Foster Care
At Harvest of Hope, we realize that foster children who require out-of-home placement can have a loving and nurturing environment with the intervention of a caring and committed community. Therefore, Harvest of Hope has formed the Christian Family Services Network.
Churches in the network recruit foster parents to provide nurturing environments for these children or assist by making donations or offering support in other ways. Our staff recruits potential foster families. These families must participate in state-approved training and have an assessment and inspection of their home conducted by the Office of Licensing.
The training addresses issues surrounding foster care, such as state policy and procedures, infant care, the dynamics of foster families, discipline and loss and separation. At the end of this process, after meeting the requirement of the Office of Licensing, homes are approved for much needed placement of children entering the state custody.
Requirements for Becoming A Foster Parent
- Meet the minimum age qualification of 21-years-old. Foster Parents may be married, single, widowed or divorced.
- Provide bedroom space for the foster child. Each child must have his/her own bed.
- Provide sufficient space for the foster child's personal belongings;
- Complete the NJ Division of Youth and Family Services (DYFS) application;
- Attend the DYFS Foster Parent Pre-Service Training. Both adults in a two-parent household must attend the training program.
- Provide references from three personal friends (no family members), current employer (for adult applicants in the household employed outside of the home), School/Daycare (for school age children within the household), and physician (medical reports on all household members);
- Cooperate with federal and state police checks. Fingerprints will be taken on all adult household members to process the state and federal criminal history checks.
- Participate in personal interviews with a Harvest of Hope and DYFS representative. All household members will be interviewed.
- Allow a Harvest of Hope and DYFS representative to visit your home to assess minimum physical housing standards;
- Provide sufficient income to meet the needs of the entire family. Foster care board payments are to be used for the foster child's expenses only.
- Allow Harvest of Hope and DYFS representative to visit your home monthly after a child is placed and quarterly as long as your home is a licensed foster care home.
Short Term Foster Care
Respite – Vacation
Respite foster parent(s) open their homes to children on a short-term basis only. They care for children whose original foster families have a medical emergency, a family emergency or go on vacation and the foster child/children are unable to go with them. The payment schedule for foster families who provide respite care is prorated based on time spent in the home. Childcare/aftercare payments are still available for children in respite placements.
SPRU– Special Response Unit
SPRU foster homes oversee all types of emergency child placements. They are only obligated to provide care after 5 p.m. on weeknights and on weekends from 5 p.m. Friday to 8 a.m. Monday. In certain situations, a SPRU home may be called late at night. If interested in this program the foster parents would go through the normal process; completion of the application, required training and home visits.
Adoption
Harvest of Hope became a Licensed Adoption Agency on Oct. 1, 2006. New Jersey is experiencing a growing need for adoptive homes for children who are considered hard to place, and are often not considered by prospective parents. These children are sometimes medically or emotionally fragile, have severe developmental delays, or are nine-years-old or older. Harvest of Hope has partnered with the state to meet the urgent need by recruiting, training and supporting families who will provide permanent homes for children. Recognizing the critical need for every child to achieve permanency, Harvest of Hope is taking on the challenge of recruiting “forever families” for these children. If you feel you can help, please contact spuleio@harvestofhopefamily.com or call (732) 247-5912.
