Foster care is temporary out-of-home care for children. Children who cannot be adequately cared for in their homes due to abuse, neglect or abandonment need foster care.
A foster parent receives a license to provide nurturing care, shelter, and the basic necessities of a child who cannot safely be cared for in their own home.
Child and Family Services (CFS) investigates reports of suspected child abuse and neglect and removes children from threatening situations.
A juvenile court judge decides if a child needs to be placed or remain in foster care.
The goal of foster care is to reunite a child with their biological family, whenever possible. A judge is the one that makes that determination as to when, or if, it is safe for a child to return home to their birth family.
Yes! There is an ongoing shortage of available families in every community. Many areas of Montana are in crisis, with very few families available to meet the local need.
Every foster family looks different! Foster parents can be established families, young married couples, empty-nesters, singles or grandparents.
For Montana’s state specific foster licensing requirements, please see this link:
The book Reframing Foster Care by Jason Johnson is an excellent resource that we highly recommend in the early stages of your foster care journey.
Trust-Based Relational Intervention® and the work of Dr. Karyn Purvis is the primary framework we use at Child Bridge to equip parents with tools to parent children who come from hard places. This methodology focuses on helping children heal through relationship with a trusted caregiver. The Connected Child book is an excellent starting place to learn how to connect with a child who has experienced trauma.
Yes. If a child’s birth parents’ parental rights are terminated by a judge, it means that the child will never be able to return to the care of their original family. In these kinds of situations, the child can be adopted. A child must be fostered for a minimum of six months by the prospective adoptive family prior to moving forward with the legal process to file for adoption.
Most adoptions from US foster care are free. The minimal costs that can be associated with them are often reimbursable. With this in mind, we have to note that foster care is not simply a cheaper route to adoption! See the question above about the goal of foster care or meet with one of our team members to learn more.
You do not need to own your own home, be wealthy, have children already, have a college degree, or be a stay-at-home parent to foster or adopt. However, you do need to demonstrate that you can support yourself without any additional income. When a child is in foster care, she will qualify for Medicaid, which will cover medical needs and checkups.
Child Bridge Inc is a 501(c)3 tax-exempt organization. Your donation is tax-deductible within the guidelines of U.S. law. To claim a donation as a deduction on your U.S. taxes, please keep the donation receipt(s) or annual tax statement for your records.
For electronic gifts, a receipt is sent to the email address provided during checkout. For cash or check gifts, a receipt is mailed to the address on your account. In late January, an annual tax statement that summarizes all gifts is mailed to the address on your account listing all gifts for the prior calendar year.
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Yes! You may be eligible to receive a 40% Montana Endowment Tax Credit for contributions up to $25,000 per individual. To learn more, contact donations@childbridgemontana.org. Or, if you would like to reach out directly to a Community Foundation, contact Lauren Wright with the Billings Community Foundation at 406-839-3334; Mitch Carroll with the Montana Community Foundation at 406-443-8313; or Daria Perez with the Whitefish Community Foundation at 406-863-1781.
Absolutely! When you make a legacy gift, you’ll continue to make an impact in the lives of children who have suffered so much even after you’re gone. Your vision and generosity demonstrates your commitment to the Child Bridge vision of “a family for every child.” Your gift deepens your commitment to improving the lives of children who have suffered abuse or neglect, now and in the future. Email donations@childbridgemontana.org to learn more.
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