Do you want to help a child or youth who needs a home?
If you would like to help give a child or youth the support, stability, nurturing they need, with the help of a team, then fostering may be for you. We need foster families in New Brunswick. Fostering children and youth can bring immense satisfaction and joy to your life. It can give a child or youth opportunities to flourish and develop to their fullest potential.
What is foster care?
Foster care provides a caring home for children and youth who can’t live with their own parents. Children and youth need foster care for many different reasons. Often, it is because their parents are not able to keep them safe.
Children and youth may be any age, from babies up to 19 years old. They come from different cultural backgrounds. Often, they have experienced trauma because of abuse, neglect, and loss.
Like all children and youth, each has their own unique personality, interests, and potential. They need a stable, nurturing environment where they feel safe, loved, and supported when given opportunities to thrive.
Ways you can help children and youth
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Kinship is when a relative or someone with a close relationship to a child/youth cares for them (temporarily or permanently) when their parent(s) cannot. Examples of kinship caregivers are grandparents, aunts, uncles, siblings, godparents, friends, teachers, neighbours, coaches, etc. If you are considering kinship care visit the Kinship Care page for more information.
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A foster home is when an individual or family provides full-time care for a foster child/youth. Fostering focuses on providing a safe, temporary home while working toward the best long-term solution for the child or youth.
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Respite or relief care is when an individual or family provides short-term care for a foster child/youth such as on weekends or holidays. Visit the Supporting Caregivers, Children and Youth Through Respite/Relief Care page for more information and to apply.
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Adoption is when an individual or family permanently and legally adopts a child/youth. There are multiple types of adoption, each with their own application process. Visit the Adopting a Child or Youth page for more information and to apply.
Fostering or adoption: which is right for me?
While fostering and adoption share the same goal of helping children and youth, they are different. Adoption is a lifelong commitment and a permanent parent-child/youth relationship. Fostering is usually short-term and provides a safe, temporary home with care and support.
Research has shown that children and youth do best when they grow up with people they know and who love them. The best interest of the child or youth is our top priority.
If your main goal is to adopt a child or youth, please make this clear during your application and assessment. Fostering is not a quicker path to adoption. While a foster parent may be the best long-term option, the priority is always what is best for the child or youth.
Your role as a foster parent
Foster families open their homes and hearts to children and youth in need of care. This is both rewarding and challenging. Giving back to these children and youth is an investment in all our futures.
Foster parents work closely with the child or youth's social worker and other people (including the parents, counsellor, teacher, doctor, etc.) to help a child and their family’s unique needs. Foster parents help the child/youth connect with community and develop their specific interests such as art, sports, music, and supporting them in their growth and development.
A foster parent offers a safe place for children or youth who have had a really hard time. Research shows that maintaining relationships with birth parents can help children and youth grow into healthier adults. Children and youth in foster care need caregivers who are:
- accepting of their higher needs and understand a child’s worries about living with another family
- patient in working with a child/youth who may be very active or withdrawn
- support in maintaining the child/youth’s family relationships and potential return to their family home.
Foster parents must also be:
- able to work with children and adolescents living with significant emotional and behavioral needs
- able to help youth develop skills for the greatest opportunities as adults
- able to support and respect the child/youth’s cultural, diverse background
- able to work as a team member seeking the best interest of the child/youth.
Would you like to help a child or youth in need of care, but are unable to help full-time?
Respite or relief care is when trained individuals or couples provide short-term care for children or youth in need. Care is intended to be scheduled and flexible, such as on weekends and holidays. It can also be offered during emergencies or times of crisis.
To learn more, visit the Supporting Caregivers, Children and Youth Through Respite/Relief Care page.
Do you want to learn more about fostering?If you are interested in attending a virtual information session to learn more about fostering, please register by sending an e-mail to: To help us direct your email, please be sure to include your name and which area of the province you live in. Our next virtual information session (via Zoom) in English is scheduled for March 18th at 7pm (duration of one hour). Our next virtual session in French is scheduled for March 17th at 7pm (duration of one hour). This presentation will provide a general overview, and there is no commitment necessary to participate. |
Don’t rule yourself out. Children and youth have different needs, experiences, and interests. We are looking for caring people with diverse backgrounds. You don’t have to be married, wealthy, or have a specific educational background to become a foster parent.
