Safe Children Bright Futures

 

Training & Support

Training For New Foster And Adoptive Parents

CAS offers an intensive pre-service training program called PRIDE (Parent Resources for Information, Development and Education) for families who are considering to fostering with the London Middlesex CAS. After meeting with a CAS resource worker and deciding to take the next step, an application package is provided. When you submit your completed package, you will be scheduled into PRIDE.

PRIDE includes 9 sessions (usually held weekly in the evening):

  • Weeks 1-8 meet other families who are interested in fostering or adoption, discuss ideas and experiences, hear about the needs of children in CAS care
  • Week 9 meet families who have already fostered or adopted children, as well as adult and child adoptees and children in foster care
Home Study Process

When you have partially or fully completed PRIDE, CAS will assign a resource worker to conduct a home study with your family and make a recommendation about your suitability as a foster home.

Home study includes:

  • Self-assessment of your own attitudes and abilities
  • Providing character references from family and friends
  • Authorizing medical clearances from your family physician
  • Authorizing police record checks
  • Authorizing child welfare checks
  • Assessing the safety of your home (Housing and Safety Checklist)
  • Reviewing your PRIDE Connections homework completed during the PRIDE pre-service training
  • Reviewing your personal history, employment record, experience with children, and general information related to

By working together through the process, we will mutually be able to determine if fostering is right for you.

Ongoing Training And Support 

CAS provides ongoing training and other educational opportunities for foster parents:

  • Regular visits from CAS
  • Access to special services for your foster child
  • Car Seat Safety Training
  • A Foster Parent Mentor
  • Access to the Foster Care Support Program which includes after-hours crisis support from 4:30 pm to 10:00 pm daily
  • Support from other foster parents through the London and Middlesex Foster Parent Association and the Foster Parents Society of Ontario.