Indiana County Children and Youth Services provides protective services, case management, and placement programs for children and youth in our county since 1936. The Agency is a part of a network of 67 publicly funded social services agencies representing each county in the commonwealth, which provides services to children, youth, and families under legal mandate, the County Code, and Department of Public Welfare Regulations. The goal of Children and Youth Services is to insure that each child has a permanent, legally assured family which protects the child from abuse, neglect, and exploitation.

On November 19, 1997, President Clinton signed The Adoption and Safe Families Act into law. The premise of this law is that a child’s safety is the paramount concern and there is a need to plan for permanency for children who are in placement. This, along with regulations already in place, provide the mandate for foster care services and the need for foster homes for children.

Foster Parenting is one of many services Children and Youth provides to the children and families that we work with. A foster parent provides food, shelter, love, stability, nurturance, and parental guidance for children who are temporarily placed outside of the home. They do all of this knowing that the child will not be with them forever. It isn’t always easy, but they do it because they love children. Foster parents work cooperatively with Children and Youth Services as well as natural families to help prepare the child to return home, they participate in pre-service as well as ongoing trainings, and must comply with state and federal regulations.

Foster parents are various ages, races, and income levels. They may be married or single. Some have raised their own children, some have not. Most importantly, foster parents are people who realize the importance of their involvement in the lives of children and who are willing to open their homes to a child.

When children are removed from their home, it is best to keep them in a family setting that allows them to maintain contact with their family, friends, schools, and community. There are children in Indiana County for whom there are too few foster homes.

They need your help and support in order to survive the most difficult time in their lives. THEY NEED YOU.

. . . are over 21 years of age.

. . . are in good physical and emotional health.

. . . have never been convicted of a crime.

. . . meet state and federal safety requirements in their home.

. . . are willing to participate in training that will enable them to provide a child with the
      best possible care.

. . . will accept a child into their home and deal with the behaviors and emotions that a child
      displays.

. . . can work cooperatively with Children and Youth Services.

. . . and respect a child’s feelings, values, and natural family.

. . . can accept the temporary nature of foster care and help child to move on.

. . . are willing to give their best to a child.

FOSTER PARENTS CAN

. . . . enrich a child’s life

. . . .show a child love and support

. . . . give a child a part of themselves, their home, and their hearts

. . . . allow children to experience things they never dreamed of.

. . . reimburses foster families for a child’s room, board, and clothing

. . . arranges for insurance coverage for medical and dental care

. . . provides placement supervision and support to the foster family

. . . provides training for foster parents on an ongoing basis to assist them in caring for
      foster children

For more information on our Foster Parent Program, please call our Foster Care Coordinator at INDIANA COUNTY CHILDREN AND YOUTH SERVICES at (724) 465-3895 or stop in our offices at 350 NORTH 4^th ST., INDIANA, PA.