Open Your Heart & Home - Foster a Child in Need
For children with intellectual and developmental disabilities who cannot live at home, the next best place for them to live is with a loving, caring family in an alternative home setting. The foster homes at RISE Services, Inc., known as Host Homes, offer a safe family setting for children and youth up to age 18.
We are currently seeking families of all backgrounds and cultures who are ready to open their hearts and homes to welcome a child or two into a stable home environment.
No Child Should Feel Alone - Oregon Kids Need You!
There are over 4,500 Oregon youth in foster care.
In 2023, RISE Host Homes had to turn away 77 children due to lack of open beds.
When homes are not available, youth are housed in temporary housing rather than with a family.
Rates of autism and intellectual disability among youth in foster care are 2-5x greater than the rates found in the general population.
Black youth and female youth have higher rates of involvement in foster care.
Why Foster through RISE?
- Positively impact a child or youth’s life
- Help create healthy family connections
- We encourage long-term placements
- You receive a dedicated Licensing Specialist to help you throughout the licensing process
- We provide in-depth foster parent training (trauma-informed and individualized caregiving courses)
- Collaborative services offered (behavior professional, support worker, 24 hour on-call support, etc.)
- Monthly check-ins and a Coordinator to provide ongoing support
- You receive monthly compensation as a contractor
The Right Host Home Match
RISE Host Homes believes that finding a home that matches child’s personality, needs, and goals is critical for long-term stability and success. We are committed to honest and thoughtful matches that benefit both family and child.
We also strongly support home visits and building on relationships with a child’s biological family, which will ultimately lead to reunification whenever possible. Our host home supports don’t end when the child leaves their host home and returns to their biological family. Often these supports can be transitioned to the child and their family when their time at the host home has ended.
You can impact a child’s life by using your heart, home, and skills to make a difference. Contact us today.
Take the Next Step
Testimonials
Dan & Jess
“RISE has a group of people that truly care about the work they do and the children and families they serve. They do a very thorough job...”
VIEW TESTIMONIALEric & Louanne
“What sets RISE Host Home program apart from other fostering agencies, is the care RISE puts into every placement. RISE lets the Host...”
VIEW TESTIMONIALWho Can Be a Host Home Foster Parent?
Traditional or nontraditional family
Renter or homeowner
With or without children
Any or no religious affiliation
MORE ABOUT OUR HOST HOMES
Host Home Licensing Process
Host Homes through RISE are licensed by the state of Oregon to provide a home to children with an intellectual or developmental disability from birth to 18 years of age. We actively recruit, train, and provide ongoing support to in-residence caregivers, helping them through the process of becoming licensed as a Host Home.
Our main goal is to make the licensing process as simple as possible and provide the tools needed to successfully operate a Host Home. Below is the roadmap to becoming a licensed Host Home provider.
Roadmap to Becoming a Host Home
The minimum requirements to becoming a Host Home include:
- Being 21 years of age or older.
- All adults in the home must have the ability to pass a background check.
- Own or rent adequate housing.
- Adequate space for a child in your home (private bedroom).
- Adequate income to be financially stable.
- Reliable transportation.
- Good physical and mental health.
- Ability to work as a team with RISE, the child’s family, and other service providers.
RISE proudly licenses single and two-parent households, and we never discriminate against an applicant’s race, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability.
Host Home Process
We offer guidance through the entire licensing process of becoming a Host Home with both RISE and the state of Oregon. Many people who apply to become a Host Home provider have thought about it for a long time and are eager to complete the process and have a child placed in their home. The process typically takes three to six months to complete, and RISE provides the support needed throughout the licensing process.
Steps to Licensing as a Host Home
- Complete the initial application.
- Attend a one-hour online orientation.
- Schedule a “qualifying home visit” with our Host Home Recruiter.
- Attend our 12-session evidence-based training known as Pressley Ridge.
- Complete additional online preservice training (estimated 25 hours).
- Attend our two-day Oregon Intervention Systems (OIS) training.
- Attend our half-day CPR/First Aid training.
- Complete and submit all required documentation.
Host Home Placement
RISE believes that finding the best match between Host Home families and the foster child is essential to successful placements. We conduct screenings of children in need of a home through a thoughtful, collaborative process with our Host Home families. Once a good match has been identified, the following supports are included:
- Weekly support provided by our Direct Support Professionals (DSPs).
- Professional behavior services.
- Respite opportunities.
- 24/7 on-call and emergency support.
- Monthly in-home support from a coordinator.
- On-going training.
Reporting
Per Senate Bill 710 requirements, quarterly reports that summarize data on the use of safeguarding interventions are submitted and maintained by RISE. These reports are available upon request by emailing Krista Smith at kristab@riseservicesinc.org or by calling our main office at 503-371-3001. Report data can also be accessed via the Office of Developmental Disability Services website.
