Foster Care is an important safety net service for more than 300 children and youth per year in Santa Cruz County. Foster Care provides a temporary safe place for children and youth who cannot stay in their homes because of abuse, neglect or their parents’ inability to provide adequate care. Children in foster care can be any age and from any background. Resource homes are especially needed for sibling sets, teenagers and young adults. We are also always on the lookout for loving caregivers for children with special medical, educational, behavioral, and/or emotional challenges. In most cases, resource parents find themselves providing stable loving homes for children on a temporary basis while the children's parents work with the court and Family and Children's Services to safely regain custody of their children.
Sometimes, resource parents will provide permanent homes for children. If the court system determines that it is not safe to return a child to the birth parents, the resource family may have the option of either adopting the child or becoming the child’s long-term guardian.
We are looking for people who will open their hearts to our children. Successful resource parents can be any one of us: single, married, divorced, with children or without children, LBGT, young or old, homeowner or renter. What’s important is your ability to provide a stable, loving home for children and youth.
Foster Care Fact Sheet