The Barker Adoption Foundation
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Contact Information
7979 Old Georgetown Road
Bethesda, MD 20814
United States
Online Contact Form
Bethesda, MD 20814
United States
| Day | Hours |
|---|---|
| Monday | 9 AM-5 PM |
| Tuesday | 9 AM-5 PM |
| Wednesday | 9 AM-5 PM |
| Thursday | 9 AM-5 PM |
| Friday | 9 AM-5 PM |
| Saturday | 9 AM-5 PM |
| Sunday | 9 AM-5 PM |
Barker, a nonprofit adoption agency licensed in Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C., is built on the fundamental belief that all children deserve safe, loving, and permanent families.
Project Wait No Longer(P.W.N.L.), Barker's foster care adoption program, helps find permanent families for youth, sibling groups, and children with specialized needs who are legally available for adoption. Youth waiting in foster care are 10–17 years old, but some younger children are part of larger sibling groups (three or more) who desperately wish to stay together. Our program partners with public child welfare agencies across the country to find loving, safe, and permanent families like yours. P.W.N.L. has placed over 185 wonderful children with adoptive families in Virginia, Maryland, and Washington, D.C.
Services and information
- Traditional Foster Care
- Emergency Foster Care
- Respite Foster Care
- Adoption
- Other
Requirements to become a foster parent
Understanding the licensing requirements is the first step, as they vary by state. In Maryland, potential foster parents must meet the following criteria:
- 21 years of age or older
- Live in a safe home, either a house or an apartment
- Undergo a criminal background check and fingerprinting
- Remain financially stable
- Able to support a child financially
- Undergo a medical examination
- Attend a medical reexamination every two years
- Provide three references
- Attend necessary parent training/education courses
- A minimum of two home visits by an approval worker
- Child support clearance
- No use of physical punishment allowed
- Receive a fire inspection and health clearance from local departments
The foster care agency you work with will help you to meet these qualifications. They answer your questions, provide parent education training, conduct home visits, and more. As such, they'll be your first point of contact as you prepare for your first placement.
Remember that it will take time to go through the approval process. The home study takes the longest, consisting of lots of paperwork, interviews, inspections, etc. However, you'll be a licensed foster parent in Maryland when it's over.
Ratings and Reviews
Average user rating
3.9 / 5| 5 | |
| 4 | |
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| 1 |
Jul 19, 2023
Difficulty communicating. Will not return phone calls.
Nov 10, 2022
If you are an adopted child, do no bother asking this place for any records of your adoption or paperwork. All they will do is start asking if you have been to therapy. My birth parents had to track me down themselves over Facebook.
Aug 26, 2021
I am an educational consultant providing education-related pre- and post-adoption services to Barker families. I have worked with quite a few social workers on staff. Every one of them has impressed me with their knowledge, good judgment, compassion and total commitment to the families with whom they work. This is a great organization.
Jan 27, 2020
This agency has no integrity. They lied to my husband and I and withheld information needed. We never received even one adoption referral from this agency after paying all their fees.
May 23, 2018
Barker is amazing. The training is excellent, the support is the best I've seen, and the staff are as competent and friendly as they come.