What type of foster care is right for you?

There is a significant need for foster care parents throughout Wisconsin.

Are you interested in becoming a foster parent? There are three types of foster care:

Foster Care (Levels 1 and 2), offered in Milwaukee County, provides a safe, temporary home for a child who is in the custody of the Bureau of Milwaukee Child Welfare. There are thousands of children in Milwaukee County in need of a temporary, nurturing and safe home. These children come from diverse backgrounds and range in age from infants to older teenagers. Most of these children will go home to their biological families. Other children will find permanent adoptive homes.

Treatment Foster Care (Levels 3 and 4), offered statewide, is home-based care for children and adolescents with more significant emotional, behavioral, physical or medical needs. Children of all ages are referred to TFC, although most are age 10 and older. Many of the children have had numerous placements, are leaving their current placement or are at risk of entering a more restrictive setting such as a group home or institution. A treatment foster parent must be able to provide a nurturing and structured home environment, close supervision, transportation to and from appointments, and a close working relationship with the treatment foster care team to reach the foster child's treatment goals.

Respite Care
Respite care is temporary child care so parents or foster parents can have a needed break from the stress of caring for a child or adolescent, or for other reasons that help sustain the family structure.

Adoption
On any given day in Milwaukee County, 75-100 children are waiting for an adoptive home. Children of all ages and from diverse backgrounds need to be part of a forever family.