North Shore Community Foster Care is a community-based program that provides temporary out-of-home care for children throughout Allegheny County from birth to 18 years old.  With the goal of reunifying children with their birth families, North Shore Community Foster Care is licensed by the PA Department of Public Welfare to recruit, train, and certify adults as foster parents.  (Click Here for 2009 Foster Parent TrainingDates.)

Birth families working with North Shore Community Foster Care receive support services facilitated by a reunification specialist who partners with them to find resources to help eradicate the reasons children are in foster care.  During an average year, 80 to 100 children are temporarily placed in over 50 certified foster homes. Since its inception in 1996, North Shore Community Foster Care has provided safe and nurturing foster homes for more than 900 children.

Knowledgeable staff and compassionate foster parents are instrumental in successfully reuniting children with birth families at a rate of approximately 65%.  When alternative child placement goals are determined by Juvenile Court, foster parents may have the option to choose from several permanency options such as adoption, long-term care, or guardianship.

Many North Shore foster parents choose to remain connected to children long after his or her 18th birthday as a resource for continued growth and development.  Many of these same youth return to Young Men and Women’s African Heritage Association (YMWAHA) for referral services, employment resources, and participation in a variety of activities sponsored by the organization.  Foster parents contribute to the growth and development of the children in their care on a daily basis.  Each foster parent makes a conscious decision to provide caring family environments while teaching children life-skills and providing an opportunity to establish lasting relationships and a lifelong sense of personal acceptance.

North Shore Community Foster Care is funded through a contract with Allegheny County Department of Human Services, Office of Children, Youth and Families.