Foster Parenting

Highlights: Family to Family Program

The Family to Family Program goals are:

A reduction in the number of children serviced in institutional and congregate care.
A shift of resources from institutional and congregate care to family foster care and family-centered services across all family and child serving agencies.
A decrease in the length of stay in the out-of-home placement.
An increase in the number of planned reunifications.
A decrease in the number of unplanned re-entries into care.
A decrease in the number of placement disruptions.
A reduction in the total number of children served away from their own families.

Family Team Meetings

In Trumbull County, foster parents and birth parents have regular meetings to ensure a proper adjustment to a child’s foster care placement.

They discuss the child’s likes and dislikes, including:
- What should the child call the foster parent?
- What does the child like to eat?
- What are the child’s sleeping habits?
- Does the child have a favorite hobby or interest?
To do what is best for the child, birth and foster parents set up visitation schedules and learn about each other’s fears and
concerns. Foster parents, birth parents, and community and childserving agencies continue to explore new ways to lessen this trauma through their Family-To-Family relationship.