FAQ
How is the CALL different from DHS adoption/foster care?
In some ways it is not. If you want to adopt, or be a foster parent, you have the same training, the same back ground checks, and when you are open, you follow DHS requirements. The CALL has worked, with DHS, to streamline the application and training process, and to make it clearer for you. The training will be done by a CALL volunteer who is a member of the church, and open to discussing related issues. After you have completed your training, we will include you in a larger group of Christians who are working to help orphans. If you need respite care or support, you can contact your CALL representative to check for help from other CALL families.
Do I have to be married?
No. You can be single and foster, or adopt. You do have to have a stable home and there are some time requirements if in transition (e.g. not recently divorced).
Are there age restrictions?
DHS does have age limits for foster care and adoption. Exceptions are sometimes sought, especially for those wanting to do short-term care and backup care.
How long does it take?
We are working within the guidelines of the DHS system. We help speed up the process as much as we can, but it still moves at a pace that is too slow for most wanting to be foster parents. The entire process, from recruitment through training and final background checks can take from 4 to 6 months, or longer if you just missed a training. We have opened back-up caregivers in a month.
What if I can’t take a child full time?
If you cannot adopt, or be a full time foster family, you can be a support resource for those who are. You may be able to take a child, or siblings, for a week while the core biological family reconnect, or for a weekend or night while the core couple strengthen the marriage relationship. This helps current families stay healthy, and in service longer.
We also need people who can take children to ball practice and games, or other school and community events. Often foster children have family or doctor visits far from their current home, and this puts a burden on he foster family. If you can take them, this lifts a demand and frees time and energy for other needs.
What if I want to help orphans, but have too many children (or grandchildren) of my own now?
We can use resource families when we know the children in your home. If a foster family gets a new foster child in the middle of the night, without clothes to wear to school the next day, they need help. If we know you have a child of the same gender and age, and are willing to help us with clothes in a hurry, that is a wonderful gift you can give them.