• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
SOS Children’s Villages Illinois

SOS Children’s Villages Illinois

Donate Today
  • About Us
    • Who We Are
    • Careers & Internships
    • Volunteer
    • Contact
  • Our Impact
    • The SOS Illinois Difference
    • Success Stories
  • Foster Parenting
    • Becoming a Foster Parent
    • Foster Parent Questionnaire
    • Spanish Bilingual Foster Parent Questionnaire
    • Start or Finish an Application
  • Giving
    • Ways to Give
    • Welcome to the Roosevelt Square Community Center
    • Holiday Giving Program
    • Evening of Hope
  • Blog & Media

Advocacy & Awareness, Parenting & Village Life

The Benefits and Costs of Being a Foster Parent

Smiling child holding hands with caring adult

It takes a unique and special individual to become a successful foster parent, whether at SOS Children’s Villages Illinois or another agency. For those who may be curious about becoming a Foster Parent in our community, it’s good to know what’s involved from the very beginning. The model of care at SOS Children’s Villages Illinois offers a unique approach to foster care and the benefits far outweigh any costs.

The SOS Illinois model trains and employs full-time, professional Foster Parents. Individuals, domestic partners, or married couples live in single-family homes with up to six children in one of three villages. It’s a vocation with no shortage of benefits.

Benefit #1

SOS Illinois Foster Parents Get to Transform Lives

First and foremost, SOS Illinois Foster Parents benefit from the amazing opportunity to make a difference in the lives of children. To change the trajectory of a child’s life from negative to positive; from unstable to stable is a tremendous gift. Foster Parents at SOS Illinois make it possible for a child and sibling group to have a promising future. They have the ability to change lives. It’s hard to imagine a greater benefit.

Benefit #2

SOS Illinois Foster Parents Have a Chance to Help Build Healthy Brains

We all want to be loved. It’s considered a basic human need. In fact, there’s scientific evidence that humans are hard-wired to give and receive love. Research has proven that when babies and children are deprived of love, which is considered a form of neglect in the scientific community, it actually changes the shape of their brain as it develops. Foster Parents at SOS Illinois have the benefit of sharing love with children who deserve and need it.

Benefit #3

SOS Illinois Foster Parents Get the Opportunity to Make Dreams Come True

Children and youth in foster care have hopes and dreams and goals, just like everyone else. But it’s difficult to focus on dreams when there’s constant upheaval and chaos in your life. It’s nearly impossible to have hope when you have no stability or security. Children live in single-family homes in a village setting with their siblings and/or other children and Foster Parents at SOS Illinois, which provides them with a stable and secure environment, maybe for the first time. SOS Illinois Foster Parents have a chance to create a stable home life to make room for hopes and dreams.

Benefit #4

SOS Illinois Foster Parents Get to Build and Strengthen Families

The SOS Illinois model strives to keep siblings together, which research has shown has a significant positive impact on the lives of children and youth in foster care. SOS Illinois Foster Parents get to share their parenting skills to build and reinforce strong family connections for siblings and any children who are members of an SOS Illinois family.

Benefit #5

SOS Illinois Foster Parents Receive Professional Training and Support

Foster Parents at SOS Illinois are provided with ongoing professional development through an educational and training program called SOS University, as well as through other professionals in the Village communities and on-call Relief Parents, who provide much-needed and well-deserved relief time for our Foster Parents.

Benefit #6

SOS Illinois Foster Parents Have Access to Personal Resources

SOS Illinois Foster Parents are required to relocate to one of its single-family, private homes within one of its Villages, so housing is provided. There are also several other personal benefits including:

  • An annual salary
  • Health and dental insurance
  • Contributions to a 403B retirement plan after one year of service
  • Housing, including utilities
  • Use of an SOS Illinois vehicle
  • A household budget for food and other expenses for the children in their home

What does it cost to be an SOS Illinois Foster Parent? Love, dedication, passion, and stamina. Learn more from Mickey Haldeman, one SOS Illinois’ longest serving Foster Parents, as she shares her experience. Without question, the benefits far outweigh the costs. If you’re willing to pay the price and reap the benefits of being an SOS Illinois Foster Parent, we would love to hear from you.

Want to support SOS Illinois in other ways? You can donate to help our innovative approach to foster care by making a gift today or joining our monthly giving program, Dream Makers, to ensure we have the resources we need all year long to provide top-notch programs and services to siblings in foster care and at-risk families.

< Previous
Next >

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Twitter

SOS IllinoisFollow

SOS Illinois
sosillinoisSOS Illinois@sosillinois·
19h

We've embarked on an educational campagin about the #COVID19 #vaccine. In our open forum discussions with staff, many have shared their feelings & fears, and others their reasons for wanting to get the vaccine. At the heart of it, we all are humans figuring it out.

Reply on Twitter 1351640181477158919Retweet on Twitter 1351640181477158919Like on Twitter 1351640181477158919Twitter 1351640181477158919
sosillinoisSOS Illinois@sosillinois·
18 Jan

"If one group of people’s lives are treated with the virus of injustice, cruelty, and repression, then none of our lives can matter." To read our CEO's full #martinlutherking reflection, click here https://buff.ly/3qvV1Yt

Reply on Twitter 1351180727157710850Retweet on Twitter 1351180727157710850Like on Twitter 1351180727157710850Twitter 1351180727157710850
sosillinoisSOS Illinois@sosillinois·
17 Jan

So many thanks to @EsperanzaHealth at its Brighton Park location for helping SOS Illinois get its first doses of the #Covid19 #vaccine for our amazing team of essential workers. #VaccinesSaveLives

2
Reply on Twitter 1350614045259407360Retweet on Twitter 13506140452594073601Like on Twitter 13506140452594073603Twitter 1350614045259407360
sosillinoisSOS Illinois@sosillinois·
15 Jan

In the spirit of our #mlkdayofservice, we share the SOS Illinois Racial Justice Committee project - "Family Togetherness Bags" - created for biological parents and children in foster care. Read more about our efforts to build a better tomorrow. https://buff.ly/3ifajxQ

Reply on Twitter 1350150666224857088Retweet on Twitter 1350150666224857088Like on Twitter 1350150666224857088Twitter 1350150666224857088
Load More...

Get Engaged

Help us celebrate our 30th Anniversary in 2020 by sharing a memory, word of wisdom, or affirmation with SOS Children's Villages Illinois!

Footer

Learn About Us

  • About SOS Illinois
  • Our People
  • Our Villages
  • Our Impact
  • Client Services
  • FAQ’s
Visit SOS Children's Illinois InstagramVisit SOS Children's Illinois FacebookVisit SOS Children's Illinois TwitterVisit SOS Children's Illinois LinkedinVisit SOS Children's Illinois YoutubeVisit SOS Children's Illinois Pinterest

Donate

  • Giving
  • Become a Dream Maker
  • Events
  • Where Funds Go
  • Corporate Partners
  • Community Center Project
  • Holiday Giving Program

Change the Future

  • Work With Us
  • Become a Foster Parent
  • Careers & Internships
  • Volunteer
  • Staff Portal

Blog & Media

  • Our Stories
  • Success Stories
  • Resources
  • Contact

Copyright © 2021 by SOS Children’s Villages Illinois, Designed By ArtVersion

Privacy Policy

info@sosillinois.org

Registered 501(c)(3). EIN Tax ID: 36-3599110