Foster Care


Bethany provides short-term temporary foster care for newborns while their birthparents make their final decision concerning adoption or parenting. Providing this care is an incredible way in which a family can take an active part in supporting parents who have chosen life for their child. In addition to providing lots of love and attention, foster parents are involved in transporting the infants for visits, taking pictures, following up with medical care and keeping a record of their progress while in care.

Foster families love and nurture a baby as their own, while realizing their care-taking is temporary. The average stay of a baby is one week to two months. Such an important task requires much love, flexibility and willingness to work with birthfamilies as well as adoptive families during this transition time in an infant's life.

Bethany actively recruits families to provide care for infants and welcomes the opportunity to speak to families about their interest in this program. The following are thoughts from an actual Bethany foster mom.

What It Means to Be A Foster Parent...
It means you will be one of the first people to meet a brand new person,
your baby's discharge time will probably be postponed - twice,
your baby is the most beautiful baby ever!!
your baby develops acne, eczema, or some more exotic skin rash; but that's okay, because you've probably dealt with rashes a dozen times before,
you see your baby's first smile,
you see that smile at 3 am, after the baby has been up for two hours,
strangers will openly admire your baby in public,
your baby will probably lose her umbilical cord - in public,
your home will be brightened by your baby's presence,
your home will smell vaguely of dirty diapers,
changing that first diaper (they always hate that),
changing your sheets at 6-am (don't you just hate projectile vomiting!!?!!),
and rejoicing with brand new adoptive parents.

By Donna Maxwell - Foster Mom

Please contact the Bethany office in Atlanta to speak to our Foster Care specialist to learn how you can be involved in our ministry to birthparents and children.

State Foster Care
Bethany Christian Services in Georgia provides long term foster care services for children who are in the custody of the state of Georgia Department of Human Services, Division of Family and Children Services. Becoming an approved foster parent with Bethany creates an opportunity for families to take children who have been abused and or neglected into their homes and provide a loving and nurturing environment to stimulate the healthy recovery of these children preparatory to reunification with birth family. Birth family reunification occurs after problems in the home that necessitated removal have been resolved through provision of services to the family. Foster children may remain in foster homes for any length of time ranging from days, to months, to years, depending on the goals for the birth family as well as birth family circumstances. Decision on length of stay in foster care rests on the courts and the Division of Family and Children Services. Nonetheless, the ultimate goal of foster care is to achieve permanency for the child through re-unification with biological parents and if this fails, through kinship care or adoption.

Persons interested in becoming foster parents through Bethany must go through a foster parent certification process and should be able to demonstrate stability and maturity in their lives. Couples or single adults who have additional space and time for children, who are committed to providing a loving, stable, structured and nurturing environment are approved to become foster parents. Foster care is funded through title IVE. The state provides a per night rate to assist in the daily care of each foster child as well as a Medicaid card to cover the child’s medical and dental needs.