the ability to empathize with children and adults
Have a desire to open their home and heart to children who have experienced trauma
Willing to work with child welfare agencies and follow Licensing Rules for foster family homes
With a history free from felony, criminal sexual conduct, and/or Child Protective Service substantiated abuse
You Do Not Have To…
Be married
Own your own home
Be experienced in providing foster care
Meet a certain income or education level
Foster Parent Orientation Calendar
See below for next orientation events
Frequently Asked Questions
If you’re considering becoming a foster parent, it’s normal to have plenty of questions. Here, you’ll find answers to common queries about becoming a foster parent.
What is Foster Care?
Foster Care is temporary care for children ages 0-17 who have been removed from their families due to either abuse and neglect, delinquent behaviors, or abandonment. The most common goal in foster care is to reunite families. Foster parents are important members of a team striving to attain that goal. Children who have entered foster care frequently require more patience and understanding from their caregivers. Parenting experience is helpful but taking care of children who are part of the foster care system is very different than raising your own. Training and our support staff help prepare foster parents to take on these responsibilities. Caseworkers or other agency staff are available on a 24-hour basis for support.
What do Foster Parents Do?
Foster parents provide for all of the child’s needs including food, shelter, clothing, and emotional support and guidance. Transportation to medical appointments, family visits and counseling are also responsibilities of the foster parent.
What About Expenses for Children in Care?
To help meet the daily needs of food, shelter, clothing allowance and incidental expenses, certified foster parents are reimbursed for some of the costs of caring for a child. Financial support is also available for foster families.
Are Foster Parents Given Any Training?
Yes, training is required initially and on an ongoing basis.
Can Foster Parents be Employed?
Yes, foster parents can work outside the home. Foster parents must have income sufficient to support their own family.
Do Foster Parents Need to Provide Health Insurance for Children in Care?
No, children in foster care receive Medicaid Insurance.
Foster
Care
“Holy Cross knows how to treat us. People tend to think that kids in foster care are needy and don’t have normal lives like everyone else. They (Staff) don’t think of us like that. They treat us like who we are – normal kids who are just having a hard time in life."
"That’s what else is great about the staff here. They don’t pretend like everything is okay when we first arrive. They understand that this is a very hard process. They sit us down and ask, ‘Are you okay?’ The staff actually care about us and understand that it isn’t easy to adapt right away."
- Jenna H.
More About
Foster Care >
Shelter &
Community
“I am an Army Vet and I was the first woman in the Veterans’ Housing Program. It's the best program. The staff there did everything they could to help me find safe, stable permanent housing. They helped get the support I needed mentally and helped with whatever I needed. They talked to me. They hooked me up with people that could help me. I didn't have any help before. Anything I needed they found for me."
"They were very big on supporting me on getting out of there. I couldn't ask for a better group of people. This is the most important group of people you could think of when looking for information. It is a very much needed program here in Lansing and the people that work there have heart and are very supportive and have a great set of ears.”
- Donna T.
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Shelter & Community >
Independent
Living
“When I came to Holy Cross, I didn’t have any other options after I aged out of the system. I didn’t have anyone I could really trust that I knew was on my side, all the time, no matter what was happening."
"The staff helped me a lot when I was there. Being independent was a scary thing for me, but the more I learned, and was able to trust the people around me, I started to have more confidence in myself and knowing that I was able to keep my support system meant a lot to me."
"I am really thankful to the program and the staff. They treated me with respect and although I’m not real religious, I do believe there is a Higher Power that helped me to get here and get a second lease on life.”
- Ramon R.
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Independent Living >
Residential &
Family
“The people here are very supportive and it is a good, helpful community. The staff all help me. When I feel down, they help lift me up with my confidence and they encourage me to never give up. They helped me with finding 2 jobs and I am now caught up in school.
I am happy I came here because I now have a better chance at being successful in life.”
