The short version
Most people who want to help a foster family do not know one. That is normal. There is no sign-up page that matches strangers to families, and Georgia's confidentiality rules limit what anyone may share about a child (quoted below). What works is knowing the few doors that exist, asking the right person the right question, and then doing something small and specific that the family actually wants.
This guide is for an individual. If you are bringing a group, start with For churches & groups. If you are a foster or kinship family looking for help, see Foster parent support and free gear and closets.
Start with who you already know
A foster or kinship family in your circle is the easiest route, and usually the best one, because they can tell you what would help. Do not ask what they "need." Offer one specific thing they can say yes or no to. Kinship families, relatives raising a child, need help too, so include them.
If you do not know a family: four doors
- A private child-placing agency. Ask for the family-support or volunteer coordinator, if the agency has one.
- Your county child welfare office. Ask whether the office takes offers of help from community members and who coordinates them.
- Your faith community, or a care-community program. Some congregations have a foster care ministry or care team. If yours does not, ask who would help you start one.
- A foster parent association or support group. Ask whether they accept community helpers.
Expect that many of these doors lead to a coordinator, not straight to a family. You may be asked to fill out a form, wait for a call, or help in a way that never puts you in the same room as a child. Our read: that is not a brush-off. It follows from the confidentiality rules quoted below.
What to say
We're not clinicians
These are the published words of child welfare agencies, with links. Where a section below gives our own advice, it says "Our advice" and covers practical logistics only. For anything about a particular child, follow the family and their agency.
Our advice: say what you can offer, say what you are not offering, and ask what the process is. Fill in the brackets.
Etiquette for serving a foster family
Our advice, from the helper's side. None of this is clinical guidance; for anything about a particular child, follow the family.
- Offer one specific thing. "Can I bring dinner one night this week?" is easy to answer. "Let me know if you need anything" usually is not.
- Make it easy to say no. A busy week, a visit schedule or a new placement can make even a kind offer bad timing. If they decline, offer again later.
- Don't ask about the child's story. Skip why the child is in care, what happened, and how long they will stay. Foster families often cannot share it. If they choose to tell you something, keep it to yourself.
- Speak respectfully about the child's family, or not at all.
- Treat the child like any other kid. Use the name the family uses, and let the foster parent decide how the child is introduced.
- Skip the hero talk. "You're a saint," "That child is so lucky" or "I could never give them back" can land badly with the family and with the child. Help quietly.
- Check in without asking for updates. "Thinking of you, still on for Thursday?" is enough.
- Kinship families count too. Grandparents and other relatives raising a child need the same help and the same courtesy.
Meals, done well
Georgia DFCS's own volunteer page lists meals among the ways a community can help a foster family. It describes one partner program this way:
"The Called To Care community is a great way to get your family or church involved! Mentor a local foster child! Provide a meal or babysit for a foster family! Serve foster children together as a family!"
Our advice on the logistics. None of this is clinical guidance:
- Go through the family. Ask them, or the coordinator you reached, whether a meal is wanted and when. Do not turn up with food and hope.
- Ask about allergies and food preferences for the whole household before you cook.
- Drop off; do not visit. Agree on a time, leave the meal at the door, and send a short text. If the family invites you in, that is their call.
- Use disposable or no-return containers so nobody has to remember to give a dish back.
- Let the family control any meal-sign-up tool. If several people are cooking, the family or their coordinator should set the dates and see the list.
- Keep going after week one. Say what you can keep up ("I can bring dinner on the first Tuesday of the month") and do that.
What not to do
Our advice on the practical side:
- Never post about the child. No photos, names or updates that could identify a child or the home. Ask the family before you mention them at all. See the photos and social media guide.
- Do not show up unannounced.
- Do not contact the child's caseworker or birth family about the case.
- Do not promise more than you can keep up. If you have to stop, tell the family early. See the fizzle problem.
- Ask the family before you give a gift to a child.
What Georgia DFCS's manual says that bears on helpers:
"As a foster parent, you should make no specific distinction when introducing your foster child other than referencing his or her name and that you are providing temporary care. If the child is of age, you are encouraged to engage the child in deciding how he or she wishes to be introduced to others in your family and/or in social circles. Confidential information regarding the child and his or her birth family may not be disclosed at any time."
Our advice: if a child is with you at an event, let the foster parent decide how the child is introduced.
"DFCS policy prohibits the following: … Criticizing the child's family or the child's experiences with his or her family"
Our advice: hold yourself to the same standard and do not criticize a child's family.
"Never allow a volunteer to take the child away from your home without the written permission from the agency. DFCS is required to obtain the appropriate clearance (including a criminal record and CPS check) for all volunteers who come in direct contact with children in placement."
This is another reason to offer help through the family and their agency, and to let them say how far a volunteer's role goes. The manual is the September 2017 edition. Current rules are in the section below, and an agency may have its own.
What Georgia's rules say
We're not attorneys
This section quotes Georgia DFCS policy word for word and links to it, so you can read the rule yourself. It is not legal advice. The family and their agency decide what help they can accept, and an agency may have its own rules on top of these.
Confidentiality applies to volunteers
DFCS's confidentiality policy says the agency will:
"Comply with all state and federal confidentiality laws. This includes staff, volunteers, interns, contractors, agents, and providers of services."
The same policy lists O.C.G.A. §49-5-40 among its legal references; that section declares records concerning reports of child abuse in the custody of the department, other agencies or child advocacy centers confidential (§49-5-40(b)). Oct 18, 2026 For what that means for photos and posts, see the photos and social media guide.
