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Foster a Child in Warm Springs, Crook, Deschutes, and Jefferson counties

Meet Foster (Resource) Parents

Foster a Child, Change the World

Stepping into foster care is a significant decision, and it can be intimidating. We’re here to walk with you through this journey.

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Stepping into foster care is a significant decision. It can be intimidating, but it can be life changing. We’re here to walk with you through this journey. You are not alone. There are 3 different ways you can care for children and youth in foster care in Oregon.

Caring for children in foster care when a long-term placement is unavailable or the Oregon Department of Human Services (ODHS) office is closed. Shelter families care for children for 20 days or less.

Providing a home for a child in foster care until they can be reunified with a birth parent or adopted by a relative, foster (resource) parent or other individual.

Children with the highest level of needs or most complex behaviors are served through private agencies across Oregon in proctor or therapeutic foster (resource) homes. More information about becoming a proctor foster care parent can be found here.

Foster Care FAQS

On average a child in Oregon may spend 18-24 months in foster care. It is difficult to know how long a child will be in foster care—most often the length of time is related to their biological parent’s ability to engage in services designed to help them keep their children safe. As a foster (resource) parent, you may choose the type of placements you will accept. Placements may last for only a few weeks or months, but can also last multiple years.

Children placed in foster care may be infants, toddlers, preschoolers, grade-school age, or teenagers. They come from a diverse range of backgrounds, cultures and families. They are like other children, each with their own special personality, abilities, interests and potential. Children enter foster care because of abuse or neglect that was deemed to make their home unsafe. These children may have higher needs related to their experiences, including the grief and loss of being removed from their family or parent. For more information about your county and the reasons why children enter foster care, we highly recommend you check out the Oregon Child Welfare DataBook.

Foster (resource) parents are volunteers who receive a monthly stipend for each child’s care expenses. The rate foster (resource) parents are reimbursed varies depending on each child’s age and level of needs. Children’s medical and dental costs are also covered by a state-funded health plan called Oregon Health Plan.

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Every Child mobilizes community to uplift children & families impacted by foster care in Oregon.