Our Process

Our Application Process

The process of becoming a foster or adoptive parent can seem overwhelming, but we are here to help you begin your journey! If you are interested in becoming a foster or adoptive parent, or just need more information, please call any of our regional branches. We will be happy to connect you with the team member who can get the verification process started and walk you through each phase. One of our highly trained and informative Foster Home Developers will answer your questions, guide you through the screening process, provide you with the needed training courses and schedule and complete your home study which can all take up to 90-days.

At Therapeutic Family Life we take pride in providing you with the support you need to guarantee you are equipped to care for each child placed in your loving home.

What are you waiting for? Give us a call and become part of the TFL Family!

How do we start the process?

The inquiry form needs to be filled out first. It’s easy! Just click the link to the right and it fill out. Once the inquiry form is submitted you will receive an invitation via email that gives you access to our online system where you can get started on completing the required paperwork.

This form will get you access to our online system to complete the process to become a foster/adoptive parent. Click button above.

  • Application
  • Questionnaire
  • Health Status Form

An Application will need to be completed for the applying foster family; each foster parent applicant will need to complete and submit the Questionnaire; and a Health Status Form will need to be filled out for all members of the household.



 

Foster Parent Applicants will each need to complete the Affidavit and Family Violence Disclosure Form. The Consent for Criminal History Check form needs to be submitted on the Foster Parent Applicants, all Household Members age 14 and older and All Frequent Visitors to the home who are 14 years of age or older.



 

  • Driver’s license
  • Social Security card
  • Auto insurance
  • Home insurance
  • Infant, Child & Adult CPR training card (Foster parent applicants only)
  • First Aid training card (Foster parent applicants only)
  • Birth Certificates (Foster Parent and All Household Members)
  • Marriage/Divorce Certificate
  • High School Diploma or GED Certificate
  • Pet Vaccinations

If your home is being licensed to accept children of Specialized or Intense Levels of Care contact the Foster Home Developer you have been working with or a foster family you know with therapeutic-level children placed in their home to arrange a time to observe a therapeutic-level foster family and log your dates and times of observation in the Observation Form.



 

The final step!

The final step in the process before a home study can be scheduled is training!!!!

Required Training

The following links are for required training courses that are completed online. You can work on these training courses as you go through the licensing process, just be sure to save or print a copy of the certificate provided at the end of each training course. Each foster parent applicant is required to take the training and provide a certificate with their name on it. Copies of certificates can be uploaded to your page or provided to the Foster Home Developer you have been working with.

Pre-Service Training is conducted by our Director of Training Development. Training courses will be scheduled to work best with your daily routine and most can be conducted online during the day, evening, or weekend to get your training completed and your family ready for the home study. Your Foster Home Developer will let you and our trainer know when it is time to begin scheduling the Pre-Service training sessions which will consist of the following courses:
  • Orientation & Acknowledgements
  • Adoption
  • CPR/First Aid
  • Cultural Competence
  • EBI (Emergency Behavior Interventions)
  • Human Trafficking
  • Intense and Treatment Services Training (Only required if doing Treatment Services)
  • Required Annual Training: Communicable Diseases, Water Safety, Conflict Resolution, Cyber Security, DEP (Disaster Emergency Preparedness), Medication Policy
  • Policy Review
  • Role of the Caregiver
  • Intro to TBRI (Trust-based Relational Intervention)
  • Serious Incident Reports & Suicide Prevention
  • Trauma Informed Care
  • Trauma Informed Care (6 additional hours)
  • Weapons Safety
  • SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome), Safe Sleep for Infants, and Shaken Baby Syndrome
The process to becoming a licensed foster home involves collecting quite a bit of documentation required by the state, but don’t let that discourage you! Our Foster Home Development Team will work with you to make the process as smooth as possible. The timeline to becoming a licensed foster home is at the discretion of the Foster Parent Applicants. If you are diligent about completing required documents and uploading requested items it will be no time before you cross that verification finish line!
Our Therapeutic Family Life Team looks forward to working with you and remember you are always welcome to contact us at
1-800-394-4939 if you have any questions or need help along the way!

Latest News

Updates from the TFL Team