Maine needs Resource Parents. What do they do?

In Maine, a resource parent is anyone licensed to foster or adopt a child. But it’s not always clear what resource families do. Most people assume that resource parents care for youth who have been removed from their biological family, and essentially that is true. However, there is much more to being a resource parent.

Maine’s primary goal after removing a child of any age from their parents’ care is to reunite them with their families, if it is safe to do so. If reunifying youth with their biological parents is not possible, preference is given to placing them in Kinship care, whether that be with a family member or someone the child knows well (for example, a close family friend). On average, 41% of Maine youth in care are placed with Kinship families.

And although reunification may sound like a simple process, it is often complicated and time-consuming. That’s where resource parents come in.

Youth need positive relationships including connections to their biological families, and resource parents play a pivotal role in fostering those connections. The support resource parents provide to biological parents may increase the likelihood of reunification.

“Resource parents have a unique opportunity when they have a child in reunification, to provide support not just for the child, but also for the parents involved,” explains Shannon Preston, Associate Director of Foster Care at A Family for ME. “I have seen this in action, and it can be an amazing thing!”

On a basic level, Preston says resource parents keep in touch with biological families about the child, sharing information, and providing encouragement to the parents—with the understanding that the best thing for the child is to return to their family if it is safe to do so.

“I have also seen resource families provide emotional support to parents, help them move into an apartment that can accommodate the children, donate items, et cetera,” Preston adds. “Some people really go above and beyond, that’s for sure!”

Resource parents also provide other forms of care. Respite care providers offer their home for a temporary stay (an overnight, a weekend, a week), supporting other resource families and creating additional caring relationships for youth. Experienced resource parents may provide therapeutic foster care for children with higher emotional or developmental needs.

In some cases, when children cannot be reunited with their biological families, resource parents may add youth to their family through adoption. In Maine, 70% of adoptions are by foster parents, which includes kin.

The goal of a resource parent is to care for the child and maintain connections to their biological family. Being a resource parent isn’t just helping a child, it is helping the whole family, while always maintaining the priority of the child’s safety and well-being.

Maine needs more resource parents for children in the process of reunification—especially for sibling groups and older youth. Please consider becoming a licensed resource parent. Hear a parent’s experience in the video above, and get started by visiting us at afamilyformemaine.org