Beyond Resource Foster Parent Support Groups: Why Peer Mentorship Changes Everything 

A peer mentorship program offers meaningful foster parent support by combining practical guidance, emotional encouragement, and relationship-centered learning. Whether you’re seeking foster care support in your own journey or hoping to walk alongside someone else as a mentor, understanding what to get out of a peer mentorship program can help you make the most of your cohort. Many past participants say the impact reached further— and felt more meaningful— than they anticipated.  

Here are just a few ways this experience can strengthen and sustain you along the way: 

1. Earn Continuing Education Credits (CEC) 
   Both mentors and mentees who complete the program receive 15 hours of continuing education credits (CEC) toward the required 30 hours every two years to maintain their foster certification. Beyond meeting CEC requirements, participants gain practical tools and a stronger sense of preparedness for the realities of foster care. 
2. Practical Guidance 
   Perhaps the most powerful aspect of peer mentorship is learning from someone who has walked the same path. Your peer mentor is a resource foster parent who has lived through the challenges you’re facing. They’ve received the 2 AM placement calls, navigated the Child Welfare System, and experienced both the heartache and joy fostering can bring. 
    
   “Every new foster parent should have this ….  it’s really valuable to hear straight from the source of someone who has lived experience with foster care. It is not a commonly shared experience in the general population, so being actively paired with someone was helpful.” -Previous Participant 
   
   Peer mentors share the kind of wisdom that only comes from lived experience—the small, practical things that make a big difference when you’re in the middle of it. From preparing your home for a placement to navigating paperwork or relationships with birth families, their guidance is grounded in real life, not theory. That honest, firsthand perspective helps newer resource foster parents move forward with greater clarity and confidence. 
3. Real Talk and a Safe Space to Share 
   Honest and relatable conversations are a necessary foundational element to providing helpful foster care support. Real talk about birth parent relationships, trauma responses from children in care, and sometimes the emotional weight of foster care. The deep joy, the grief, the uncertainty, the compassion fatigue, all deserve space to be fully expressed. With a peer mentor, you can be honest about feeling overwhelmed with someone who has felt these same complex emotions and navigated through them. Participants in this foster support program often describe feeling validated, less alone, and better equipped to regulate emotions during challenging moments. 
   
   The one-on–one structure allows for deeper conversations over time, and sensitive topics become easier to explore with a confidential, trusting relationship. You can discuss placement challenges or care difficulties in a safe space with a peer mentor’s perspective grounded in experience rather than judgment.  
4. Shared Conversational Support
   The personalized nature of this program means your mentor gets to truly know you. Conversations build naturally over time, creating a sense of continuity and depth that supports growth, reflection, and real-time decision-making.   
    
   “I wish it were longer. I really enjoyed this time every week. I felt not so alone and like I had someone to go to for support in tricky situations.” -Previous Participant 
   
   This depth also allows you to revisit topics as situations evolve. If you discuss challenging behavior in week three, and it’s changed by week seven, your peer mentor knows the history and can help you understand the progression. The advice shared isn’t generic; it’s customized to who you are, what your family needs, and where you are in your foster care journey. 

Every Child Oregon’s Peer Mentorship program is designed as a personalized foster care support experience that balances structures with flexibility. Over 10 weeks, each participant is thoughtfully paired in a one-to-one mentorship relationship with a focus on compatibility, shared experiences, and the area of support needed. The program also includes mentor preparation, organizational support, and ongoing guidance from Every Child to ensure both mentors and mentees feel equipped throughout the process. 

Overview of the Peer Mentorship Program 

• A 10-week structured timeframe that balances depth with manageability 

• One-on-one mentor pairing based on thoughtful compatibility 

• Flexible weekly connection options (phone or virtual) 

• Guided discussion materials with room for personalized dialogue 

• Continuing education credit for both mentors and mentees 

• Relationship-centered foster parent support rooted in lived experience 

Mentor Matching 

We thoughtfully match each participant with a mentor who understands their unique circumstances, intentionally pairing new and experienced foster parents in ways that foster natural connection and relatability.
When creating these matches, we consider factors such as: 

• Provider type 

• Topics a mentee would like to focus on with a mentor 

• Parent and child demographics 

• Age-specific fostering 

• Caring for children with medical or high behavioral needs 

• Partnership and family Status (married, single, kinship, guardianship, adoption) 

• Scheduling preference  

• County

Weekly Connection in a Flexible Format   

Once paired, the mentor and mentee choose how to connect via phone or meet virtually. Pairs will meet for these weekly conversations lasting about 20–45 minutes. These calls are paired with light preparation. This includes either a short video or reading from a provided book and a weekly discussion packet. The flexibility of this foster support program allows it to fit into busy family schedules while maintaining a consistent, meaningful connection. 

