The Childhelp Foster Care program provides short and long-term therapeutic foster care to abused and neglected children. We work to match children in need with warm, loving families who can provide a caring and safe environment. We are licensed to recruit, screen, train, and certify foster care parents.
In addition, Childhelp provides ongoing support to both resource parents and the children in their care to ensure a successful and long-term relationship. It’s our mission to help foster children we serve find a forever home where they can meet their full potential.
Through our Childhelp Foster Family Agency of East Tennessee, and the Childhelp Foster Family Programs of California, we are able to make huge strides in providing short and long-term therapeutic foster care to abused and neglected children.
Have questions or want to get more information about fostering?
Simply click on the appropriate button below to contact one of our regional programs offices.
What does Childhelp provide Foster Parents?
- Round-the-clock in-home crisis response for foster families (we will “come to you” in a crisis)
- Foster parent support events throughout year
- Respite services offer a break when you need one
- Advocacy for our Foster Parents concerns and needs
- In-house training and support provided by Childhelp staff
- Childhelp provides counseling for children placed in foster care
- Post-Secondary scholarship is available to current and former foster youth
- Monthly financial stipend for each foster child’s living expenses
- Financial incentive for referring new families interested in fostering a child
Address and Driving Directions
1345 N. El Centro Ave.
Hollywood CA, 90028
Address and Driving Directions
623 Lindsay Place
Knoxville TN, 37919
Frequently Asked Questions
Each state that Childhelp operates in has minimum qualifications, but at Childhelp we’re here to support you, and your family, as you serve children. Since the majority of kids served through a Childhelp Foster Family Program has suffered complex trauma due to abuse and/or neglect, we require that you are at least 21 years old, that you have never been arrested or convicted of child abuse/neglect or a crime of violence.
Again, Childhelp follows the state specific standards for trainings, but again the Childhelp approach is that every foster home is a therapeutic foster home. These classes include, but are not limited to 4-5 sessions on topics such as, “Navigating the Child Welfare System,” “Exploring the Impact of Trauma,” “The Roadmap to Resiliency,” “Rerouting Trauma Behaviors,” CPR and Medical courses.
Every child is unique just as every home is unique. At Childhelp we work with you to ensure that every child will fit with your family just as it’s important that your family fit with a child. Nothing is more damaging to a child than to have a placement that doesn’t work and results in more trauma for a child. Therefore the Childhelp Recruiters/Trainers will work with you and your preferences to ensure the best fit possible for everyone.
Whether you are married or single, and you meet the minimum qualifications, you can foster with Childhelp. Being married is NOT a requirement to foster a child from the foster care system.
Whether your house is a house or an apartment, your house is still your home. Kids are looking for a safe, loving environment and as long as you complete the home study and are approved, you can foster with Childhelp.
No. You will learn how to work with children who have suffered trauma through your preapproval trainings as well as post-approval trainings. An experienced Care Coordinator will be with you each step of the way providing ongoing support, coaching, and education how to best work with the child in your home. You will also be matched with a seasoned foster parent though our foster parent mentoring program who will be available to support you the first 30 days of your initial placement…
The home study process involves a review of documents you will gather to verify the safety of your home as well as things such as your income, vehicle registration/insurance, general good health, marriage/divorce, pet vaccinations, etc. Background checks and fingerprinting will be completed and references will be requested. Your home study writer will also visit your home while collecting the needed paperwork and writing your home study narrative.
We cannot give you a specific timeframe since each case is unique and there are many factors that play into how quickly a placement can be made. However, given our current shortage of foster homes, it is reasonable to expect that you will have the opportunity to begin fostering fairly quickly once your home is approved and officially opened.
Therapeutic foster care is a step above traditional foster care in that the children referred may simply be receiving therapeutic services such as counseling, speech/occupation/physical therapy, TEIS services, medication management, or they just need additional support of some kind. Therapeutic foster care focuses on helping children reach their full potential and achieving permanency either through reunification with their birth family or through adoption.
Yes, you will receive a daily board rate to help offset the costs you incur by adding another child to your family. It can be used to help pay for the child’s housing, food, clothing, transportation, school expenses, allowance, respite needs, personal items, and to establish a savings account for the child.
Childhelp provides a full-time Care Coordinator that will assist with coordination of all services a child may need. They will also support you by providing in-home, school, and community support. They will visit with you and your child in the home or community several times month and provide 24/7 on-call services in the event more support is needed. Childhelp also provides a foster parent mentoring program for those new to fostering, quarterly post-approval trainings and other resources to help you become an even better foster parent, and a clothing stipend every six months. Childhelp staff work as a team, so if the team member assigned to you cannot respond to your need, we’ll find another team member who can!
Foster children are members of the state’s insurance plan that will guarantee payment for all necessary medical/dental care and preventative medicine. Your Care Coordinator can assist you in choosing a pediatrician and dentist for the child placed in your home. Childhelp also provides Mental Health counseling in certain locations, such as in Tennessee, at no cost to our foster families.
No, you do not need to foster before you can adopt.
Yes. The stipend you receive is meant to help you care for the child in your home. This money can be used for additional child support, educational support, and extra- curricular activities to help a child live as close to a normal childhood as possible.