Cost
Licensing is free. The state pays a daily rate for each child and Medicaid covers their health care.
Thinking of fostering
Start with an evening, not a form
Licensing takes four to six months in Kent County. We will walk beside you for all of it, and we will tell you honestly if it isn't the right season.
Hearth is not a licensing agency. We introduce you to one and stay with you afterwards.
The road to a license
What it takes, in plain words
This is the usual pattern in Michigan. Your licensing worker will tailor it to you, and your care team can start forming on day one.
Who can
Singles, couples, renters, people who work full time. You need to be 21, stable and have a spare bed.
Time
Four to six months from your first evening to your license, depending on the agency.
Training
About 24 hours of pre-service classes, mostly in the evenings, some online.
Your home
Smoke detectors, a locked medicine cabinet, a bed for each child. Not a big house.
Support
A care team, the Closet, respite twice a month and a parents' circle every Tuesday.
The usual order, start to finish
Come to First Questions
A relaxed evening with two foster parents and a caseworker. Bring your spouse or a friend.
Choose an agency
Kent County contracts with several private agencies. We introduce you to two and you pick.
Training and paperwork
Classes, fingerprints, medical forms and references. Your care team forms alongside.
The home study, then the call
A few visits from your worker. When the phone finally rings, Hearth sends supper and a Closet bag that night.
First Questions
Pick an evening
Oct20
First Questions, Eastown
6:30 – 8:00 PM · Fellowship room, 1418 Lake Dr SE
Childcare provided. Park in the church lot off Rosewood.
Nov5
First Questions, Holland
6:30 – 8:00 PM · Lakeshore Reformed Church, Holland
Our Ottawa County evening, with a Holland foster family of eight years.
Dec8
First Questions, en español
6:30 – 8:00 PM · Iglesia La Roca, Roosevelt Park
With Javier Villalobos and a Spanish-speaking caseworker.
Nothing in that category this month.
Honest answers
What people want to know first
Is the goal adoption?
Usually not. Most children in Kent County go home to their parents or to relatives. Foster care is supporting that, and sometimes being the family that stays when it can't happen.
How old are the kids?
Anywhere from newborns to eighteen. The greatest need here is for homes that will take teenagers and sibling groups.
Can we foster a child we already know?
Sometimes. Michigan calls this a relative or fictive-kin placement, and it can move faster. Tell your agency on the first call.
What if we try and it's too hard?
Then you tell your worker, and you tell us. Respite, a care team and a support circle are here exactly so that hard does not have to mean alone.
Licensed 2019
We went to First Questions just to rule it out. We cried in the car, signed up for training that week, and our care team had a meal calendar before we had a license.
Come and ask the questions out loud
Tuesday 20 October, 6:30 PM, Lake Drive. Childcare and coffee provided.