HOW TO BECOME A FOSTER PARENT

Being a foster parent isn't for everyone, Janet Woods warns.

The Jackson woman and her husband have been foster parents for seven years. Each child is unique, and so is each foster family.

Prospective foster parents have to undergo 12 hours of training, a criminal background screening, a child abuse and neglect check, a home study and a physical, said Cindy Stone, a social services worker with the Cape Girardeau County Division of Family Services office.

Woods helps train new foster parents. She looks for people who are sympathetic, but not soft.

"That's not what these kids need," she said. "They need somebody who can be tough, even when they scream that they hate you."

She also looks at how couples interact and tries to find out why applicants are interested.

"You can sort of weed out the ones that think there's money in foster parenting," she said. "There isn't."

The state does provide financial assistance, but it doesn't stretch to cover family expenses, like trips to an amusement park or vacations.

Woods is now leading a class of 23 applicants, "and we'll be lucky if we get six couples out of that class that stick with us through the process," she said.

Foster parents don't have to take any child who's placed into care, Stone said. They can outline the number of children they will accept and their ages.

The state prefers to keep siblings together, when possible, and the state tries to let foster parents know as much about the children as possible.

"We don't just drop them off at the house," Stone said. "We call them first and tell them about the child."

If the child should become available for adoption -- and few do -- foster parents are given higher consideration if they want to adopt the child, Stone said.