Foster Care at Strive Living Society
A child or youth in Foster Care lives with a family, couple, or single caregiver in the caregiver’s home in the community. The child or youth is supported with their day-to-day needs, participates in family activities, and is integrated into the community. All of our families and caregivers are qualified to provide a high standard of care, support, and supervision to the child or youth. The Foster Care program has homes throughout the Lower Mainland and the Sunshine Coast, including Powell River.
Strive carefully and thoroughly screens and selects all homes and caregivers before approving them for Foster Care. This program operates within a trauma-informed and attachment-based theoretical approach. The program’s philosophy is to provide children and youth with a foundation of care and support to reach their full potential.
Eligibility for Children and Youth to become part of the program:
- Applicants must contact their local Ministry of Children and Family Development (MCFD), Vancouver Child and Family Services (VACFSS), or Ayas Men Men (AMM) and firstly meet their criteria.
- A referral from MCFD, VACFSS, or AMM must then be submitted to the Children and Youth Services program at Strive Living Society.
- Applicant must be a child or youth under 19 years of age.
- Applicant must have a functional assessment performed and reviewed by a representative of our organization.
- Applicant must be diagnosed with functional limitations in at lease one of these capacities: learning, mobility, behavioural, self-directing, independent living, or self-sufficiency.
- Applicant must comply with the immunization program of the Ministry of Health and participate in its tuberculosis control program.
- Applicant must demonstrate compatibility with existing residents, if applicable.
- Applicant must be given a trial period during which they will be consulted as to whether to continue with the placement or withdraw and seek alternative options.
For more information about Foster Care for children and youth in the Lower Mainland, please contact the Director of Children and Youth Services.
For Foster Care for children and youth in Powell River and the Sunshine Coast, please contact the Powell River Program Manager.
Becoming a Foster Care Provider
Strive Living Society has children and youth aged 0-19 years old that are in immediate need of skilled Foster Care homes and care providers. These children and youth come from a variety of cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds and also may present with developmental and/or physical disabilities as well as mental health issues. Many times, these children and youth come into care with their sibling(s), and in turn we make every effort for the siblings to remain and reside together. We are always looking for skilled foster care providers with residences in Vancouver and North Vancouver.
Some children and youth are in foster care for a short length of time while their parent/guardian takes time to overcome an illness/substance abuse/parent-child conflict/legal issue, etc. The child or youth may have also be removed for safety reasons. On the other hand, there are also children and youth who utilize Strive Foster Care services on a longer term basis when a family needs support in providing specialized care to a child/youth who may have:
- Physical or developmental delays
- Medical needs
- Mental health, emotional, or behavioural needs
- Drug and alcohol use, or legal trouble
These children and youth often require help and support with everyday activities like hygiene, dressing, feeding, skill development, emotional regulation, and behavioural management. However, these children and youth often have large care teams of professionals to address areas such as drug/alcohol use, counselling, play therapy, behavioural consulting, and medical needs.
Why become a Foster Care provider?
- Opportunity to work from home.
- Make a meaningful impact in the life of a child or youth.
- Competitive compensation ranging from $2,000 to $5,000 net monthly.
- Ongoing, extensive case management provided.
- Contracted directly with Strive Living Society, a registered non profit organization that has provided residential and recreational programs throughout the Lower Mainland since 1988.
Foster Care providers are required to perform duties which may include overseeing medication administration, providing personal care, meal preparation, grocery shopping, activity planning, community integration, and transportation. Extensive experience supporting individuals with complex intellectual, behavioural, and social needs is required.
If you’re thinking about fostering a child or youth, take time to consider these points:
- Is every member of your family willing to share their home with a child or youth?
- Are you willing to discuss with your family how their lives may be affected?
- Do you have the time every day to provide care and attention to a child or youth, their family, and others on their care team?
- Are you physically and mentally healthy to cope with added stress?
- Do you have patience, creativity, and a sense of humour?
If you’re thinking about fostering a child or youth with special needs, take time to consider these points:
- Do you believe that people with special needs should be included in all aspects of family and community life?
- Is each member of your family willing to share their home with a child or youth with special needs?
- Do you have the time to be involved intensively with a child or youth with special needs, their family and a variety of community specialists?
- Are you physically and mentally healthy to cope with the added stress of caring for a child or youth with special needs?
- Can you accept the fact that the child’s development may occur at a different pace from others’?
- Do you have patience, creativity, and a sense of humour?
If you’re thinking of fostering a youth, take time to consider these points:
- Foster care providers must be secure in knowing themselves, but flexible and patient in explaining other values and views of the world.
- Youth need stability while they are developing their own unique identities.
- Youth require a different style of parenting than younger children – they may be withdrawn or “act out” because of anger and trauma from past experiences.
- Youth have had time to establish their own way of doing things – foster care providers need to recognize this and be willing to have a give-and-take relationship.
- Youth may not be looking for the traditional parent/child relationship – they may want adult support and guidance in making decisions, learning to trust, and building self-confidence or positive relationships.
- You and your foster youth will need to discuss the house rules for smoking, drinking, dating, curfews, and household chores – explain the reasons for the rules so they understand what is expected.
- Youth may feel insecure, alienated, or lonely – they may also be argumentative or moody.
- In some cases, the youth’s relationship with their family improves after they’ve been separated while others are upset by the separation and may need help in communicating or getting along with their parents and siblings.
Please send an email and attach a detailed Cover Letter and Resume to Agnes, Children and Youth Home Assessment Manager at: agnes@striveliving.ca.
