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Dolores Taylor is a Student Intern with the Independent Living Program also known as I.L.P, which is a program that assists foster youth with life readiness skills such as money management, housing, signing up for college and more. When a foster youth turns 16 in Merced County, the county will send a referral to the program and as long as the youth has been in Foster care before they turned sixteen, they’ll qualify to enter the program. After that the youth and program leader will have an orientation. Meetings are held once a week from 5:45 pm through 8:00 pm on Mondays through Thursdays. Dolores entered foster care with her five siblings when she was 12 and remained there for six years. Having a first hand experience in foster care and now working for a foster youth program, I felt she had a unique experience within the system that could help me understand it better. I learned that one of the first steps after a child has been removed from the home is a court date scheduled within three days to discuss what happened and why the child was removed.
Keeping families together is important to CPS so when various children from one family are taken into foster care, there is a chance the siblings may stay together. It may be harder to find a foster home that will take larger groups of siblings or have enough space available, so what could happen is the siblings may be separated into groups by age. This was the case for Dolores and her five siblings. When placing a child the preferences of a foster parent are important. Each foster parent may prefer a certain age and have to consider the amount of space they have available.
[pullquote_right]When becoming a foster parent you must go through an orientation held once a month at the Human Services Agency. There, you are shown what it is like to be a foster parent and experiences you may be looking forward to. At the end of the orientation, you are left with the decision of whether or not you would like to follow through with becoming a foster parent. When looking for a child who may be placed in foster care, the quickest way to access information about the child’s case is through their social worker.[/pullquote_right]
When becoming a foster parent you must go through an orientation held once a month at the Human Services Agency. There, you are shown what it is like to be a foster parent and experiences you may be looking forward to. At the end of the orientation, you are left with the decision of whether or not you would like to follow through with becoming a foster parent. When looking for a child who may be placed in foster care, the quickest way to access information about the child’s case is through their social worker. To find that information you should reach out to the last person that had custody of the child while CPS was detaining care. There is an emergency number that welfare provides if you have any trouble contacting relatives, the number is 209-385-3000, extension #5858.
You are welcome to ask questions and leave your contact information but aren’t promised any information. You are more likely to receive assistance if you call before 5 pm. Social workers advise you to be patient, entering a child into foster care is a difficult process.
