In-Home Foster Care

Why foster with Boys & Girls Haven?

Foster Care at BGH

Boys & Girls Haven Therapeutic Foster Care consists of a supportive network of foster homes offering kids the love and stability of a family. For many of our children, this is their first experience in a consistent and safe home – their first chance to have a childhood.

We believe that every child deserves to grow up in a safe and healthy environment they can call home. Families need strong support too. Boys & Girls Haven Therapeutic Foster Care provides foster parents with great training and is backed by the best resources in the field.

Are you interested in fostering? Contact us today.

428,000

428,000 children are in the U.S. foster care system.

8,000

8,000 youth are in foster care in Kentucky.

20,000

Over 20,000 youth “age out” of foster care every year.

Who Can Foster?

Almost anyone who has a desire to help children can become a foster parent. All foster parents must be at least 21 years old and pass background checks, a health screening and provide verification of income. Additionally, applicants must have a valid driver’s license, live in Kentucky, and be able to provide a safe, secure, and healthy home for a child. Parents can rent or own their home, be married or single, have other children, and be members of traditional or non-traditional families.

Our Foster Care Process

You’ll begin your journey toward becoming a foster parent by completing an orientation and approximately four weeks of training. Trainings help guide the way for you to successfully parent children who started life in a family that is most likely very different from yours. The pre-service training teaches these skills and helps support you as you prepare to become a foster parent. Classes are available in-person or via Zoom.

Additionally, our Therapeutic Foster Care Program is partnered with Orphan Care Alliance (OCA). Our future parents can attend OCA classes to expedite the training process. OCA offers three sessions, an orientation, and two eight hour Saturday classes that cover a 15 hour preservice requirement.

The training, evaluation and approval process normally takes 30 to 90 days. The amount of time until a family receives a child depends on how flexible the family is about the type of child they wish to parent. Foster parents may receive a child shortly after approval. Adoptive placements generally take longer because the move to an adoptive home must be planned and gradual so that both the child and the family have time to adjust.

Why Foster With BGH?

50% of our families have fostered youth with Boys & Girls Haven for more than 5 years. 

Training & Support 

Free “trauma informed” training, a 24/7 on-call support/response team, and respite care are available to our foster families. We also offer monthly support groups for parents.

Cost Offsetting

Parents receive a monthly stipend, mileage reimbursement, and a partial childcare allowance (for working parents).

Adoption Option

The opportunity to adopt directly from the foster care system is available!

Services Offered

We empower our foster families to meet the needs of children who have experienced abuse and neglect.

  • Intensive In Home Case Management
  • Psychiatric Evaluations
  • Medication Management Services
  • Individual Therapy
  • Family Therapy
  • Supportive Wraparound Services
  • Resource Coordination/Referrals

Services Offered

We empower our foster families to meet the needs of children who have experienced abuse and neglect.

  • Intensive In Home Case Management
  • Psychiatric Evaluations
  • Medication Management Services
  • Individual Therapy
  • Family Therapy
  • Supportive Wraparound Services
  • Resource Coordination/Referrals

What Our Foster Parents Say

We’ve been fostering with Boys & Girls Haven for more than 21 years.

The VanDorns, BGH Foster Parents

There are a lot of kids out there that need a home and we have space.

Kimberly Burns, BGH Foster Parent

Boys & Girls Haven were kind of like family right from the beginning.

Todd Menges, BGH Foster Parent

Treatment Issues We Address

Our providers have extensive experience addressing our clients’ behavioral health needs. Treatment issues we address include, but are not limited to:

  • Child and Adolescent Behavior Issues
  • Parenting Concerns
  • Family Conflict
  • Trauma and PTSD
  • Attachment Disorder
  • ADHD
  • Impulse Control

  • Mood Disorders
  • Self-Esteem
  • Grief and Loss
  •  Psychiatric Needs
  •  Medication Management
  • Relationship Issues
  • School Issues

  • Suicidal Ideation
  • Sexual/Gender Identity Issues
  • Case Management Needs
  • Anxiety
  • Anger Management
  • Depression

Questions & Answers

The path to getting certified to be a foster parent may cost a little, but most foster parents actually receive money once they are licensed and have a child placed for care in the home. Depending on your area, you may find that you have to spend out of pocket for licensing costs like fingerprinting fees and background check fees. In addition, you may need to spend money to ready your home for a child to live there — a crib or twin bed, dresser, high chair, fire extinguisher, blankets, etc.

Once you’re a licensed foster parent, there are very little, if any, out-of-pocket costs associated with caring for your foster child. Parents receive a monthly stipend and reimbursement for things like room and board, clothing, toiletries, allowance, and extracurricular activities. The child’s medical and dental expenses are covered by the state’s Medicaid program. Your foster child may even receive additional money for back-to-school supplies, a birthday allowance, and holiday gifts.

Most of the children and teens in foster care have experienced child abuse or neglect in some capacity. Foster care provides children with a safe, loving home when they can’t live with their birth parents – this can be for a night or two in an emergency situation, several months or even years until they turn eighteen.

There are many benefits to becoming a foster parent. These include: improved parenting skills, improved family bonds, new and improved meaning to life, inspiring people and the community, acquiring positive life lessons, changing the future and present generations, and more!

On any given day, 9,526 youth are in Kentucky foster care. They range from infants to 18 years old, and even up to 21 years old in the states that have extended foster care. The average age of a child in foster care is 9 years old, and there are slightly more boys than girls. The median amount of time that a child is in foster care is just over a year. More than half of these children will be safely reunified with their parents or primary caregivers, and nearly one-quarter will be adopted, many by their foster parents.

In therapeutic foster care, foster parents provide services to children that have been abused, neglected or have experienced serious traumatic events. These children often have difficulty regulating their emotions and may present challenging behaviors. These children have often had multiple placements and need extra support in making a successful transition to foster care and ultimately a transition into a permanent placement.

As of 2024, there are 8,000 youth in foster care in Kentucky. The Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services updates the data of current youth being served here. According to a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) report, the number of children in the foster care system nationally has increased for the fourth year in a row. Most government agencies and journalists attribute the rise, in part, to increased parental substance abuse. Of the 15 categories, states can report for the circumstances associated with a child’s removal from home and placement into care, drug abuse by a parent had the largest percentage point increase. Neglect as a circumstance around removal has also been increasing.

When youth cannot remain safely in their homes and must enter foster care, the first goal of foster care is to safely reunite them with their families as soon as possible. The most common outcome for children in Kentucky foster care is a safe reunification with their families. Nationwide, more than half of youth who enter foster care are safely reunified. The average length of time a child is in foster care is about a year, but much of this is dependent on how long it takes for the family to resolve their conflicts or disruptions and demonstrate that their home is safe for their child to return home.

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