Did you just hear about our Foster Care program and don’t know how to get started? At Sakeenah, we understand that it can seem overwhelming, but we’re here every step of the way.
There are several steps required to become a foster parent. You can expect it to take 4-6 months approximately, but during this time, we get to learn lots about you! The goal is to have a better understanding of who you are, and how you can work with children that may have experienced trauma and challenges in their past. We want to make sure that both you, and the child are comfortable during fostering as it makes a huge difference in care!
In this guide, we’ll discuss what you need to know about becoming a foster parent in North America.
Initiating an inquiry with us is the first step to the process. You can email us with your interest in fostering at fostercare@sakeenahcanada.com, or submit an inquiry on our website.
Once your inquiry has been received, the Sakeenah team will reach out to you via email with an application form to submit. A staff member will then call you for a short discussion, and ask questions for a preliminary assessment.
If you have succeeded to the next step, we will schedule an in-person interview at your home. This interview will be completed with you, and if applicable, a significant other. The interview is based on a questionnaire that will be provided to you, and this would be a chance to learn about your upbringing, family life, and past experiences. Feel free to share what you’re comfortable with – the more we know, the better!
If successful, we move on to the second interview! This is also an in-person interview with a questionnaire, however, an interview will be conducted with the potential foster parents separately. This will also be a time where the resource worker can meet with anyone else that resides in the house.
In addition to the interview, there will also be a walk through of your home. We follow a safety checklist to ensure your home is safe and up to ministry standards. We will walk through your home and let you know of any changes required.
Once all of those interviews are completed, we will request documentation from you. Some documents you will be required to provide include: medical reports, a vulnerable sector check, a child welfare check, and references. It may take some time to receive these, so don’t panic! You can submit them to your worker as you receive them, or all together.
Now that all of that is completed, you can sit back and relax. Once all of the interviews and walk throughs are completed, our staff will be completing an evaluation called the SAFE home study. This evaluation is to be completed and approved before moving forward.
Congratulations, once your SAFE home study has been completed and approved, you are ready for training. Foster parents require mandatory training before officially taking on foster children in their care. Some trainings include: PRIDE Pre-Service training, Cultural Competency training, Basic First Aid and CPR, etc.
Providing safe spaces for children is our goal, but we want to make sure families are also given the support they need to do that. If you’re ready to take on fostering, please send us an email at fostercare@sakeenahcanada.com. We look forward to speaking with you!
Sakeenah Canada, a national charitable organization, was founded in 2018 in response to a gap in culturally and religiously sensitive services available for women and children facing domestic violence and homelessness. Since then, our services have expanded to include mental health therapy and counseling. Sakeenah has also started The People’s Market, a food program that helps combat food insecurity, and has become the first licensed foster care agency for Muslim children in all of North America. We currently operate 8 transitional homes across Canada: Toronto, Brampton, Milton, London, Montreal, Ottawa, Winnipeg, and Regina, in addition to the first long-term housing program for Muslim women and children in Canada, in Windsor.
Every night, thousands of women and children in Canada face homelessness, poverty, and trauma. We are on a mission to change that.
While Sakeenah functions at a national level, our head office and The People’s Market operate out of land that is part of the Treaty and Traditional Territory of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation, The Haudenosaunee Confederacy, the Huron-Wendat and Wyandot Nations.
Sakeenah believes that while a land acknowledgement is the first step, we also understand that land acknowledgements alone are not sufficient to redress the harm caused by centuries of land theft, forced displacement and ongoing acts of settler colonialism. We recognize that this work is ongoing and complex, and we are dedicated to doing our part to create a better future for all.
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