Step 1: Receive and Complete our Application Questionnaire
You may request a Questionnaire by contacting us at 832-204-6010 or completing the form below.
Step 2: Attend Loving Houston’s Orientation and Pre-Service Training Classes
Regardless of whether you are interested in fostering or adopting, we require each of our families to attend our Pre-Service classes, offered several times per year. For information about signing up for orientation and training, please email our Office Manager at office@lovinghouston.org. These mandatory classes are the first steps toward becoming a licensed foster/adopt home and will provide you with invaluable information on topics such as Infant Care, Recognizing and Reporting Abuse and Neglect, and Behavioral Interventions. This is also a chance for you to get to know who we are as a ministry and what our heart is for the city of Houston.
Step 3: Complete the Application Process
You will receive the remainder of Loving Houston Foster and Adoption Ministries’s application and paperwork packet at orientation after your initial questionnaire is reviewed. We must receive each completed form before you are qualified to participate in a Home Study. Take note: the paperwork typically takes 4-6 weeks to complete and includes references, fingerprints, and a fire inspection of your home in order to meet requirements of the Texas Health and Human Services Commission’s Minimum Standards for Child-Placing Agencies as well as LHFAM policies.
Step 4: Complete a Home Study
As soon as your questionnaire, supporting documents, and necessary inspections are completed, you will be assigned an LHFAM caseworker to conduct your Home Study. You will need to set aside at least 1-2 full days to work with our caseworker to complete your Home Study Interviews. The Home Study is a 5-7 hour long interviewing process, which is then turned into a 20-30 page report. Once your Home Study is written, edited, and approved, your family will be licensed to foster/adopt.
Step 5: Create a Life Book
Loving Houston Foster and Adoption Ministries requires each of our families to complete a “Life Book” of your family. These books will be presented to birth parents considering adoption and will give them a chance to get to know you and your family. More information about the contents of these books will be provided at Orientation.
Step 6: Maintain Your License
Once your Home Study is approved, you will officially be a licensed foster/adopt home. Regardless of whether or not a child has been placed in your home, you will need to maintain your license. This includes keeping your paperwork up to date, regular visits from your caseworker, and accumulating your mandatory in-service training hours. Ensuring that your home remains in compliance at all times is required for a child to be placed in your home. Your caseworker will walk alongside you and assist you in remaining licensed.
