Foster Parenting and Adoption

Foster parents provide temporary care of a child or children while supporting family and agency efforts to reunify the parents with their children. Most children served by the agency remain at home, but for those children whose safety requires temporary removal, the goal is always to reunite the family.

Boulder County needs foster families to serve children of all ages and their families. The children most in need of your help, though, are adolescents, siblings who wish to stay together in foster care, and children with special needs. If you can help, contact us right now.

Many foster parents hold the hope of adopting a child. For some foster families this is possible. All families are initially certified exclusively for foster care. In the event that a child or children in their care is unable to return to her/his parents, that foster home may be asked to be the permanent family for the child or children.

Eligibility

All legal residents 21 years of age or older are eligible to apply to become foster parents. You should have a stable income and health sufficient to support your family.

Goals

Our hope is that every child who enters our care leaves with more healthy adults in her/his life than when s/he came in. To that end we go to great lengths to help our foster families:

Supports & Benefits

Boulder County provides:

Specialized Foster Care

Specialized Foster Families provide the structure, guidance, and access to services that allow children with complex behaviors to live in the community.

Boulder County is currently seeking Specialized Foster Families to serve children in Foster Care.

In becoming a Specialized Foster Family, all the same certification requirements of foster care apply, but we look for specialized experience, skills, and training that families can apply toward the care of a child. Furthermore, there are additional ongoing training requirements to maintain certification. Read more about certification in the ‘How to Start’ tab, but if you would like to discuss becoming a specialized foster family, contact us today.

The supports that are available to all our certified families are largely determined by the needs of the child(ren) they care for; as such, Specialized Foster Families may be entitled to the full spectrum of available supports, including a higher level of financial reimbursement. Learn more about this at Orientation. You can sign up for Orientation using the ‘Register’ tab.

It is not uncommon for foster families to choose to partner with Boulder County from among the options along Colorado’s Front Range. Boulder County has earned its reputation for a selflessly dedicated staff, and relentless endeavoring to create a safe and thriving community.

Process to become a foster provider:

Orientation

Orientations are being held virtually twice per month via Microsoft Teams. Orientation covers the philosophy of the program, the specifics of becoming a foster parent, and is an opportunity to ask general questions. Sign up using the “Register” tab. For questions please reach out to Samantha Frazee at sfrazee@bouldercounty.gov.

Core Training

CORE Training is an 8 week cohort taking place virtually on Wednesday evenings from 6-9 p.m. and completes your pre-certification training. You must register for an entire 8 week series. CORE Training covers child development and the effects of grief and trauma on children’s development, as well as addiction and recovery, Trust Based Relational Interventions and the legal responsibilities of foster parents. Please register for CORE Training online. The trainer will send out the Microsoft Teams link approximately 3-5 days before the class. Please ensure that you have registered using the correct email address, and remember to check your spam box for the link. If you have not received the link to join the class you may reach out to us at fostercare@bouldercounty.gov.

To leave us a voicemail, please call 303-441-1081. Messages are checked daily M-F and phone calls will be returned within 1-2 days.

Submit Your Application

Submitting your state of Colorado Application to Care for Children, and supplementary Boulder County forms, is an important part of the process. When we receive your completed application, we can assign a Home Study Worker to begin the Home Study.

The Home Study

The Home Study involves a series of interviews, questionnaires, and a home safety inspection as part of the Structured Analysis Family Evaluation (SAFE) Home Study process.

Additionally, as part of the Home Study, every family must complete full background checks (even if you have recently done them through work or another agency).

CPR/First Aid certification is required, as well. However, for this, you may use a pre-existing certification, obtain your own, or use the service we provide.

The home study is a collaborative process, not a simple evaluation. It provides the basis of your partnership with the agency.

The process, from Orientation to Certification, takes most families about four months.

Certification

Upon completion of the Home Study, you will have an opportunity to read the worker’s report before it goes to a committee of our staff that makes the decision to certify or deny a family, or recommend further work be done in the Home Study. By far, most families whose studies go to committee are certified.

Once certified, you stay in communication with your newly assigned support worker as your availability to accept the placement of a child changes with the contours of your life. It may be hours, or months, before you receive your first call. Much of this depends on the breadth of children and families you are willing to serve, but it also depends on the unpredictable nature of child welfare. While the demand for foster families is always present, the particular needs can change month to month.

Register for Orientation

The first step in getting involved is to attend orientation. Please email Samantha Frazee at sfrazee@bouldercounty.gov to schedule an orientation. Thank you!