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Become a Foster Care or Adoptive Parent
Programs
We take the job of raising other people’s children very seriously and we focus our efforts on having every child in a family or working toward being in a family. These families can be the birth families, relatives or foster care families. We also are an adoption agency and seek that situation when appropriate for a child. But each case is unique.
The child needs to be ready and able to join a family and their needs to be an available family to match with the child. Our Dan Fox Foster Care and Adoption Program starts by searching for families willing to make room for a child. Then we screen, train and license the families while at the same time determining if the children in need are ready to live with a family again. As a child placing agency we then match and place children when need, match, availability and timing are right. The outcome is a new family and a tremendous opportunity for both the child and family to grow. We like to think that if a family makes a child’s life better they might find their lives better as well.
Our “foster” children are referred by State Child Protective Services, Youth Court Probation, Tribal Social Services, Mental Health Case Managers, Department of Corrections and other agencies helping children at risk. We have been offerring foster care services and support since 1991.
We offer a variety of family placement options and services:
For children, ages 2 to 17, who are stepping down from higher levels of care or moving toward adoption we offer Permanency Care, which looks like most traditional forms of foster care.
When the child’s needs are greater and/or their behavior is more challenging, we provide for Therapeutic Foster Care, serving children of any age needing a higher level of emotional support and treatment.
We also offer Adoption Services for the permanent placement of high or special needs children into families. In our state, and under current Federal Law, an adoptive home is the primary objective for placement of all children under the age of 12, whose parents’ rights have been terminated. The children in our program who we are looking to adopt are generally between the ages of three and 12. Subsidies are common for adoptions of older or higher needs children.
When a child is leaving our State Youth Correctional Facility, having successfully completed their stay, they may qualify for a Guide Home. These homes are for teenagers, ages 14-17, who’ve had a successful stay and need a positive transition back into their community.
With all these levels and services within our family foster care program we serve upwards of 200 children each day in care.
CONTACTS
Erin Williams - Program Director: (406) 721-2754
Kimberly Pierce - Clinical Supervisor: (406) 543-7792
Bill Neaves- Family Developer: (406) 543-7792
Helena - (406) 443-4730 * Missoula - (406) 721-2754 * Polson - (406) 883-4370
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