What makes a good foster parent?

"An ideal foster family is open and willing to learn," says Gloria Riley, Family Paths' Foster Parent Community Advocate.
Gloria would know. She estimates that she has brought approximately fifty foster children into her own home in the last 20 years, and she smiles with a soft kind of pride at the positive differences, both big and small, that she has been able to make in the lives of those children. "It's a lot of work to be a foster parent, but it's really rewarding to see a child grow up," she says.
There are a variety of reasons that people choose to be foster parents. "Some do it if they can't have kids, or because they want to help out a child or children, or they wish to add to their family," explains Gloria. "Which is great, because the need for foster parents is definitely there. There is a definite need for homes for foster kids in Alameda County, particularly homes with the capacity to support children that are medically fragile, with special needs, as well as with medical and psychological needs. Supportive homes are also needed for young people who identify as LGBTQ."

Potential foster parents go through a training process and an orientation in order to acquire the proper license and be the best foster parent possible. Once you are a foster parent, there is a strong support system in place, including the Foster Parent Association, as well as agencies like Family Paths, which provides anonymous parenting support through the 24 Hour Parent Support Hotline, as well as more in-depth therapeutic support when necessary. If you are interested in becoming a foster parent in Alameda County, you may call Alameda County Social Services to inquire.