Co-Parenting sees you, as a foster parent, working alongside the biological parents of … For this reason, regular visits are arranged with children’s parents, brothers and sisters or other family members. This isn't always easy; helping a young person maintain or strengthen connections to birth parents … Several foster parents with more than 100 years of combined foster parenting experience have provided some advice for successfully working with birth families. It is supporte… Essentially, shared parenting is the building of a positive alliance between foster parents and birth parents on behalf of children in foster care. She is also known for her experience in working with birth parents—she has talked with many foster parents on this subject and even presented a workshop on this topic at a North Carolina conference. Given the emotional upheaval the birth parents are going through, it is up to the foster parent to set the stage for a healthy functional co-parenting relationship. Link to Child Welfare Information Gateway, Birth Parent/Foster Parent Relationships to Support Family Reunification. Child Welfare Information Gateway (2019) U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Children’s Bureau (2019) When a foster parent shares the nurturing of a foster child alongside the birth parents and caseworker, reunification tends to happen at a quicker and more successful rate. Building working relationships between birth parents, foster parents, and caseworkers can be extremely important for foster children, and using Icebreaker Meetings can be an effective mechanism for doing that. Iowa Foster & Adoptive Parents Association (2015) How to Co-parent in Foster Care with “Difficult” Birth Parents, 6 Concrete Tips for Co-Parenting with Your Foster Child’s Birth Parents, The Single Biggest Obstacle to Co-Parenting in Foster Care, Relationships with Birth Parents Who Struggle With Addiction. Foster parents are sometimes perceived as the enemy by birth parents. Before jumping into foster care, most families spend two or three years just … How To Support Reunification, Even If You Don’t Want To. This isn't always easy; helping a young person maintain or strengthen connections to … Equipping Foster Parents to Actively Support Reunification (PDF - 158 KB) Resource Families Supporting Reunification (PDF - 161 KB) Foster Focus A child in care may even one day return to their families, so maintaining that relationship is vital. This can include simple acts such as passing along report cards, printing photos, or sharing updates. I work full-time.” Well, I am a loving foster parent and I work full-time as well, and it is very possible. Fostering Change: Alliance for New Hampshire Foster Parents (2017) Presents information and resources for parents on shared parenting between birth parents and foster parents, with the aim of helping birth parents focus on the well-being of their children while they are in care. Training courses for foster carers. Those assisting the birth parents can be the social workers, foster parents, guardian ad litem, therapists and other community resources. At the event, Jody learned more about the partnership approach to reunification, brainstormed ways in which veteran birth parents and foster parents could work together to support birth parents newly involved with the child welfare system, and left feeling inspired and hopeful about a range of possibilities. This definitely sets foster parents apart from the rest of the foster parenting team in some respects. 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