Want to Get Involved?

Children from all over Washington spend their first days in foster care at our emergency shelter house, The Landing. In those first turbulent hours, children have a soft landing at our cozy and well-cared for house. This important work is done by a team of 100+ volunteers (just like you!)

Right now, this is our greatest need for volunteers. Volunteers must be 21+ years old, have prior experience working with kids, and be able to serve at least 4 hours a month. Fill out the form to learn more!

Interested in building a relationship with a cool kid? In our mentor program, children and youth are matched with a safe & healthy adult who gives the child regular, undivided attention.

Skookum Mentors help with homework, sports practices, appointment transportation, and recreational support. Become a mentor!

We've got plenty of monthly and event-based opportunities where you can volunteer on your own or with a group!

Foster parent support group: We hold 6 support groups a year where childcare is covered by volunteers so foster parents can connect with other caregivers and receive training.

We hope that foster families can get a chance to breathe and pick up a few tools along the way. This is an easy way to volunteer with a small group or for those under 21.

Family night out: Once a month, we invite all foster families in the communities we serve to drop off their children with us for a night out. Community volunteers like you give children an evening of fun while their caregivers enjoy time going out!

Ideal for groups or those under 21 years old, Family Night Out is the easiest way to get started volunteering at Skookum Kids.

Camp Skookum: We’d love to have you volunteer to help make Camp Skookum amazing this year. It’s our weekend family camp just for reunified families. Are you passionate about making a positive impact in the lives of children? Join us at Camp Skookum, where your time and talents can create unforgettable summer memories for kids in foster care and those recently reunified with their families.

Come for the entire weekend, or just a few hours. Join us this year as a volunteer at Camp Skookum!

Skookum interns directly care for children placed at the Landing, our emergency shelter, meeting each child’s individual, physical, and emotional needs. Landing interns usually get to be involved in Skookum's other programs as well. To apply, send a resume and cover letter to kari@skookumkids.org

We encourage our foster families to be open to building a relationship with their foster children’s biological family. It's incredibly beneficial for the child and everyone involved.

You’ll also be interacting quite a bit with different service providers to best care for the child (social workers, guardian ad litems, visit supervisors, etc.)

Children can be in foster care anywhere from 1 day to 3 years. If we had to come up with an average, it would be around 9 months. We are here to support you through the whole journey.

Some of the reasons include not completing all required training, if one’s finances do not meet certain standards, or if one’s home is not fit for safely caring for a child.

All prospective foster parents must complete a background check, including fingerprinting, and a potential additional review of any criminal history. A history of child abuse or endangerment would immediately disqualify any applicant from becoming a foster parent.

Most children who enter foster care are reunited with their biological family in some capacity. Reunifying a foster child with their biological family is always our priority. While adoption or guardianship is sometimes needed, it is not common.

Respite care allows foster parents to get trusted and trauma-informed care for the kids that they care for, while they get some time off. We make respite care easy by licensing respite caregivers and doing the work of finding care for our foster parents. We also host events like Family Night Out that provide parents with a few hours of respite each month.

A foster parent's age and gender preferences are taken into consideration when matching them with a child and can be discussed further with your licensor.

Skookum Kids can license families to care for children between the ages of 0-18. We encourage families to be licensed for a broad age range of at least 10 years, even if the family has a specific age range they wish to focus on. A larger age range allows for greater flexibility over the years you will provide foster care for.

Foster parents have the right to decline a placement if they feel the fit isn’t right, so long as that decision does not violate Washington State's discrimination laws.

It is not required that a prospective foster parent be married or own a home. You may be single, married, or partnered, and rent or own your home.

The number of children that can be placed in a home depends on multiple different factors. For example, in a home with two caregivers the maximum number of children is six, while the maximum for a home with one caregiver is four (this includes any biological children under 18 years old).

In most cases, foster children and biological children may share a bedroom.

However, there are exceptions. For example, children of differing gender identities and above the age of six may not share a bedroom. Additionally, a child may be barred from sharing a bedroom given certain behavioral problems. Talk with your licensor to learn how your specific situation applies to state law.

Learn more information about sharing bedrooms here and general bedroom requirements in foster care here.

For single foster parents who work full-time, or two-parent households where both parents work, DCYF will cover the cost of in-network licensed childcare programs for foster children. Child care centers can be found at childcareaware.org.

Every foster child receives medical and dental coverage through Apple Health (Medicaid).

If you wish for your foster care license to include ages 0-2, all household members must stay up to date with the flu and TDAP vaccines. Regardless, all minors in the home must be up to date with the following vaccine-preventable diseases: Varicella, Diphtheria, Rubella, Hepatitis B, Haemophilus influenzae type B, Measles, Mumps, Pneumococcal disease, Polio, Tetanus, and Pertussis.

All foster families are welcome to visit the Foster Closet in Bellingham to gather new and lightly used clothing and toys for their foster child. They are open by appointment only and are a resource for homes with current foster care placements.

Foster children under 5 years old are eligible for additional support via the WIC program.