RI Adoption and Foster Care Preparation and Support
Thank you for being so interested in the children in our care.
When children and youth cannot safely live with their own families, the Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) identifies an alternative family setting (often referred to as foster care) where they can be safe and thrive – sometimes temporarily and sometimes permanently.
Foster parents are DCYF's primary resource for children who need to be placed outside their homes. Often, foster parents are relative caregivers (sometimes called “kinship caregivers”) who have a prior relationship with the child or youth in their care. Children and youth are sometimes placed with adults in Rhode Island who get a license to serve as foster parents.
The goal of foster care is to reunite children with their birth families whenever possible safely. When reunification is not possible, DCYF works with its partner agencies to match a child with an adoptive family. Many children who are adopted from foster care find their “forever families” in the homes of their foster parents.
We often refer to our foster and adoptive families as “resource families”.
Services and information
- Kinship / Relative Care
- Non Related Kin (NRKIN)
- Traditional Foster Care
- Specialized / Therapeutic Care
- Emergency Foster Care
- Respite Foster Care
- Adoption
Requirements to become a foster parent
The Department of Children, Youth & Families (DCYF) and the private agencies connected with it offer many resources. If you foster through a private agency, you'll receive support from them.
Foster families in Rhode Island qualify for the Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP). This program subsidizes childcare costs for families caring for foster youth under age 13. Some resources are also available for kids with special needs after age 13 as well.
Contact your private foster care agency or DCYF caseworker to learn more about these options.
Parents that need a break from fostering due to an emergency or other reason can also access respite care. This type of care involves one foster family taking care of another licensed family's child for a brief period.
Resource families receive a foster care maintenance payment to help with a child's needs. The amount varies depending on the child's age and service level of care.
Finally, the DCYF or licensed private agency will help you through the process, provide training, offer assistance managing medical and dental services, etc.
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