Kids Crossing Web Site Template

Kids Crossing, founded in 1992 by foster parents, is a Child Placement Agency that recruits, licenses and supervises foster and foster-adopt families for children like Jenny.

We seek to not only provide safe and nurturing homes to the children we serve, but to also work closely with biological families so our foster parents know just how their children want to be "tucked in" at night.

Whenever possible, we want children to be able to go back home or be placed permanently with a special family who can give them that "one-on-one" love that we all need.

Because of our passion and commitment of our foster parents, Kids Crossing has grown to become the largest child placement agency in Colorado. Although we have many licensed foster homes, from urban, suburban or rural settings and spanning the ethnic, cultural, and racial spectrum, there are still many children, like Jenny, needing to be placed in a home...

Imagine being separated from your brother and/or sister and not knowing when you are going to see them again! It is reality that sometimes siblings cannot stay together in foster care as there are not enough families who can take more than 1-2 children at a time. We are need families who are have at least 2 extra bedrooms in their home, room in their vehicle and above all, the ability to provide quality, nurturing foster care to more than one child at a time! We know this is a tough job and not for everyone. If you think this is an opportunity that you may be qualified for, please click here for more information! If so, we need families, like yours, to help us keep siblings together!

Kids Crossing is seeking highly committed and loving people to work with children, ages 0-18, for both short-term and long-term care. Having past experience within the health or human service profession is helpful, but not necessary. Since our children often experience distress and confusion about being removed from their homes, you must be patient, understanding, caring and understanding. Most of all you must be a good role model of what a healthy and happy family can be.

The application is only a part of the process! Here are the other requirements. All of the copies needed for you to complete will be provided in the application packet.

Length of process: The entire process takes approximately 4 months if you are highly motivated. For example, 60 days for background checks then after these are returned, the home study begins...which takes up to 45 additional days to be completed. We do not rush the process as we want to make the best possible decision in determining appropriateness of families-but do commit to the above time frames (unless outside circumstances). We feel that the best decisions for children are made carefully, over this 4 month time frame!

Cost: Kids Crossing is committed to keeping the cost of foster care licensing to a minimum. The only items you are required to pay for included the fingerprinting at a police station (usually between $5-$15) and CPR/First Aid certification (usually around $40). We cover everything else!

Background Checks: Fingerprint checks through the CBI/FBI check will need to be run for anyone living in the home over the age of 18. These background checks can take anywhere from 1-2 months. Check here if you have questions about your criminal background and whether it may be a problem. If you know if anything that may come up (this includes ANY arrests ANYWHERE in the US-not just convictions), please tell us up front.

County Check: A background check through the County Department of Human Services where you reside is also required, in addition to any county DHS agencies of past residences. This will indicate if there were any allegations of abuse/neglect, if there was an open child welfare case on your family or if you received food stamps, Medicaid and so on.

References: Three (3) letters of reference from people who are un-related to you. We will directly request these references using the SAFE Reference_form.

Physicals: Annual physical exams for everyone in your home indicating that individuals are "free of communicable diseases." Please use our medical form when asking your doctor to complete a form.

Pets: Proof of vaccination for your pets must be submitted. Exotic pets are not permitted.

Transportation: Primary caregiver must have a valid Colorado Drivers License, and current car insurance and have access to reliable transportation. You are responsible for all of the transportation for children which can be 3-4 times a week and typically you will not receive additional reimbursement for mileage.

Required Training: You, and anyone listed on your license with you, must attend the basic foster parent 12-hour CORE training which we provide. Please click here for our CORE training schedule. Also, you must earn an additional 15 credit hours of training after being licensed--So, 27 hours initial training is required. We offer many free trainings to help you reach these requirements. Click here for details.

Other items: House Rules, Evacuation Plan for the home (floor plan drawing with exits indicated), Family Picture.

Finances: Pleases note that in order to be licensed to provide foster care, you must be financially stable without foster care reimbursement. If you have prior bankruptcies, received financial assistance, have children on Medicaid, etc - please be prepared to discuss this in length.

