In 1976, STAR House (St. Andrew’s Residence for Boys) was founded by an outreach group from St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church in Saratoga, California. STAR House has since become a nonprofit agency made up of three residential care facilities ages 10 up to 18, and provides counseling and care for abused, neglected, and troubled youth. The goals and objects of the program have been to provide a loving and nurturing environment, along with friendship, positive direction and rehabilitation.
 
In 1993, STAR House began a new program, STAR Foster Family Agency (STAR FFA). We expanded our services to include children from infancy to 18 years of agee. The purpose of this foster family agency is to provide for the care, supervision and well-being of children placed, including ongoing skills training and therapeutic services. These services are provided through the enlistment of trained foster parents in certified STAR Foster Family Homes. STAR FFA works together with these foster families to provide a safe and nurturing environment for both boys and girls who have special needs. The agency provides on going training for foster parents, including on going casework and therapeutic services for foster children and their families for reunification purposes.
 
The Foster Family Agency places both boys and girls from birth to age 17. Most have special needs and require special services, and the majority come from troubled backgrounds where they may have experienced neglect, sexual and/or physical abuse. Some may have backgrounds of gang involvement, as well as drug and alcohol use. The agency needs foster parents who are willing to make a commitment to help these children make a change in their lives. We will not place children who have a history of violent crime.  
As these children, through no fault of their own, have often experienced abuse and neglect, they may exhibit challenging behaviors. STAR FFA will train our foster parents in the techniques that enable them to be effective with a child in overcoming those issues.
 

Foster families are role models, teaching positive behaviors and healthy interactions. Children are provided with a sense of direction, consistency, and understanding.

First and foremost, the focus of the STAR FFA and the foster parents is the safety and well-being of the child. Under the direction of a highly qualified, professional team of counselors, crisis specialists, and therapists a treatment plan will be developed specifically to meet the needs of the individual foster child. Counseling is often combined with family reunification services, as well as educational and vocational training. The focus is on healing the child and building healthy families and communities.
 
Foster parents are entrusted with the care of the child, and it is expected that the care and trust is maintained 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The child is expected to be supervised at all times. When in the home, the child cannot be left alone. Supervised activities are allowed outside of the home as long as they are appropriate, and the foster parent can be reached by phone or beeper. If the foster parent has to attend to an emergency, or he or she needs respite, our agency can help the parent find respite care.
 
We encourage the biological parents of children placed with our agency to be involved in the treatment process. It is also expected that if the parents desire reunification that they will be involved in therapy. The foster parents may also be asked to be involved in the therapy process if it is appropriate.
 

Remember, foster parenting can make an incredible difference for children, your family, and for the larger community in ways which cannot always be put into words.

The maximum number of children that will be placed in a foster home at any one time will be three, unless there is a need to keep siblings together or STAR FFA determines that the foster family is capable of caring for more than 3 children. Other factors to be taken into consideration when deciding on the appropriate number to be placed include the number of adults in the home, their expertise and training, their work schedules, their occupation, the amount of space in the home, and the sex and ages of other children already in the home.
 
It is hoped that this description has provided an overall snap-shot of foster care and STAR Foster Family Agency. We commend those who make the choice to build potentially life-changing, positive bonds with those who need it most. With time, commitment, patience, and nurturing, the rewards of foster parenting are like no other.