Here’s what to know about becoming a foster parent
For those with the desire and inclination to be a foster parent for children, the steps to obtaining your foster parent license in Clark County have never been easier.
The 27 hours of required classwork in such things as trauma care, CPR and car seat training can be completed in as little as two weeks. You can be a renter, homeowner, worker, stay-at-home, retired, single, married, divorced or LGBTQ.
Those interested in becoming a foster parent will have to prepare their home for safety suitability for your assigned licensing worker to make sure the place is ready to house a foster child, and complete the licensing process.
Related: County foster care program makes strides but more parents wanted
Applicants can choose from short-term support for caregivers, obtaining a standard foster caregiver license, providing short-term or on-call emergency care and opting for extra training in Advanced Foster Care (AFC) to aid kids with higher levels of need. If you are related or a family friend of the foster child or children you may offer what’s known as relative or kinship care.
Basic requirements include:
— Be 21 years of age or older
— Register and attend your first information session
— Provide your application and required documentation
— Provide your fingerprints and submit to a background investigation
— Provide your marriage certificate if you have one
— Hold a valid Nevada driver’s license and have auto insurance
— Have a Social Security number or Tax Identification Number
— Provide proof that you are financially stable
— Show that you test negative for tuberculosis
— Provide your children’s immunization records, if applicable
— Show proof of residency such as a lease or mortgage
— Show that you have renter’s or homeowner’s insurance.
— Have a designated bedroom for the foster child or children
— Have a working fire extinguisher at home (2A10BC portable model)
— Have a working land line or mobile phone
— Prove that your medications are stored on a locked place
— Make sure that any firearms must be stored in a locked safe, with a separate locked safe for ammunition
— Show that you have reliable transportation available
To get the foster parent process started, call 702-455-0181 or visit clarkcountyfostercare.com.
Contact Jeff Burbank at jburbank@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0382. Follow him @JeffBurbank2 on X.