Assessment of your Family: A SAFE home study will be completed by agency staff. The SAFE home study is a requirement of all foster and adoptive parents in the State of Colorado and is facilitated in a consistent, uniform manner as it can only be completed by individuals who have completed the SAFE training. The SAFE home study process is our way of getting to know you and your family over an extended period of time, with at least 3 home visits in your home. The first step in this home study process is Questionnaire I. To get a better idea of what some of the home study discussion will be about, please read through this Questionnaire. The home study process is the last step in becoming licensed and can take up to 45 days for completion. We wait for all of your background checks to be back prior to starting this process.

Physical Space: Your home must pass a safety inspection. This is also one of the last steps...so you have a lot of time to ensure your home is ready for children! We will ensure the bedrooms have adequate square footage, emergency numbers are posted, you have fire extinguishers/smoke detectors, have baby-proofed-if appropriate, and so on.

If you have been licensed with another agency and feel that you want to switch, we advise you to try to work things out with your current agency. Please communicate your concerns with your agency's director and give the agency a chance to respond. If you do not feel as though you are getting the response you would like, here are your options:

If you have foster children currently placed in your home, you can notify your current agency of your intent to change agencies. Once we have a copy of this notification, we can file an appeal for the transfer of license to occur. It will require documentation of the support of the caseworkers of the children placed in your home. After the appeal is granted, we can give you an application, start your FBI checks, etc... Only after everything is completed for your license, does the transfer occur. We will make this process as quick and painless as possible!

*Note: This appeal process was developed in order to support continuity of care for foster children. We will work closely with you and the caseworkers involved, ensuring your foster children remain in your home throughout this process.

If you do not have foster children currently placed in your home, you can resign from your current agency and fax, email or bring in proof of this resignation to our licensing department and we can immediately provide you with a Kids Crossing application. Make sure you provide us with copies of the items you have already completed: Ie. your physicals, pet records, CORE training certificate, et cetera. We will need to re-run your background checks. Once again, we will make this re-licensing process as quick as we can for you!

We can help facilitate adoptions for foster parents who wish to adopt. We offer no-fee adoptions. We cannot assist you with out-of-state or private adoptions. We can only help with adoptions if the child is in foster care in your home prior to the finalization of the adoption (typically for a minimum of 6 months). Unless you are interested in a child who is "free for adoption," meaning his/her parental rights have already been terminated, you must be willing to support reunification with biological parents. Many families who come to us with the intentions of adoption, do end up adopting. However, many children could be placed in your home who are reunited with their parents or relatives before a child is placed in your home who may become free for adoption.

If you are considering adoption and do not want to go through the risk of having foster children returned to their bio parents, we recommend you consider adopting older children, special needs children or sibling groups. To view waiting children in the State of Colorado, click here for the Adoption Exchange Web site. If you are interested in babies only, we recommend private or international adoption--as your chance for a baby is guaranteed through these types of agencies.

We would be happy to talk with you more about the adoption process. Please contact Amy at aharder@kidscrossing.com to make an appointment in Denver or contact Melissa at mparkowski@kidscrossing.com in Colorado Springs.

The licensing process for foster adopt parents is exactly the same as foster parents. We recommend you take the following classes offered by El Paso County Department of Human Services: Click here for adoption training opportunities. If you adopt a child through the Department of Human Services, Medicaid (covering Medical, Dental and Mental Health care) stays with the child until he/she turns 18 years of age. Medicaid is always secondary to your private insurance. Often, with children adopted through DHS who do have special (emotional/behavioral/etc) needs, a subsidy may be negotiated with the adoptive parents and available to the parents until the child is 18 years of age.

If you live in Denver or the surrounding area, call (303) 330-5083 to speak with Amy!

If you are unsure which office to call, simply email us at aharder@kidscrossing.com or call and ask for Amy at (877) 780-5437 (KIDS).