There are three types of Resource Family Care providers: foster, adoption, and kinship. Foster caregivers are individuals and families who voluntarily open their hearts and homes to become temporary parents to children in need of a home due to protective or other social service reasons.
Adoptive caregivers provide permanent care for children whose parents have had their parental rights terminated.
Kinship caregivers are related to a child in placement through blood, marriage, civil union, domestic partnership, or adoption. Kinship caregivers may also be connected to the child by an established positive psychological or emotional relationship.
While children are in placement, the resource family offers them loving experiences that promote healthy growth and development. They provide the vital physical and emotional care that children need when they are separated from their biological parents. Foster and adoptive caregivers must first be licensed to provide care. Kinship caregivers may provide care before being licensed if they’re eligible for licensure and are in the process of being licensed.