Frequently Asked Questions

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In short, a resource parent is someone who is trained and certified to provide respite and foster care and to be both a foster parent and an adoptive parent. Instead of having someone be just one or the other, resource parents can fulfill multiple roles should the need or desire arise.  

Foster care provides children of families in crisis with caring, safe and stable places to live.  The primary goal of foster care is to meet each child’s basic needs until their families resolve crisis issues and are better able to care for them. Foster parents are important members of a team working to help children reunite with their families. In most cases of out-of-home placement, foster care workers are able to safely reunify children with their birth families.  Other times, reunification is impossible, and the best choice is matching them with adoptive parents. 

Foster families are needed to provide temporary, safe, stable, and nurturing homes for children to live until they can be reunited with their own families, placed with relatives, or adopted. In addition to caring for children in their homes, our local families have helped in a number of additional ways to help support children in foster care with unique needs. Many times they are helping children who reside with others full-time or live independently.  Some examples of these unique needs are:

• Sitting with a child while they are hospitalized
• Providing one-on-one supervision to older youth with cognitive challenges in community settings
• Providing respite care
• Providing transportation to older youth who live independently
• Assisting foster youth who are transitioning to independence meet milestones (getting driver’s license, locating housing, securing employment, applying for college…)
• Facilitating a support group for other foster parents

Foster parents are from all backgrounds, ages, races, income levels and occupations. But all have one thing in common  – a heart – a heart for helping children or teenagers who need it most. If you share this trait and would like to give back to the community, serving as a foster parent may be a rewarding experience for you.  Foster parents care for children of all ages and races, as well as those with special needs. 

Yes, Maryland’s Eastern Shore, like the rest of the State of Maryland,

has a shortage of licensed foster care parents and homes.  Because of this shortage, many children in need of foster care receive that care outside of the county they live in  – sometimes elsewhere in Maryland or even out-of-state and often in treatment facilities or group homes. Sadly, this means too many children with families in crisis not only leave their homes and families for care, but also just about everything else they know – their schools, their friends and sometimes even their siblings.

On the Mid-Shore, each county Department of Social Services is recruiting foster parents through a variety of marketing efforts. Foster parents in each county also play an important role in helping to recruit new foster parents for each county. 

The mission of the Social Services Administration (SSA) is to lead, support and enable local  Departments of Social Services in employing strategies to prevent child abuse and neglect, protect vulnerable children, preserve and strengthen families, by collaborating with state and community partners. Maryland Department of Human Services/Social Services Administration (DHS/SSA) provides oversight to 24 local Departments of Social Services. DHS/SSA provides each jurisdiction with the Statewide Recruitment and Retention Plan which is comprised of statewide goals and objectives based on data regarding Maryland’s representation of children in Out-of-Home Placements.

Foster Parents Must:

• Be at least 21 years of age or older and a United States citizen or legal immigrant who is admitted for legal residence
• Be a resident of the county in which they wish to serve
• All household members must have a physical exam and verification of T.B. testing and up-to-date immunization records for all children in the household
• Provide verification of marriage(s) and divorce(s)
• Provide proof of income and complete a family financial statement
• Undergo a criminal background check, a Child Protective Services background check, Child Support and MVA records checks, and Sex Offender Registry check
• Be CPR certified

Prior to taking in any children, foster parents receive 27 hours of extensive, pre-service training. Upon assuming care for a child, foster parents are given monthly stipends to cover costs of the child’s food, clothing, activities and school supplies. Health care services are provided for foster children. Technical and emotional support services are available for foster families throughout the process and caseworkers are available to them 24-hours-a-day. Resource families are also given the opportunity to attend monthly support group meetings, as well as a number of community and appreciation events throughout the year.

Call 410-901-4287 or email midshore.resourceparents@maryland.gov to express your interest in becoming a licensed foster family.

Individuals, as well as business and faith partners engaged with the Departments of Social Services, help fulfill each department’s mission of protecting children and promoting the safety and well-being of its county’s citizens.

• One way individuals and businesses support foster children in the region is by providing a professional service at either a free or reduced rate.
• Donations to Talbot Community Connections (TCC), the non-profit organization that raises funds to support the Talbot County Department of Social Services, can be designated to go directly to help children in foster care in Talbot County.
• Participating in Generous Jurors while serving on Jury Duty is another way to donate directly to help children in foster care.

Contact your county Department of Social Services to find out ways you can help in your county.