Our top priority is to find safe and caring homes for children and youth.
You may be eligible to foster a child or youth if you:
- Are 19 years of age or older (professional care homes require you to be 21),
- Are a Canadian citizen or permanent resident,
- You are a Canadian citizen if you were born in Canada or granted Canadian citizenship. Depending on the circumstances, it is possible that someone born outside of Canada may also be a Canadian citizen. Visit the Government of Canada’s website for more information on Canadian Citizenship.
- A permanent resident is someone who has been given permanent resident status by immigrating to Canada, but is not a Canadian citizen.
- Live in New Brunswick. If you are applying as a couple, the primary applicant must be living in New Brunswick.
- Primary applicant – The main person/contact who will be applying to become a foster family.
- Have a living space that provides a secure and healthy environment for children/ youth, and
- Complete the application, training, and review process.
Apply Online
Applying online to become a foster family is the quickest and easiest way to apply.
To get started with your fostering application online, click the Start now button at the bottom of the page.
You will be asked a series of questions to help you decide if you should apply. This will take approximately 5-10 minutes to complete. If it looks like fostering may be a good fit for you, you will be prompted to create an account or login to the Community Care NB portal (CCNB).
This new and secure feature allows you to apply online, safely upload documents, save your progress, and access important resources/information. As a foster parent, you will use the portal for things like submitting expenses and communicating with Social Development.
If you already have an account:
Click the login button at the top right of the page. Enter your log in information in the fields provided and click Log in button to proceed.
If you do NOT have an account:
To create a new account, enter your first name, last name, and email in the fields provided.
When you are done, click the Create an account button to proceed.
Once you have successfully logged in or created an account, we will ask you to provide more information about yourself and any other people living in your household.
Complete your application at your own convenience.
Online applications are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The ability to save your progress makes it easy to pause and resume your application as needed.
Other ways I can apply
Download a copy
If you prefer, you can download and/or print an application.
Request a printed copy
If you would like to receive a hard copy of the application package by mail, please contact fosterfamilies_famillesdaccueil@gnb.ca or call 2-1-1.
Email your completed application form and supporting documents to fosterfamilies_famillesdaccueil@gnb.ca or mail to:
Foster
551 King St.
Sartain MacDonald Building
PO Box 6000
Fredericton, NB
E3B 1E7
Please allow for extra processing time if you mail your application.
What happens after I apply?
Once your application has been submitted, it will be reviewed.
If additional information or documentation is required to complete your application, a team member will contact you by email or phone to provide further instructions.
After all required information has been submitted and reviewed, you will be contacted by someone from the department to discuss your interest and review the next steps in the process.
Get help with your application
Get help with your online application by emailing: socialsupportsnb@gnb.ca.
If you have questions about your application or would like to speak with someone about fostering or adoption, email adoption@gnb.ca / fosterfamilies_famillesdaccueil@gnb.ca.
To complete your application, you must be willing to:
Share personal information (ex: relationship status, name(s), gender, date of birth, etc.),
Share financial and medical information,
Provide all the supporting documents required by Social Development at any time in the process,
Authorize a Social Development record check,
- Social Development record checks allow the department to check their records to see if you were involved or mentioned in any reported, investigated, or confirmed cases of abuse/neglect involving a child, youth, senior, or person with a disability.
Participate in a family assessment,
Participate in PRIDE (Parent Resources for Information, Development and Education) Virtual Training (required for all applicants)
Provide names and contact details of three references, and
Provide a Criminal and Vulnerable Sector Record Check (for all adults 19 years of age or older living in the household, and any immediate family members with a criminal history).
- A Criminal and Vulnerable Sector Record Check, is a special kind of background check done by the police. This check is done to make sure that people who want certain jobs or responsibilities are safe and trustworthy.
- Criminality Checks will look at your criminal history to see if you have done something against the law in the past.
- Vulnerability Checks help identify people who may pose a risk to the safety of vulnerable groups (ex: children or youth, seniors, people living with a disability, etc.).
Help us improve!Estimated time to complete survey: 2 minutes Your journey to adopt or foster is important to us, and we'd love to hear about your application experience. Whether you applied online or by paper, whether it happened recently or in the past, your feedback helps us improve the experience for future families. |