BMCW Quick Links:

Bureau of Milwaukee Child Welfare

Resources for Foster and Adoptive Parents

(All external hyperlinks are provided for your information and for the benefit of the general public. The Department of Children and Families and the Bureau of Milwaukee Child Welfare does not testify to, sponsor, or endorse the accuracy of the information provided on externally linked pages.)

Resources for Milwaukee Families

Summer Camps

The following links are provided by the Coalition for Children, Youth, and Families

Milwaukee Recreation Summer Day Camps

Support Groups

  • Connecting Bridges is an organization dedicated to helping Milwaukee’s children by helping their foster and adoptive parents. For more information, email wifosterdad@yahoo.com.

  • United Foster Parent Association of Greater Milwaukee is a support group for foster and adoptive parents. Meetings are held every third Thursday of the month from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Milwaukee Child Welfare Partnership for Professional Development, 4425 N. Port Washington Road, Suite 400 in Glendale. (South from the Hampton exit off I-43.)  Membership is $5 annually. For more information, contact (414) 477-3598 or (414) 871-8230.

  • Voices United, Inc., is a support group for foster, adoptive and kinship families. The group meets the third Wednesday of every month from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Adoption Resources of Wisconsin, located at 6682 W. Greenfield Ave., Milwaukee. Membership is $10 per family per year. For more information, contact voicesunitedmilw@aol.com.
  • Children's Hospital of Wisconsin Community Services' foster parent blog, kidhero.chw.org, is in exciting new place for people in the community to find out what fostering is really about from the mouths of foster parents.

Assistance

If you are licensed by Children's Hospital of Wisconsin Community Services and need help with daycare-related issues, contact Christina Gray, licensing and placement supervisor, at (414) 231-4880 or christina.gray@cssw.org.

Appealing Decisions That Affect Your Foster Home License - What to do if you have been denied a license or had a license revoked.

Adoption Resources Center
6682 West Greenfield Suite 310
Milwaukee, WI 53214-4960
(414) 475-1246
(800) 762-8063 (Wisconsin only)
(414) 475-7007 FAX
info@wiadopt.org

Businesses offering Discounts to Foster Families

Child Care for Foster Children Foster parents can now apply for child care assistance through www.access.wisconsin.gov. This eliminates waiting in line or on the phone to get an appointment. Eligibility can be established online, but must be followed by a face-to-face appointment.

Child Care Resource Guide for Foster Parents

Complaint Process: How to resolve disputes with BMCW.

Clothing and Other Items for kids in care: Children's Hospital of Wisconsin Community Services Foster Care and Adoption Licensing and Support program now has a resource room where foster parents can pick up items needed for children in care. The room is at their 620 S. 76th Street, Suite 120. Donations of new and clean, gently-used items are welcome. Also needed are hygiene products and school supplies. You must be licensed by Children's.  Call 475-2220 for hours.

Connecting Bridges Foster Parent Association Connecting Bridges was formed in October 2009.. The primary and immediate goal is to help foster and adoptive children by helping their foster and adoptive parents.

Educational Services for Children Placed in Foster Care (Dept. of Public Instruction publication)

Foster Care and Adoption Resource Center

Foster Parent Training: Milwaukee Child Welfare Partnership for Professional Development (MCWPPD) provides initial and ongoing training for foster parent licensing. Classes may also be  available to unlicensed relative caregivers and adoptive parents.

Frequently Asked Questions about Foster Care and Adoption - Video series.

Grandparents and Relatives Caregivers in Wisconsin: Web site with resources.

Hair: Caring for the Hair of Your African American Child.  Four pages of tips and a list of further resources for managing hair.

Health Care Clinic Information

Kids Matter, Inc.  Advocacy and support for foster and kinship care families. Also operates the Milwaukee Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) program in which volunteers are trained to support children in foster care and advocate for on their behalf.
1850 N Martin Luther King Dr. Suite 202
Milwaukee, WI 53212
(414) 344-1220

Kinship Care
Provides assistance to those caring for relatives, both court-ordered and voluntary.

Licensing - Two agencies license foster parents for BMCW.

Children's Hospital of Wisconsin Community Services
620 S 76th Street, Suite 120
West Allis, WI  53214
Phone 414-KID-HERO (543-4376)
Foster Care Coordinator: Arles Lawrence
Information, including a short video series, about becoming a foster parent

Integrated Family Services/St. Aemilian-Lakeside
 Grow Hope 
6737 W. Washington Avenue, Suite 4225
Milwaukee, WI 53214
Phone 855-GROW HOPE (855-476-9467)
Foster Care Coordinator: Melissa Dombrowski-Boling. e-mail: growhope@st-al.org

 Mobile Urgent Treatment Team for Foster Families
Assistance for Milwaukee County foster families in coping with behavioral or mental health issues in times of crisis. Phone (414) 257-7621.

Subsidized Guardianship Program
 This program provides relatives who are licensed foster parents the option of becoming legal guardians with continued financial assistance. Families are chosen through a random selection process.

Youth Resources for youth in foster care

Contact the Bureau of Milwaukee Child Welfare

Last Revised: May 29, 2013

The Department of Children and Families, protecting children, strengthening families, building communities.