Licensed Foster Care Parent Requirements in Tucson, Arizona
According to the Arizona Department of Economic Security, as of September 30, 2004 there were nearly 9000 Arizona children in foster care. Perhaps you’ve considered becoming a foster parent. You’ve got room in your home and your heart for an abused or neglected child, and you’d love to feel as though you are making a difference. But you wouldn’t even know how or where to begin to become a licensed foster parent in Tucson, Arizona.
Foster care licensing varies from state to state. To become a licensed foster parent in the state of Arizona you must meet certain requirements. You need to be age 21 or older, have adequate income to support your own family’s needs (prior to receiving foster care reimbursement), have adequate living space for a foster child, pass a Health Department home inspection, a background check, fingerprint clearance, a physician’s statement that you are in good health, provide personal references, complete training and a home assessment, and meet other requirements. You can be a married couple or a single person.
You cannot become a licensed foster parent if you are awaiting trial or have been convicted of any of the following: sexual abuse of a minor or vulnerable adult; incest; first or second degree murder; kidnapping; arson; sexual assault; sexual exploitation of a minor or vulnerable adult; commercial sexual exploitation of a minor or vulnerable adult; felony offenses in the last ten years involving narcotics; a dangerous crime against children; child abuse or abuse of a vulnerable adult; sexual conduct with a minor; molestation of a child or vulnerable adult; or aggravated assault.
In Arizona there are several agencies that work with the state to provide background checks, training, and other assistance needed to potential foster parents. This means that you can choose the agency that best meets your needs. Each agency will work to make sure you meet the necessary requirements, and may have some particular requirements of their own.
Christian Family Care Agency, located at 6063 East Grant Road is a non-denominational Christian agency. To become licensed through this agency, you must meet state requirements, subscribe to their statement of faith, provide personal as well as pastoral references, and attend training offered at the agency’s office. Christian Family Care Agency strives to provide temporary, loving Christian homes to nurture foster children.
Call 520.296.8255 to contact Christian Family Care Agency. Or request more information online at www.cfcare.org.
Devereux Arizona Tucson is located at 6141 East Grant Road. Devereux offers several types of foster care training, including traditional foster care. Therapeutic foster care training instructs foster parents to care for children experiencing behavioral difficulties. Respite training allows foster parents to provide other foster parents as well as adoptive or biological parents a brief break. Adult therapeutic foster care training is for foster parents who wish to care for adults with serious mental illness. Contact Devereux Tucson by calling 520.296.5551, or online at http://tucson.devereuxaz.org.
Arizona Baptist Children’s Services is located at 1779 North Alvernon Way. This agency’s goal is to work with their licensed foster parents to provide the best possible care to meet the needs of the foster children in their homes. Along with state requirements, ABCS foster parents must be Christians active in a local evangelical church and must be in agreement with their statement of faith. To find out more, call 520.795.7541 or check out their website, http://www.abcs-tucson.org/fostercare.htm.
Casa de los NiÃ?±os, located at 1101 North Fourth Avenue, provides foster homes for medically vulnerable children. Training and licensing is available to people meeting eligibility requirements who are interested in providing short term foster care, foster-to-adopt (if the child becomes free for adoption), concurrent planning (when the child has two case plans: reunification with the child’s family of origin, and adoption if reunification is not possible), respite care, or any combination of those. To find out about becoming a medically vulnerable foster parent, call 520.624.5600 or go online to http://www.casadelosninos.org/FosterCare.htm.
You can also contact the Division of Children, Youth and Families-Foster Care & Adoption’s Pima County Recruitment Council at 877.KIDS.NEEDU (877.543.7633) to find out about upcoming informational meetings, or check out their website at http://www.de.state.az.us/dcyf/adoption/links.asp for a list of licensing agencies in Arizona.
