1. Respite Homes
Give full-time foster parents a break by providing care for their foster children one or more weekends a month. This could also include kid sitting while parents have specialized trainings, or just much needed time alone.

2. Receiving & Emergency Placement
The children or teens who come to your home may come during the day, or in the middle of the night often directly from a trauma or from their parents home or vehicle. Some are even picked up from school. They could leave the very next morning or a few days later. Some of the kids may just need a place to sleep for a few nights while waiting for a relative to be approved or to be moved to another parents home.

3. Homes for Children 0 - 5 years old
There is a special need for families of infants and toddlers. It is very confusing and scary for small children to go into foster care. The best help for these children is a stable and loving home that can support and nurture them while a permanent plan is developed for them.

4. Homes for Children 5 - 10 years old
Foster parents of grade school age children have a lot of interaction with the public school system. For many children their school is the only place that they may feel safe. Foster parents become partners with teachers, para-educators and counselors to support the educational needs of the children.

5. Homes for children 10 - 18 years old
Pre-teen and Teenage years are a struggle for all children. Kids in foster care during theses years usually have an even tougher time. They need foster parents who are patient and can compassionately guide them to adulthood.

6. Native American and Minority Homes
Bilingual homes are especially needed.

7. Homes for physically assaultive and sexually aggressive youth
These youths can not be in homes with younger children.

8. Homes for children with developmental disabilities
Such as children with mental and/or physical delays, handicaps, Down Syndrome, etc.

9. Homes for medically challenged Youth
This can include drug affected babies, children with Diabetes, feeding tubes, severe Asthma, communicable diseases, etc.

10. Foster-Adopt Homes
The need for children who begin in foster care and become available for adoption is rising. There are 1700 - 2000 children at any given time available for adoption in Washington State. In the majority of cases the state reimburses your adoption fees.

11. International Adoption
Those searching to adopt children from overseas often have difficulty finding reputable and ethical international adoption agencies. Families for Kids in a member of the largest adoption network in the world, the Lutheran Adoption Network. LAN provides experience and support to guide potential adoptive parents, of all religious beliefs, through each step of the lengthy and complex adoption process, and assist the family after placement.

12. Foster Care Rights and Responsibilities (PDF file)
This statement of Rights and Responsibilities represents a collaborative effort by foster parent work groups and the Department of Social and Health Services.