There are hundreds and thousands of children in the foster care system, and misconceptions about foster care, prevent a lot of competent foster parent aspirants. Foster care adoption is often misunderstood, and this results in some innocent children never finding a permanent home or a loving family. Here are common myths about foster care adoption

1. Children in a foster home are there for the juvenile delinquency
Most people believe that children in the foster home end up because of their juvenile delinquency. The kids in a foster home are because they are troublemakers or too bad to deserve a home. In reality, the children end up in the foster home because of neglect or parental abuse and not because of a fault of their own. Many children might have special needs and require extra support, but good foster care agencies provide the necessary resources to the foster parents and equip them with guidance and the right tools. All children need consistent care, which means going beyond to ensure their well-being and growth.

2. Adoptive parents need to be married, heterosexual and stay-at-home parents
Each family is different, and people from all backgrounds can foster kids. You don’t necessarily need to own home or already have children or be wealthy. To foster the child, you need to be loving and willing to meet the challenges of parenting. Foster parents can continue to work a full-time job and make use of the childcare options. It is no different from caring for your biological child. All that is needed to foster a child is an open heart. The only thing that is a necessity is that you have a spare room for the child.

3. Adoptive parents should be less than 50 years of age
There is no perfect age to be foster parents. A study shows than one in four foster children live with parents who are more than 55 years of age. All that matter is the willingness to pledge to parenthood.

4. Biological parents can reclaim the children
Most people considering fostering believe that biological parents can regain custody post-adoption. But the truth is that biological parents have no way to regain custody of the child once their parental rights are terminated. Foster parents have the same responsibilities and rights as biological parents. It means that the foster children have the social, emotional, familial, and legal benefits of biological children.

5. It is expensive to foster a child
Foster parents are not expected to foot the entire bill of the children in their care. Daily payment is designed to cover the basic need of every child. The amount received depends on the level of needs and the age of the child. Children in foster homes are generally insured, and thus, the adoptive parents need not pay for their health care.

6. It is challenging to become foster parents
Typically to become the foster carer will take roughly eight months, and it involves a series of assessments ad visits with social workers before the final interview with the panel is scheduled. This journey is crucial as it gives you time to reflect on what it will mean to become a foster parent and also provide you with time to ask important questions.

For more details visit: https://www.horizonfostering.co.uk/