CAS does everything possible to keep children with their own families. However, when that is not possible, CAS places the child with kin (a member of the immediate or extended family) or with a foster family.
Foster parents provide a stable and supportive home for children who need a temporary place to live because their own family cannot provide a safe home or adequate care.
Foster families work together with CAS to develop a plan for each child. The ideal plan is to reunite children with their family. When a reunion is not possible, the plan may include adoption or long-term foster care with a foster family or kin family.
Questions? Please call us at 519 455 9000 extension 777 or click here to submit a question.
Types of Foster Homes
Regular Foster Care
This is the most common fostering arrangement where foster families provide for the day-to-day care of a child in a family setting. This placement may last a matter of days, weeks or most often a matter of months.
Relief Foster Care
Relief foster homes provide temporary care as a break to regular full-time foster families. These placements are usually for a matter of days and may appeal to those families wishing to consider fostering part-time.
Kinship Care and Provisional Care
Kinship care and provisional care are homes provided by a family who is known to a child, such as a relative or family friend. The care provided is like regular foster care, the difference being that the home is opened as a foster home to meet the needs of a specific child or children.
Customary Care
Customary care is alternate care provided to aboriginal children by the aboriginal community. Customary care arrangements allow children and youth to keep important cultural and family ties.
Specialized Foster Care
A specialized foster home is a home that can provide the skills and experience necessary to meet the more specialized physical, emotional and behavioural needs of a child.
Treatment Foster Care
A treatment home is highly skilled in dealing with children who have extremely high needs in demanding complex situations.
Getting Started
- Call CAS at 519 455 9000 extension 777 to discuss your preliminary questions about fostering or Contact Us. You can also leave a message for one of our Foster Parent Recruiters by calling 519 455 9000 extenstion 418. Recruiters are experienced foster parents who are available to speak with you about fostering opportunities.
- At your request, a CAS resource worker will arrange a meeting at your home to discuss the process in detail. If you and the worker mutually decide to take the next step in the process, the worker will leave an application package with you.
- Once you have completed and submitted your application package, a worker will schedule you into the PRIDE (Parent Resources for Information, Development and Education) pre-service training program. CAS offers PRIDE at a variety of times (evenings, Saturdays, weekdays) so that you can attend whenever it is most convenient.
- Complete PRIDE, a 9 week, 27 hour pre-service intensive training program for prospective foster, adopt and kinship families. Homework assignments (PRIDE Connections) correspond to in-class training.
- Complete a home study. You will be assigned to a home study worker either during or shortly after you have completed PRIDE.
What Makes A Great Foster Family?
- Families who can provide warmth, acceptance, consistency and structure
- Families from different walks of life, cultural, racial, ethnic and religious backgrounds
- Love of young people, optimism, patience, and consistency are essential qualities of successful foster families
- A basic understanding of children's needs, as well as a willingness to learn
- Experience caring for children is a definite advantage, but you can apply to foster even if you have no specific background in child care
- Experienced foster parents or parents who have specialized training and skills, may wish to inquire about fostering opportunities that match your experience and career goals
Who Are Foster Children?
- Infant to 18 years old
- Varied cultural, racial, ethnic and religious backgrounds
- In care with the consent of their family or by court order
- Some children are in foster care because:
- there is family conflict
- a parent is ill
- the familiy cannot provide adequate care, or the necessities of life
- they have been neglected or abused
- they have emotional, developmental or physical challenges
- Many foster children are very close to their own families and visit and telephone regularly
- Most children eventually return home
Who Pays For The Child’s Expenses?
CAS provides foster families with daily, non-taxable compensation for each child’s living expenses. Many other expenses are also covered, such as clothing, medical and dental costs, school supplies, recreation expenses, and travel expenses.
We encourage applications from foster parents who also maintain employment outside their home.
Facts About Foster Care
- Foster families provide a temporary, caring and supportive family environment
- Some children may need foster care for just a few days while others may need to live with a foster family for several months or several years
- On average, placements last from 6 months to 1 year and 50% of children return home within 3 months
- CAS’s goal is to return a child to their biological family
- If it is not possible for a child to return home, CAS works with the family to make adoption/permanent plans
- CAS assumes guardianship while a child is in care
- More than 800 children are in CAS care in London and Middlesex and 500 live with foster families