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If you are interested in learning more about foster care, please complete the Foster Care Information Form and someone will contact you.
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Community Based Foster Care Program
Children enter foster care through no fault of their own. Just as each child is unique, so is their situation and experience. As a foster family, your home, the physical care you provide, and the relationship and emotional support that you offer will be unique. However, all foster families have one thing in common – they all offer support to children when they need it most.
Age of Children: While the age of children placed in our foster homes range from newborns to teenagers, most of them are age six and younger. One third are medically fragile infants — born prematurely, with addictions, and other challenges. We are humbled and honored to provide safe, loving homes for these children.
Length of Care: The primary goal is to provide foster care for children while their families resolve their challenges and can be safely reunited with their children. Foster parents supplement rather than substitute for biological parents. Although foster parents care for children independently day-today, they partner with and are supported by others who are involved in the child’s case plan. The length of stay depends on the needs of the child and the parent’s participation in the case plan, typically 9-12 months. However, when parents are unable or unwilling to care for their child, or if the child is an orphan, the child can become free for guardianship and/or adoption.
Need for Foster Care Families: Since launching our foster care program in 2009, we have been unable to place hundreds of children due to a lack of foster care families. If you live in Western North Carolina and would like to learn more about becoming a foster family, simply contact our Foster Care team at 828-686-3451 or by email at [email protected]. You can also visit our blog at www.bmhfostercare.com.
We are in need of families and individuals to foster children of all age groups and are in special need of those willing to care for sibling groups. Separating siblings in foster care adds to their emotional burden. These children have already had to cope with the loss and separation from their parents, and if they are separated from their siblings they go through the grieving process all over again. For many of these children it will be even more traumatic because, if they have experienced abuse and/or neglect at the hand of their parents, they will often have stronger ties to each other than to their mother or father. This is why our agency is committed to keeping sibling groups together.
“A hundred years from now it will not matter what my bank account was, the sort of house I lived in, or the kind of car I drove… but the world may be different because I was important in the life of a child.”
Click here for a NC foster care orientation video.
If you live in Western North Carolina and would like to learn more about becoming a foster family, simply contact our Foster Care team at 828-686-3451 or by email at [email protected].
Are you an agency making a referral?
Fill out our Intake Application and email to SRuble@ blackmountainhome.org or fax to (828) 686-7797. Black Mountain Home for Children takes the standard board rates as payment.
Black Mountain Home has been working with children and families in Western North Carolina for more than 100 years.
To Watch Live Interview with Foster Care Parents Click Here
FAQs about Foster Care at Black Mountain Home
What type of Foster Care is provided through BMH?
1. Family Foster Care: Care provided for a child while their parents work with a social worker to resolve the family issues that caused the child to be removed from the home. The length of time varies with each case.
2. Respite Foster Care: Care is provided for a child in order to give a break to current foster parents, or, if needed, during transitions of placement.
How does a child come into Foster Care?
A child may be placed in foster care voluntarily at the request of his or her parents or legal guardian or involuntarily, by order of the court. The court may order that the child be placed in the care of an agency if it finds that the child has been abused or neglected or is at risk of such harm, or when a child’s behavior is beyond the control of those responsible for his or her care. A child may also be removed from his or her home by a child-protective agency because of an emergency or safety issue in the home.
Where do the children come from?
Black Mountain Home works with many different county departments of social services including: Buncombe, Burke, Haywood, Henderson, Jackson, Macon, Madison, McDowell, Mitchell, Rutherford, Swain, Transylvania, Yancey and other counties throughout Western North Carolina.
How long does a child stay in foster care?
The length of stay depends on the needs of the child and the parent’s participation in the case plan, typically 9-12 months.
Do I get to choose the children that come into my home?
These children have already suffered serious disruption from being removed from their homes. Every attempt is made to initially match a child to a family who is able to meet the child’s specific needs and prevent disruption.
Can foster parents adopt children?
While the law mandates that DSS makes every effort to reunify the family, some children will become available for adoption.
What are the basic qualifications of becoming a foster parent?
• At least 21 years of age
• Stable income
• Additional bedroom for child
• Single or married
• Commitment to caring for children coming from difficult backgrounds
What are the requirements to be licensed?
• Fire and Home inspection
• Home Study through BMH
• Local and Federal criminal record checks
• Completed 30 hours of training through BMH
Will I work with the child’s parent(s)?
The state of North Carolina and BMH strongly encourage the relationship between foster parents and birth parents. One way foster parents can help is by working in partnership with the child’s birth parents. When children see harmony among the adults in their lives, it contributes to their own sense of well being and safety.
What kind of financial help is available?
Black Mountain Home will provide monthly payments to foster parents to help meet the child’s basic needs for food, shelter, and education. Children in care are eligible for free lunch, day care vouchers, and state medical care.
What makes Black Mountain Home for children different from other family foster care agencies?
• Access to our 24/7 on call services
• Ongoing training available to meet 20 hour CEU requirement
• Opportunities for youth to be involved in campus Youth Leadership Team and retreats, which can also open the door to other campus activities
• If needed, access to campus resources including study hall, tutoring, and other educational supports
• Rather than at-risk, we see our children as children at promise.
What are the required trainings and when are they offered?
We offer two trainings, both of which fulfill the NC Licensing requirement.
• GPS MAPP Training– This group class is offered multiple times throughout the year. Sessions are held in the evenings, 3 hours per week for 10 weeks.
• Deciding Together – This individual family class is offered on a continuous basis and is scheduled based on the needs of the family. The class is 7 weeks, with 2-3 hour sessions per week.
What is the content of the trainings?
The trainings provides an opportunity to decide whether fostering is a good fit for you and your family. Topics include an overview of the child welfare system, how children come into care, the role of the foster parent, and other information related to meeting the needs of children.
Does the training automatically commit me to becoming a licensed foster parent?
No. Those who choose to “opt out” can do so at any time during or after the training. Those who which to become foster parents will complete additional licensing requirements, including a home visit.
Can I train with another agency and then decide to become a foster parent through BMH?
This is acceptable, but not recommended. The training program provides an opportunity for our team to get to know you and your family, which helps us more successfully match you with children.
Fostering Perspectives
“As a single person I always thought fostering was something i would do when I was married. And I also hesitated because I thought it would be hard to hear children’s stories and then possibly see them returned to difficult situations. But, after I moved I was living here in this house, by myself, and thought, maybe that was something i needed to consider. I did consider it and prayed about it. And then I took the class offered at the Black Mountain Home. I kept telling God He could stop me at any point. But He never did. Now I’m fostering my first child. I left one Tuesday morning, and came back Tuesday afternoon to a kid in my house. It’s been quite an adventure. God’s been stretching me and teaching me a lot – about loving unconditionally. And I’m learning not to push, but be open so that she can talk about whatever she feels the need to talk about.” -45 Single Foster Mom