Foster Parenting

NYAP will provide guidance and support on your journey to becoming a foster parent. From the moment you submit your application, throughout your licensing process, and with each child or youth you welcome into your home, we will walk alongside you to ensure your success.

We provide comprehensive phone and in-person foster care support, case management, and advocacy to ensure the success of the children and youth we serve. At National Youth Advocate Program, foster parents are true partners in creating nurturing, safe, and stable homes for children, and youth to heal and grow stronger. Learn more about NYAP foster care in your state as well as qualifications for becoming a foster parent today.

Foster Parent Inquiry

Learn more about the process of becoming a foster parent:

  • Submit a foster care inquiry form or call us at 1-877-692-7226 to set up an initial home visit.

  • NYAP holds frequent individual or group orientation classes to give those considering becoming a foster parent a forum to ask questions and talk with others.

  • During the orientation process, your Licensing Coordinator will review the list of required tasks and documentation to become a foster parent.

  • As you gather and complete the required tasks and documentation, you will begin attending foster parent training classes, called pre-service training. Every foster parent will attend 30 hours of pre-service training. In these classes, you will learn what foster parenting is all about and the expectations, challenges, and rewards of being a foster parent. You will learn how to work with the child or youth’s primary family, how to help the child or youth adjust to life in foster care, family dynamics, and more.

  • Your Licensing Coordinator will make several visits to your home to complete the home study, including interviews with you and others close to you. The home study process allows us to:

    • Understand the reasons you wish to become a foster parent

    • Ensure foster parenting is a good fit for you and your family

    • Gather background information about you and your family

    • Speak with the personal references you provide

    • Ensure you are able to provide a safe, nurturing home to our children and youth

    By partnering with your Licensing Coordinator during the home study process, we embark on a collaborative journey to best serve our children and youth while supporting the needs and preferences of you and your family.

  • Once you are a licensed foster parent, we will look for a child or youth who is a good fit for you and your family. Children and youth placed in your home will stay until they can be reunited with their primary family, adopted or old enough to live on their own. During the time children and youth live with you, they will participate in school, healthcare appointments, and visits with their primary family and others who are important in their lives.