Foster Care Babysitting Training Certification

For this training, we DO NOT require you to have a foster family chosen to serve before registering for the training.

Here are some ways we suggest getting connected to a foster family –

1. Ask your local church leaders to see if there is a ministry or family in your community they can connect you to.
2. Reach out to an agency in our collaboration to see if they can connect you to a family in your area.
3. Check discussion boards, community events and your neighbors to see if there is a foster family in need.
4. Utilize your platforms like social media, parent groups or other groups you are a member of.

There are multiple costs involved to become a certified foster care sitter.

• Registration for the course is $30.
• Fingerprinting is $37 per person in the household.
• Thanks to our generous donors, Fostering Hope covers the cost of CPR/First Aid  for registered participants only.

If you anticipate watching a child in foster care at your home, every person 14 years or older in the home must be background checked. Anyone, 18 years and older, who anticipates being left alone with the foster child must have a background check AND go through the certification.

If your situation requires more than 2 background checks for your household and this becomes a financial barrier, please get reach out to us.

The list of requirements is available to download before you register. Please take a look and determine before you sign-up that you will be able to complete them. We will assist you throughout the process, however, please come prepared on a training day with all required paperwork.

Arrow, Angelheart, Circles of Care, CPS, Depelchin, Divinity Family Services, Giocosa, Helping Hand Home, Pathways, PCHAS, SAFE, Settlement Home, and Upbring.

If there is an agency you would like us to consider adding to our collaboration, please email us with their contact info. We will consider agencies that are a part of the Adoption Collaborative through Partnerships for Children OR the Travis County Collaborative for Children.

All the agencies within our collaboration have agreed on the same requirements. By selecting 3 agencies, you have the flexibility to serve a wide range of families but will allow you to not be overrun with requests. You can add additional agencies within a year upon request.

No. The training we provide is based on Trust-based Relational Intervention which is an evidence-based trauma-informed care training.

The expectation is that our participants choose to babysit as a service to foster families, not for income. It is up to the babysitter, foster family, and agency to decide if there will be compensation.

If your CPR/First Aid certification is less than 12 months old, then it is still valid. Please provide a copy of the certification for each agency you work with.