The Children's Aid Society of Oxford County is responsible for the safety and protection of children. Wherever possible, the Children's Aid Society works to keep children in their own family. When children cannot remain at home because of serious concerns about their safety and protection, they come into the care of the Children's Aid Society where every effort is made to give a child a family and a home. Where possible, the preferred option is to place the child with a member of their immediate or extended family or a member of the community. If this is not possible, foster care may be the best alternative.
We recognize that children need safety and stability. The evidence linked to permanency and well-being for children indicates that children's best interests lie in the preservation of their attachment relationships. Repeated disruptions to these relationships may cause trauma to the child, impacting behavioural, social, educational, and developmental well-being. As a result, we offer a child-centered Resource/Foster Care program where the rights, views, and interests of the child are of paramount importance; this includes the child’s right to ongoing contact with their family and other meaningful connections.
Our foster parents or foster care providers, have a critical role in cultivating collaborative relationships with birth parents to support child and parent visitation and contact, increase the likelihood of successful reunification, and improve the overall outcomes for children in care. Our foster parents also perform a key role in actively supporting a child’s return to their birth family when reunification is possible.
Where reunification with the family is not feasible, the Children’s Aid Society acts on behalf of children to find permanency with families. It is recognized that concurrent planning minimizes the change for children and that the Society fully supports our foster parents in adopting foster children in these circumstances. Every foster parent home has the potential to provide a permanent home should a child be eligible for adoption at a later time thus providing and maintaining security, resilience and attachment for the child.
All individuals who contact our Society expressing their interest in fostering and/or adopting will first go through the process of being approved as foster care providers.
What is the Process For Becoming a Foster Parent:
Foster parents can be representative of all populations in Ontario, including cultural and religious backgrounds, martial status and financial income. Foster parents should also possess a genuine desire to contribute to a child or youth’s wellbeing and to their community.
In Ontario, all foster care applicants must complete the following requirements to provide foster care:
- A SAFE (Structured Analysis, Family Evaluation) home study; and,
- PRIDE (Parent Resources for Information, Development, and Education) pre-service training program.
SAFE Home Study
SAFE (Structured Analysis, Family Evaluation) is a standardized assessment model for those who are interested in fostering and adoption. A SAFE home study may only be completed by a Children’s Aid Society staff or a Ministry-approved practitioner. A SAFE home study can take 4–6 months to complete and is generally valid for up to 2 years. A SAFE home study includes:
- An Application
- A Home Safety Checklist and Questionnaires
- Medical Evaluations including Vaccination Status
- Criminal Record Check and Vulnerable Sector Check
- Children’s Aid Provincial and Local Database Check;
- Personal Reference Checks
PRIDE (Parent Resources for Information, Development, and Education) Training
The Children's Aid Society of Oxford County also provides a nine-session (27 hour) P.R.I.D.E. Pre-Service Training program (Parent Resources for Information, Development and Education) used to prepare and educate families who are interested in fostering.
To learn more about becoming a foster parent with the Children’s Aid Society of Oxford County, contact the Society at (519) 539-6176 or toll free 1 (800) 250-7010 or by email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
http://www.fosterparentssociety.org/about-fpso/faqs/
https://www.oacas.org/childrens-aid-child-protection/fostering/