Watching a child: babysitting and short stays
DFCS's supervision policy says:
"Foster parents must use an adult (at least 18 years of age) for the supervision of children in DFCS custody."
"Safety screenings and criminal records checks are not required for occasional or short-term respite care up to 72 consecutive hours. … ‘Occasional' means once per week or less on varying days and not exceeding twice per month."
"Routine means more than once a week, usually at designated times. Conduct safety screenings and criminal records checks (CRC) on prospective routine caregivers."
In short: an occasional sitter has to be an adult, and a regular one has to be screened first. If you'd like to help with childcare on a schedule, expect the family's agency to screen you. The babysitting and overnights guide covers the rest, and the respite guide covers longer stays.
What a family tells someone watching the child
The same policy says DFCS will:
"Require foster parents to provide to routine caregivers, occasional or short-term respite caregivers (including extended respite caregivers), and paid respite caregivers with the following prior to leaving a child in their care: Information about the child’s emotional, behavioral, medical, and physical condition, if any, necessary to provide care for such child during the supervision period."
That rule is about what's necessary to provide care. It is not a reason to ask about the child's history.
If you are worried about a child's safety
Georgia DFCS says child abuse and neglect reports are taken 24 hours a day, seven days a week, at 1-855-GACHILD. Oct 18, 2026 Source: DFCS, Child Abuse & Neglect.
We use this box for something we couldn't confirm with an official source, or that is changing. See it on our list of everything we're still confirming
Not yet verified for Georgia
What a family may tell a meal team or church group. The policy above covers people who watch the child. We have not found a Georgia policy on what a family may share with helpers who don't, so we are not stating a rule. Follow the family's lead.
Driving a child in care. We have not found Georgia's rules for a volunteer who drives a child (approval, insurance, car seats). Do not offer rides with a child until the family and their agency say yes.
Georgia places to start
These are the organizations and offices we opened on Oct 18, 2026 and what each says it offers helpers. Details change, so check the linked page before you call.
| Where | What it offers a helper | Verified |
|---|---|---|
| DFCS county office locator | Search for your county's DFCS office by city, county or zip code. The page lists offices; it does not say how a community member can offer help. | Oct 18, 2026 |
| Promise686 | Works through churches. Its About page describes the Family Advocacy Ministry model, which equips a church to support foster and adoptive families. It describes no sign-up for individuals; ask your church whether it has one or could start one. See For churches & groups. | Oct 18, 2026 |
| Atlanta Angels | Its Love Box program describes "consistent, relationship-based support" for foster and kinship families, Love Box volunteers are matched with a local family by proximity, compatibility and need, and commit to at least one in-person connection a month for at least a year. Oct 18, 2026 Its separate Dare to Dream program offers one-on-one mentoring to youth in foster care ages 11 to 22, with at least two in-person connections a month for at least a year. Oct 18, 2026 Both start with an informational discovery session. See Love Box volunteering and Dare to Dream mentoring. | Oct 18, 2026 |
We use this box for something we couldn't confirm with an official source, or that is changing. See it on our list of everything we're still confirming
Gaps we could not fill yet
We have not found an official directory of Georgia's private child-placing agencies with volunteer contacts, a published way for a community member to offer help through a county DFCS office, or confirmation that any foster parent association accepts community helpers. The Adoptive & Foster Parent Association of Georgia (afpag.net) supports foster and adoptive families; whether it takes community helpers is unverified. We would rather leave these blank than send you to a wrong phone number. If you know a source, send it in.
CarePortal, which lets a church respond to needs a caseworker posts, is explained on For churches & groups. We have not verified an individual route or Georgia onboarding steps, so we add no details here.
Sources & verification
- Georgia DFCS, Child Abuse & Neglect: reports taken 24 hours a day, seven days a week; 1.855.GACHILDdfcs.georgia.gov Oct 18, 2026
- DFCS policy manual (PAMMS) §2.6, Confidentiality/Safeguarding Information (effective May 2024): confidentiality applies to volunteers; cites O.C.G.A. §49-5-40pamms.dhs.ga.gov Oct 18, 2026
- DFCS policy manual (PAMMS) §14.18, Supervision of Children (effective May 2024): adult supervision, occasional vs routine care, screenings, what caregivers are toldpamms.dhs.ga.gov Oct 18, 2026
- State of Georgia Foster Parent Manual (DFCS), September 2017: confidentiality, introducing a child, prohibited practices, volunteersfostergeorgia.com Oct 18, 2026
- fostergeorgia.com, Georgia Serves (DFCS volunteer opportunities)fostergeorgia.com Oct 18, 2026
- Georgia DFCS, county office locatordfcs.georgia.gov Oct 18, 2026
- Promise686, About: Family Advocacy Ministry model for churchespromise686.org Oct 18, 2026
- Atlanta Angels, Become a Volunteer (Love Box) and Become a Mentor (Dare to Dream): matching, commitment, agesatlantaangels.org Oct 18, 2026
- Official Code of Georgia Annotated (public access for the General Assembly; current through the 2026 Special Session), re-read Oct 18, 2026: §49-5-40 (confidentiality of records concerning reports of child abuse). Search the section number.advance.lexis.com Oct 18, 2026
Text marked "Our advice" is ours and covers logistics only. No clinician has reviewed this page. Confirm anything about a specific child with the family or their agency. Rules change and agencies add their own.