Life doesn’t come with a manual.

Whether we’ve made or heard a version of this joke, many of us have experienced moments we wished such a manual existed. The topic of being foster parent could fill a few chapters by itself.

Even without a mythical guidebook, success stories and examples, research and statistics, and tips and tools from child welfare agencies have been developed to help foster parents and resource families meet the challenges they face every day. Finding that information, however, can be difficult and trusting it can be scary.

Child Welfare Information Gateway,

https://www.childwelfare.gov, is the single and best source of accurate and timely information covering all aspects of child welfare, foster care, and adoption. Information Gateway is a free service of the Children’s Bureau, the agency within the Federal government responsible for assisting child welfare systems to improve the safety, permanency and well-being of children, youth and families. Resources are developed and reviewed by child welfare and foster care experts and available from the Information Gateway website:

• The Resources for Foster Families section provides tips and guidance on becoming a foster parent, parenting children in foster care, and how to work with birth parents.

• The National Foster Care and Adoption Directory lets parents and others search for support groups, foster care and adoption agencies, and contact information.

• Information Gateway also offers the National Foster Care Month website, a year-round source dedicated to creating awareness and providing information to support everyone, including foster parents and caregivers, youth and communities with a connection to foster care.

NFPA partners with Information Gateway to help plan and develop the National Foster Care Month website, and review and provide resources for Information Gateway to distribute. Information Gateway also participates and exhibits in NFPA’s annual convention. For more information, contact info@childwelfare.gov, or call 1.800.394.3366.