Foster Care (Wheelchair Accessible Needs)

Foster Caregiver – Medically Enhanced Home (Wheelchair-Accessible)

Location: Within your own wheelchair-accessible Alberta home. Edmonton and surrounding area.

Opening your home to a youthis a life-changing commitment. For this youth, it also means providing hands-on medical and personal care every day, in a home built to meet their physical needs.

We are looking for a caregiver with a medical or healthcare background to welcome a youth who uses a wheelchair full-time and depends on others for transfers, positioning, and personal care. Our goal is a home where this youth is safe, comfortable, and treated with dignity, and where they are embraced as part of the family.

This is a specialized, medically enhanced placement. The home, the equipment, and the caregiver's skills all need to be in place before a match can happen. Because the impact on the youth and your household is so significant, we want you to understand the responsibilities, expectations, and rewards before you apply.

If you are unsure whether your home or experience is the right fit, we welcome an open, honest conversation before you apply.

Is Your Household Ready?

1. Is your home fully wheelchair accessible, with a step-free entrance, a main-floor bedroom, and an accessible bathroom?
2. Do you have a ceiling or floor lift in your home, or are you willing to have one installed?
3. Do you have a medical or healthcare background, with hands-on experience in lifts, transfers, and personal care (including peri-care)?
4. Can one caregiver be home full-time, every day, to provide 24/7 care and stability?
5. Is your family willing to embrace cultural sensitivity, 2SLGBTQIA+ identities, and learn about Indigenous traditions?
6. Are you willing to work closely with doctors, therapists, and a case team, and attend frequent medical appointments?

Why Your Transparency Matters

Our goal is to match this youth's medical, physical, and emotional needs with the home, equipment, and skills of one of our Independent Contractors. When expectations are clear from the start, we can prevent placement disruptions, which are especially hard on a youth who relies on others for every part of their daily care.

Home Accessibility Requirements

• Step-free entrance (level entry or ramp) and a step-free route to at least one emergency exit
• Doorways and hallways wide enough for a wheelchair (about 36 inches / 91 cm), with turning space in main rooms
• Private, unshared main-floor bedroom with a legal window, large enough for a hospital bed, a lift, and wheelchair turning space
• Accessible main-floor bathroom suited to bathing and toileting with a lift or bath/commode chair (roll-in shower or accessible tub preferred)
• Ceiling-track or floor lift in the home, or willingness to have one installed before placement
• Storage and charging space for mobility and medical equipment
• Wheelchair-accessible vehicle, or willingness to obtain one

Medical Knowledge and Experience

• A medical or healthcare background, such as LPN, RN, Health Care Aide, Personal Support Worker, rehabilitation assistant, or disability support worker
• Experience using mechanical lifts (ceiling and floor), including sling selection and safe transfers
• Experience with peri-care, continence care, and bowel and bladder routines, delivered with dignity and privacy
• Knowledge of skin integrity, repositioning schedules, and pressure-injury prevention
• Experience with wheelchair positioning and following therapist-directed routines (e.g., range of motion, stretching)
• Comfort giving medication and keeping accurate medical records
• Ability to recognize medical changes or distress and know when to seek help
• Physically able to perform safe transfers and personal care every day
• Willingness to learn youth-specific care from the medical team and complete any additional training required

Requirements and Commitment Before Applying

• Canadian permanent resident (legally authorized to work in Canada)
• Proficient in both spoken and written English
  
• 21 years of age or older
• Financially stable
• At least one caregiver home full-time, without outside employment that takes them away during the day
• Not providing any other services (forms of care) for other agencies
• Maintain proactive measures in obtaining a foster home licence from the Government of Alberta, which entails:
  • Willingness to commit time to complete the HAR/SAFE Assessment process (minimum 3 interviews taking 2–4 hours)
  • 1-hour check-in with the HAR Assessor after the above process is complete
  • Completion of PRIDE Pre-Service training (GOA licensing requirement): 35 hours across 10 online sessions and 2 virtual check-ins, self-paced, completed within 12 weeks
  • Provide 3 positive references
  • Provide and pass medical clearance (physical and mental health) from your known family physician, including physical ability to perform transfers and personal care
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• Excellent collaboration and communication skills
• Knowledge of de-escalation techniques, mental wellness practices, and effective home care processes
• CarePros Training: Therapeutic Crisis Intervention, Service Excellence, and safe transferring, lifting and repositioning (TLR or equivalent)
• A written emergency and evacuation plan for a non-ambulatory youth, including backup power for essential equipment
• Respite or back-up caregivers trained on the youth's lift and equipment

A Day in the Life

• Assist with all transfers using a lift: bed, wheelchair, toilet or commode, bath, and vehicle
• Provide personal care including peri-care, continence care, bathing, dressing, and grooming
• Reposition the youth throughout the day and night and check skin for pressure areas
• Give medications and follow the medical and therapy care plan
• Attend medical, therapy, and equipment appointments with the youth
• Keep equipment clean, charged, and in good repair, and report issues promptly
• Complete daily documentation and progress notes in our secure online system (no paper records)
• Collaborate regularly with supervisors, case teams, and medical professionals
• Create accessible, age-appropriate activities and outings, and support community involvement
• Build a trusting, therapeutic relationship through engagement and advocacy
• Support the youth's transition planning toward adult services

Care Comparison

• Medically Enhanced Foster Care (Independent Contractor with CarePros): Daily care is hands-on and physical. It includes lifts, transfers, peri-care, and repositioning around the clock, alongside emotional support for a youth who has experienced trauma and loss.
• Traditional Foster Care: Care focuses on supervision, routines, and emotional and behavioural support, with the youth largely independent in mobility and personal care.

What You Bring

• A deep passion for making a lasting impact on a young person's life
• A natural ability to connect with teens, including those who rely on others for daily care
• A home that is safe, accessible, stable, and welcoming
• Compassion, patience, and respect for the youth's dignity, privacy, and choices

Give yourself the space to truly consider whether you are ready to open your heart and home to this role. If you are, we would love to hear from you.

Compliance Regulated Requirements

• An active Alberta Class 5 Driver's Licence
• A clean Alberta 3-year Driver's Abstract (3 years driving experience in Alberta is not required)
• A current Standard First Aid with CPR Level C (Canadian provider, in person or blended)
• Alberta auto insurance with $2 million liability coverage
• Alberta residential or tenants' insurance with $1 million liability coverage
• CGL (Commercial General Liability) $2 million liability insurance coverage
• All persons 18 years and older living in the home must provide:
  • Clear Criminal Record with Vulnerable Sector Check obtained within the last 3 months
  • Clear Intervention Record Check obtained from Children's Services within the last 3 months

The Perks

• Non-taxable income (Independent Contractor is not an employee)
• 4 days per month to take time for you (respite days)
• Staff support care worker 4–8 hours per day
• Innovative technology to assist in your daily routine of providing care
• Cornell University TCI Training (Therapeutic Crisis Intervention)
• A collaborative and diverse organization supporting you as you make an impact on this youth's life

NOTE: This does not serve as a comprehensive list of expectations and requirements.

We thank all applicants for applying; however, only candidates selected for an interview will be contacted.

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