CIUSSS de l'Ouest-de-l'Île-de-Montréal is in desperate need of English-speaking foster homes.
Every child deserves a warm bed and the love and support of a family. Unfortunately, there are English-speaking children in the larger Montreal community who are going without.
These children have suffered abuse, be it negligent parenting, rejection or physical or sexual abuse. They have been removed from their families and are in need of fostering, which is why the health authority CIUSSS de l’Ouest-de-l’Île-de-Montréal has launched a call for English-speaking foster homes.
“What we expect from a foster family is energy, time and love,” Marie Pierre Ulysse said.
Ulysse has been working with children in crisis for over 30 years. For the last seven years, she has been working as head of the CIUSSS de l’Ouest –de-l’Île –de-Montréal program which overseas matching children with foster families.
She said they are especially in need of foster homes in the English-speaking indigenous, black, southeast asian and Muslim communities in both the West Island and the eastern part of the island.
Fostering can last as briefly as two days or the entire childhood.
There are three different types of foster homes.
A proximity foster home is one where a family member such as a grandmother, or perhaps a close family friend, is willing to take the child in. This type of intake can be organized quickly, with a preliminary assessment. A more thorough assessment of the living situation follows.
The regular fostering process involves an information session for the potential foster family, a pre-selection assessment and a full-fledged assessment. Only then is a contract signed.
Ulysse said every effort is made to match a family with a parenting environment within which the child will thrive.
The third type of foster care is called “mixed bank”. The goal in this scenario is to give the child a forever home. Although there is a permanency to the plan, it remains a fostering situation, with an option to adopt well down the line.
In the mixed-bank scenario, a contract is only signed if the foster family agrees to such a plan.
Depending on the needs of the child, a foster family is paid somewhere between $1,500 and $1,800 per month, per child.
If the child is in need of specialized services, such as therapy for trauma or speech therapy, the CIUSSS makes sure the service is readily available through conventional avenues or, if the wait time is too long, it will pay for the service.
One of the biggest challenges Ulysse faces is keeping siblings together. At times it is necessary to separate the siblings in the short-term until a family becomes available with the necessary room and energy. Separating siblings is wrenching. They are already dealing with the stress of being removed from what is familiar.
Each child is assigned a social worker and each family is assigned a social worker. The two workers offer support throughout the process, with frequent follow-ups on the early months to make sure the child’s needs are being met.
Over the decades Ulysse has experienced both the highs and lows of the foster system.
The other side of the coin happens when the CIUSSS brings a child into the fold who has been traumatized for years, without support.
If it becomes clear that a child is not able to adapt to the fostering, he or she will be removed from the home and placed in a residence.
To find out more about fostering a child, call 514-989-1885, ext. 1139.