Departments

Human Services

Children and Youth Social Services Agency

Children and Youth Foster Parent Information

Agency Informational Meeting being held for those interested in Foster Parent and/or Volunteer at these local libraries: Pennwood Branch Library 301 S. Pine Street Langhorne, 19047: 5/13, 6/10 Perkasie Branch Library 491 Arthur Ave. Perkasie, 18944: 5/6, 6/3 Margaret R. Grundy Library 680 Radcliffe St. Bristol, 19007: 5/7 Yardley-Makefield Library 1080 Edgewood Rd. Yardley, 19067: 5/14, 6/11 Bensalem Library 3700 Hulmeville Rd. Bensalem, 19020: 5/28, 6/25 Levittown Library 7311 New Falls Rd. Levittown, 19055: 5/20, 6/18 Doylestown Library 150 S. Pine St. Doylestown, 18901: 5/15, 6/19 Quakertown Library 401 W. Mill St. Quakertown, 18951: 5/8, 6/12 All sessions will run from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. To become a foster parent or volunteer you must attend an Informational meeting before training. If you would like to request more information on becoming a foster parent, or if you would like to set up an in-home orientation, please email your name, address and phone number to Roxanne Watkins-Hall at rwatkinshall@co.bucks.pa.us or call 215-348-6997.

Be A Foster Parent

Share your love with a child

For every challenge there is a reward

And foster parenting has some very compelling rewards:

• You play a major role in helping a child in his/her family in time of need
• You give love and guidance to a child and his/her family
• You contribute directly to a child's growth and success
• You help the community as a responsible and caring citizen

Whether for a short time or an extended period, foster family care gives the child's own family the opportunity to direct their energies to issues that affect their ability to care for their child.

Watch the Comcast Newsmakers special on Foster Parent/ Volunteer Recruitment, focusing on teens and siblings, with Roxanne Watkins-Hall from February 7, 2013

Foster Parenting is the Ultimate Challenge
It is welcoming a child into your home and preparing the child to eventually return to his/her own family.

Children who need foster care families come from all backgrounds.

They include infants and adolescents of all races and religions. Often they come in sibling groups, that is, with their brothers and sisters. These children have a multitude of needs. Reasons for separating them from their family include:

• Neglect or abandonment
• Severe parent-child conflict
• Physical or sexual abuse
• Physical/mental illness of a parent
• Incarceration of a parent
• Homelessness
• The child's emotional or behavioral needs are not being met by the parent
• Parental dependency on drugs and/or alcohol

You can make a difference
Foster families receive support for the foster child:

• Financial support
• Medical assistance
• Training
• Caseworker services
• Free membership in the Bucks County Foster Parent Association

Change the course in a young person's life and consider becoming a foster parent for youth ages 12 and up. Of the 370 children and youth in the custody of the Bucks County Children & Youth Social Services Agency, one-third of them are placed outside of the County of Bucks.  The agency is working vigorously to keep Bucks County youth in Bucks County.  To that end, the Bucks County Children & Youth Social Services Agency is actively seeking Bucks County residents to provide a foster/resource family connection for one or more of these young individuals, in particular youth ages 12 and up.   Adolescents, who are unable to stay in the physical custody of their legal parents, do best when placed in a family home rather than a group or institutional setting.  By staying in their own community, they can continue to maintain close contact with family and friends, and possibly attend their same school. Rewards of foster parenting this age group include a sense of accomplishment, preparing an adolescent for independence, helping youth feel good about themselves and an opportunity to make a difference in the life of a youth. Click here for additional information.

The Bucks County Children & Youth Social Services Agency provides child protection services to children and families and foster care for children whose families are unable to care for them.

Bucks County Children & Youth foster families provide care for children who live in Bucks County. Foster homes are needed where the children can identify culturally and ethnically with their caregivers. The children are counting on you. You CAN make a difference.

Be a BCCYSSA Foster Parent
Toll-Free resource number:	888-942-8257
Information on Foster Parenting or Volunteering:	215-348-6997
Business Hours:	Monday - Friday 8:30 am - 4:30 pm * Request to speak to Intake Service at extension 6950 or to your social worker

 

The Agency with the official regulatory responsibility for ensuring the safety and well-being of children in Bucks County