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Ettie Lee Foster Family Agency
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Ettie Lee Youth and Family Services operates a Treatment Foster Family Agency that is specially licensed to not only find safe, loving homes for abused, abandoned and neglected children, but also to provide these youngsters with the therapeutic and other support services they need to heal.
Youngsters placed in one of the agency’s Treatment Foster Homes, which are located throughout the San Gabriel Valley, receive specialized care tailored to meet their individual needs. These services, which are available to boys and girls, from infancy to age 18, include: counseling, psychological testing, psychiatric services, and emancipation assistance.
Another unique aspect of the Treatment Foster Program is the availability of social workers 24 hours a day. This high level of commitment is also reflected in the comprehensive screening process that all prospective Treatment Foster Parents must complete. In addition to earning state-issued foster-family certification, which requires a minimum of 24 hours of training, Treatment Foster Parents also must successfully complete a criminal record background check. The agency further requires that all foster families be trained in infant/child/adult CPR and first aid.
At Ettie Lee Youth and Family Services, Treatment Foster Family Agency children always come first. Safe, loving foster homes are a must, as are comprehensive services designed to address individual needs. Emphasis is also placed on encouraging and facilitating ongoing contact with birth or adoptive parents, as well as relatives. And, whenever possible, concerted effort is made to achieve family reunification.
The overriding, constant goal is simple: healthy, happy children who know they are loved.
For more information about becoming an Ettie Lee Foster Parent please contact Carla Barnes at (626) 967-5082 or e-mail Carla_b@ettielee.org
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Q.
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What makes a good foster parent?
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A.
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Someone who likes children and enjoys the challenges they present; a person who wants to be a part of the bigger picture and help out their community. Basically, it’s a caring person who can give love to a child who is not their own.
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Q.
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I work and have two children of my own. Would I be able to foster?
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Yes, foster parents can be people who work or stay at home. You just need to be sure you have a back up person to pick up the children before and/or after school, etc.
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Q.
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I live in an apartment. Can I be a foster parent?
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Yes, if you have enough room in your apartment or house and pass all the other requirements you can be a foster parent. State regulations allow only two children to a bedroom and that includes your own children too.
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Q.
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I am interested in adopting a child. Can you help me?
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Yes, Ettie Lee is an adoption and a foster care agency. Firstly, we strive to reunite children with their birth families. However, if that plan does not work out we can assist you with the adoption of your foster child.
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I am a single mom and work full time; can I still be a foster parent?
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Yes. It doesn’t matter if you are single or married as long as you have room in your home and pass licensing requirements. You may need to make child-care arrangements for after-school, etc. Foster children cannot stay alone at home. They need to be supervised by an adult who is fingerprinted.
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Where do the children who need foster care come from?
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Children enter foster are after a court hearing as a result of abuse, neglect abandonment or death in the family.
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What ages are the children in foster care? Can I get the age I want for my home?
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We place boys and girls from infancy to seventeen years of age. We try to honor the age and/or gender you feel would work best with your family.
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What happens to brothers and sisters who need foster homes?
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In order to prevent the children from experiencing any more unnecessary trauma every effort is made by us to keep siblings together. We are always looking for foster homes that can take more than one child.
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Q.
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Who pays for the foster child’s medical and dental bills?
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All foster children receive Medi-Cal insurance. Our social workers refer our foster parents to appropriate providers for medical, dental and therapeutic health services.
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Carla Barnes is our expert foster care trainer and recruiter for Ettie Lee Youth & Family Services. She works out of our foster family agency at 754 E. Arrow Highway #F, Covina, CA 91722 and can be reached by calling (626) 967-5082 or emailing her at Carla_b@ettielee.org
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