Safe Space to Have Guided Conversations and Open Dialogue 

Participants receive a short book and a guided discussion packet mailed directly to them. The discussion guide combines practical advice with lived experience storytelling to support thoughtful dialogue. These materials provide a helpful framework for conversation while leaving plenty of room to focus on real-time challenges or questions. If something urgent comes up, you can set aside the scheduled topic and focus on what matters most that week.  

“This book is a warm, straight-up guide that reads like a conversation with a knowledgeable friend. It is filled with practical suggestions interwoven with compelling narrative rooted in resource parenting experience.”
 -Previous Participant 

Whether you’re interested in becoming a peer mentor to share your experience or joining as a peer mentee to receive support and guidance, both roles contribute to stronger foster care support systems and a more resilient foster community in Oregon. 

Role of a Mentor: These individuals are experienced ODHS certified resource foster parents—typically with at least two years of fostering experience—who want to make a positive impact by walking alongside newer caregivers. This foster parent support role centers on listening, sharing lived experiences, and offering encouragement rooted in compassion. 

Role of a Mentee: These individuals are newer resource foster parents (generally fostering two years or less with at least one placement) who are looking for practical insight, reassurance, and relational foster parent support. Their primary role is simply to engage in weekly conversations, reflect on shared materials, and build a supportive connection with their mentor. 

These roles strengthen the foster care community. One through giving support, the other through receiving it. Often, participants discover they gain just as much as they give.

Becoming a Mentee through Peer Mentorship 

Joining a peer mentorship program as a mentee offers structured, low-pressure resource foster parent support. This support is important during the early stages of our fostering journey. The focus of the program is not performance-based; it’s about establishing connection, sharing practical resources, and encouragement.  
 
Mentees can expect: 

• A safe space to ask honest questions with an experienced resource foster parent 

• Weekly 20-45 minute phone or virtual conversations scheduled at a mutually convenient time 

• A short book and guided discussion packet mailed to you directly 

• 15 hours of continuing education credit (CEC) 

The program is specifically designed to help foster parents feel supported without adding stress. Conversations can focus on practical matters, emotional processing, or simply having someone who understands the journey. 

“I think it’s really valuable to hear straight from the source of someone who has lived experience with foster care. It is not a commonly shared experience in the general population, so being actively paired with someone was helpful.”  
-Previous Participant 

Becoming a Mentor through Peer Mentorship 

For experienced resource foster parents, becoming a mentor is an opportunity to transform lived experience into meaningful foster parent support for others. Many mentors describe it as “what they wish they’d had” when they first began fostering. The peer mentor role focuses less on teaching and more on walking alongside another caregiver. Mentors listen, share perspectives, and help normalize the realities of fostering while maintaining empathy for both children in foster care and biological families. Serving as a mentor strengthens leadership skills, builds community connections, and contributes to more stable foster homes statewide. 

Typical mentor qualifications include:  

• At least two years foster certified with the Oregon Department of Human Services (ODHS) Child Welfare  

• Experience navigating foster care systems professionally and respectfully  

• A trauma-informed, strength-based approach to caregiving  

• Successful completion of at least one case (reunification, guardianship, or adoption)  

• Good standing with the agency and Every Child Oregon 

• Willingness to commit to a 10-week structured mentorship relationship (about one hour per week)  
   

“I told my mentor repeatedly that I wish I had had her in my corner sooner, and that I’m so thankful for the experience she could share with me. Just knowing I’m not alone was valuable enough, and on top of that, she had tons of great advice, resources, etc.” 
-Previous Participant 

Whether you’re hoping to support a newer foster parent with your experience or looking for connection and encouragement yourself, the Every Child Oregon’s Peer Mentorship Program offers a supportive, relationship-centered way to grow in your foster parenting journey, with applications currently open* for upcoming cohorts.  (Please note: We are accepting applications year-round. When accepted, you will be matched with a mentor for a start date in either the spring or fall.)

Getting Started with Peer Mentorship is Simple