Foster Care and Adoption

Foster care is a way of providing family life for children who cannot live with their own parents. Foster care is used to provide temporary care while parents get help sorting out their problems, or to help children or young people through a difficult period in their lives. Most often children will return home once the problems that caused them to come into foster care have been resolved and their parents are able to provide them with a safe living environment.

Foster parents provide a temporary safe, stable home for youth who have experienced abuse and neglect.  They play an essential role in helping parents stay emotionally connected to their child(ren) while they have time to learn new skills to become the parents their children need them to be. Foster parents work closely with a team of professionals (attorneys, case workers, CASA volunteers, court personnel and other service providers) to meet the physical, emotional, and social needs of the youth in care.

Sometimes people are not in a place where they can make the long-term commitment to being a foster parent, but they want to help. Thankfully, you can help by becoming a certified emergency care or respite provider. You will need to complete all the requirements of foster parent certification training.
 

Emergency Care Provider – Foster care is not an 8 to 5 job!  Many of our youth need a temporary emergency place to stay until a more permanent living arrangement can be made. Typically, an emergency placement is up to 72 hours and can occur at all hours of the night or day.  7-days a week!

Respite care Provider – You can offer foster parents and youth a chance to regroup, attend to personal business or just get away.  Respite care does not exceed 7 days.

There are no restrictions on who can foster based on race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation or expression, gender identity or marital status.

• You must be at least 21 years of age.
• You can be single, married or have a domestic partner.
• You can work inside or outside the home.
• You must be financially stable to support your existing family and not rely on foster care monies as a source of personal income.
• You can own or rent a home, condo or apartment of any size that has adequate clean living space and room available for the foster youth.
• You must be flexible enough to transport children to various meetings, hearings, visits, and other appointments.
• You must be able to work with a treatment team and attend ongoing training opportunities.
• You must be physically healthy enough to care for a child. Health evaluations will be required for ALL family members in the home.
• You must be mentally and emotionally healthy to care for children who have experienced trauma and demonstrate sound judgment.
• You must pass the home study evaluation including required state and federal child abuse and criminal background checks.
• Spouses or live-in partners must also be committed to the program.
• You must provide verification of a social security number or individual taxpayer identification number (ITIN) issued by the federal government.

It is our responsibility to ensure that the foster families we license are safe and nurturing homes. Unfortunately, not everyone is appropriate or able to become certified foster parents. The most common disqualifications are:

• The applicant does not meet the required training, experience, or family income regulations.
• The applicant or any family member is unsuitable for providing safe and appropriate care.
• The applicant’s home is unsafe or inadequate to provide for the needs of the children in care.
• The applicant has knowingly and willfully provided false or misleading information during the certification process.
• The applicant or any household member has a record of a criminal conviction of a nature that could put children at risk of harm.
• The applicant cannot assure the youth placed in their home will be able to attend required visits, court hearings, appointments, or other necessary obligations.
• The applicant is currently certified by a child placement agency to operate a foster care home. Applicants must have their certification terminated by their child placement agency before applying to another CPA or County Department.
• Uses any controlled substance as defined in Section 8 of the Colorado Revised Statues.
• No foster care home shall be used for a rental income business or an adult foster care facility. A business of a nature which might be hazardous to the health, safety, morals, or welfare of foster children shall not be operated on the premises of the foster home.

This is your opportunity to ask all the questions you have ever had about becoming a foster/adopt family!  At this meeting you will be provided with an overview of what foster care entails, the values of our department, issues for you to consider before starting this journey, training requirements, and the steps involved to become certified.

To schedule an orientation and learn more about Foster Care with Pueblo County, please contact: Nita Morano, Lead Worker, at 719-583-6855 or [email protected]

The following background checks are completed prior to certification for everyone living in the residence over 18 years old:

• Local Law Enforcement (Pueblo Police Department and Pueblo County Sheriff’s Office)
• CBI & FBI (you will be required to submit your fingerprints for a clearance)
• National Sex Offender Website (NPSOW) including a clearance of your address.
• CBI Arrest Records
• Colorado Sex Offender data base including your address/map.
• Colorado Court Access
• Colorado Trails (Colorado child abuse registry & records)
• Department of Motor Vehicle (DMV) records
• Optional:  Adam Walsh Background Check (National Child Abuse Registry) is required only IF you have lived in Colorado less than 5 years. We will contact all states and counties you have lived in prior to coming to Colorado.

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

• 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.)
• An offense involving unlawful sexual behavior (as defined in Section 16-22-102(9), C.R.S)
• A felony, the underlying factual basis of which has been found by the court on the record to include an act of domestic violence (as defined in Section 18-6-800.3, C.R.S)
• A felony involving physical assault, battery or a drug-related offense within the five years immediately preceding the date of application for a certificate.
• A documented “Pattern of misdemeanor” convictions within the ten years immediately preceding submission of the application.
• Any offense in any other state, the elements of which are substantially similar to the elements above.
•  Registered sex offender
• Has a finding of child abuse and/or neglect in any state’s child abuse and neglect registry.

A Home Inspection is required to ensure there are no safety issues in the home.  Here just few requirements for the home inspection:

• Each child must have a bed and a place to store their clothing and personal belongings.
• All medications and vitamins are stored, locked properly and out of the reach of young children.
• Safety latches and baby proofing (if applicable)
• All appliances are clean and working.  The home must have all utilities (Gas, water, electricity, and trash services).
• Carbon monoxide, fire detectors and 5-pound fire extinguishers are available with easy access.
• Firearms must be locked & stored separately from ammunition.
• Pets and animals current on vaccines (required) and have a safe temperament around children.
• The home must be located in an area that is accessible to health resources, public and private utilities, adequate and safe water and fire and police protection.

All prospective foster/adoptive families are required to complete 27 hours of pre-certification training.  The “New Foster Parent Academy” is a statewide core curriculum through the Child Welfare Training System (CWTS).  CWTS is a state sponsored website that provides the required training prior to licensure.  All the trainings are web based except “Foster Parent Fundamentals”.  This is a 13.5 hour virtual course with a state certified trainer. Before attending the Fundamentals training, you are required to complete several CWTS web-based courses first.

In addition to the CWTS Foster Parent Academy, an initial 2-hour orientation meeting with a Pueblo County DHS staff member is required. Each foster parent shall also be certified in First Aid and CPR for the ages of youth in placement.  

Information regarding the CWTS Foster Parent Academy and other foster parent training requirements and resources can be found at:

Get Started as a Foster Parent – Child Welfare Training System

A family assessment will be completed using the Structured Analysis Family Evaluation (SAFE) home study. The SAFE home study is the process we use to approve applicants for foster parent certification. It consists of an assessment of the applicant and family, motivation, and the applicant’s home environment to determine whether the home would be safe and appropriate for children in foster care.

All the paperwork you complete, information gathered through interviews (including children, outside family members and others living in the home), references and observations of the home study worker are gathered and written into a home study about your family.  
This is only a very short summary of the home study process.  For additional information about foster care, please visit:

Foster Care in Colorado - CO4Kids