Foster Care

How to Become a Foster Family

Park County Human Services is looking for foster families to work with us as a part of the county team.

Foster care is a protective service to children and their families when families can no longer care for their children. Foster parents embrace children, value their family connection, and provide a home free of abuse and neglect until they can return home, be adopted or live independently. They must be willing to care for a child, whether they are in the home for 1 day or for a year.

All foster parents must be certified in order to provide care for children. The best way to start the process is to make a phone call to Park County Human Services at 719-836-4145 so we may send you information about the agency and the certification process. You may fill out the Original Application to Care for Children (PDF) to start the process. Mail a completed application to: Park County Department Human Services

C/O Foster Care
PO Box 968
Fairplay, CO 80440

The key qualification is being able to meet the physical, emotional and developmental needs of a child. Foster parents are expected to:

Provide 24-hour care and supervision on a daily basis
Provide shelter, food and clothing
Provide each child with a comfortable, separate bed and adequate space for each child's belongings
Provide structure, rules and utilize non-physical forms of discipline
Have the children attend school on a regular basis
Meet transportation needs, including to medical, physical and mental health appointments
Handle challenging parenting situations, including emotional, behavioral, medical or developmental challenges that may result from the child's experience with abuse, neglect, loss and separation
Ability to handle difficult behaviors, such as defiance, running away, excessive lying, stealing, truancy, sexualized behaviors, aggression, and substance abuse
Be flexible, patient and understanding
Have a home free of fire and safety hazards
Complete a criminal background check
Willingness to comply with child welfare rules, regulations and case plans
Have the ability to work as a member of a team

Working with the children's family:

Participate as a member of the treatment team working to strengthen and reunify the child's biological family;
Value and help to maintain the child's connections with their biological family;
Provide transportation to family visits;
Participate in case planning and related meetings;
Record the child's observed behavior and progress, and address behavioral difficulties; and
Communicate with the child's caseworker and other professionals, such as attorney or Guardian ad Litem (GAL), therapists, physicians and law enforcement.

Qualifications for Foster Family Homes are:

Must be at least 21 years of age
Must be a US citizen, legal permanent resident of the US or lawfully present in the US
Must have adequate space and a bedroom available for the foster child (May be shared with another child)
Must have a stable income to support your existing family
Must be healthy enough to care for a child
Must complete our application process and Pre-Service Training
Must pass a home study
Must be approved by Park County Human Services
Spouses or live-in partners must also be committed to the program.

A Foster Family:

May be of any religion, race, ethnicity, or cultural background
May be married, single, living with a partner
May rent or own your residence
May or may not be a parent
May be with or without children
Include diverse economic status and family composition

You will not qualify if any adults in the household have been convicted of any of the following (including any deferred judgment):

A crime of violence as defined in Section 18-1.3-406, C.R.S.
Child abuse as specified in Section 18-6-401, C.R.S.
Felony sexual behavior
Felony domestic violence
Felony physical assault or battery
Felony drug-related/alcohol-related offense in the past 5 years