Babysitting Collaborative…LIVE and in person!!!
Everyone doesn’t need to become a foster family but EVERY foster family NEEDS a verified babysitter…or two or three!
Becoming a verified babysitter for foster families is one of the most impactful ways you can serve children in foster care and foster families. Nationally, 50% of foster families quit in the first year resulting in children retraumatized as they move to a new foster home. One of the top reasons families quit is because they just don’t get a break when they need it. The strict state requirements for providing respite care (babysitting) for children in foster care have made the task of finding childcare nearly impossible for many foster families.
You can change that by attending this training, connecting with a foster family, and gifting them a night, day, or weekend of childcare.
How does it work?
Requirements: You must be 18 years old, legal resident, be able to pass a background check and willing to abide by all the state regulations (all explained in the training). The training is not faith-based and is open to all.
- Ask the foster family you plan to babysit for what agency they are with to ensure they are part of the Babysitting Collaborative. (1 Hope for Kids, A World for Children, Bair Foundation, Boysville, Children’s Shelter, Divinity Family Services, EmberHope, Families Especial, Pathways Youth and Family Services, Providence Place, SJRC, Therapeutic Family Life, and Upbring.)
- If you do not know a foster family, contact your church foster/adopt ministry or attend an Alliance hosted CONNECTED event where you can meet foster families that need a babysitter.
- Sign up
- Read the confirmation email thoroughly! (Most of your questions will be answered in this document)
- A paperwork guide will contact you and make sure you understand the paperwork and requirements.
- Before training day, fill out all accompanying paperwork.
- Set up your FBI fingerprinting and have it completed by training day if possible.
- Make a copy of all required documents and bring them to training.
- Finally, let all the foster parents you know that soon they will get a date night! (Don’t be surprised if they are stunned into silence or burst into tears of joy!)
What to expect the day of?
We will start at 9:00 AM sharp at First Baptist Church Boerne. Please arrive a few minutes early to get your folder, grab some coffee, and find a seat. We will begin with an overview, dive into trauma-informed care training, transportation training, and psychotropic meds training. We will provide lunch. After lunch, you will get certified in CPR/1st Aide. (if you are already certified and it does not expire in the next 12 months you are done at lunch!) For those in need of the TB test, those will happen throughout the training day and are free thanks to Communicare SA!
Lunch and t-shirt are provided.
Total out-of-pocket costs for certification will be approx. $60 ($45 FBI fingerprinting, and $15 event registration) Communicare is donating the TB test. And we are covering the cost of CPR/1st Aide for the first 20 registered. ($35 for all others)
Our staff and several agencies will be on hand to help you with the checkout process and ensure you have all the pieces completed.
If you have completed and submitted all paperwork, attended the training, are connected with a foster family, and get your TB test read you are officially verified and ready to start serving some amazing kids and their foster families.