Foster Onboarding: How to Get Started

At Fort Worth Animal Care & Control (FWACC), our foster families are the heart of what we do. Every day, they open their homes — and their hearts — to animals who need a second chance. By fostering, you’re helping to free up large kennel spaces for incoming animals, giving long-stay dogs a break from shelter life, giving a litter of kittens or puppies a safe place to grow strong and health, and offering pets heading out of state a cozy place to crash before transport. Each foster home creates breathing room for our shelter and new hope for the pets in our care.

Whether you’re helping a litter of kittens grow strong, giving a dog time to recover after surgery, or simply providing a calm place for a shelter pet to rest, you’re making a direct and life-saving impact. By joining our foster team, you become a vital part of building a more compassionate Fort Worth.

The first step to becoming a foster is completing our online Foster Application through the City of Fort Worth Volunteer Management System. This is where we get to know a little about you and your interests so we can help match you with the right foster opportunities.

During this step, you’ll also:

• Sign the City of Fort Worth Volunteer Waiver

• Sign the FWACC Foster Agreement

• Upload a photo of yourself so we can put a face to the name

Once your application is submitted, our team will review it and connect you with the next step in the process — your background screening.

Link to Foster Application

All volunteers with the City of Fort Worth are required to complete a background check. Don’t worry — our staff never sees your personal background information. We only receive a simple “approved” or “denied” status from the screening system.

Your background check doesn’t have to be fully processed before you begin your foster journey, but it does need to be submitted before you schedule your first orientation. This step helps ensure a safe and trustworthy community for all our volunteers and animals.

Link to Submit Background Screening

This is one of our favorite parts of the onboarding process — it’s where you’ll meet members of our Outbound Team, connect with fellow fosters, and officially join the FWACC Foster Family!

Link to schedule Orientation at North Animal Campus

Link to schedule Orientation at Silcox Animal Shelter

Before attending, please make sure you’ve read your Foster Manual in full. Orientation is designed to highlight key aspects of our program and go over the most important points from the manual. It’s our way of verifying that new fosters understand our policies, procedures, and expectations before bringing a pet home.

This session is also a great time to ask questions, get clarity on anything you read in the manual, and build confidence in your new role.

If you’re eager to jump right in, we encourage you to complete our Animal Health Training prior to your visit. This training is required before taking a pet home, so finishing it ahead of time will make it possible to start fostering the same day as your orientation.

Link to Foster Manual

Link to Animal Health Training

Our Volunteer & Foster Resource Hub is your go-to destination for all things fostering. Think of it as your digital handbook: full of information, tools, and inspiration to help you along the way.

Inside the Hub, you’ll find things like:

• Foster appointment scheduling and guidelines

• Behavior and medical resource articles to help you troubleshoot challenges

• Tips for getting your foster adopted and writing great bios

• After-hours emergency procedures and contact information

• Training opportunities and upcoming workshops

We’re constantly expanding the Hub with new content and resources, and we value feedback from our foster community. If there’s something you think would make it better, we want to hear from you!

Make sure to save this link to your phone or computer (or both!) for quick access!

Volunteer & Foster Resource Hub

Every foster makes a measurable impact. Each time you open your home to an animal in need, you’re not just changing that pet’s life — you’re creating space in our shelter for another animal to be saved. Fostering provides comfort, socialization, and healing that the shelter environment simply can’t.

Our foster families help reduce kennel stress, support medical recoveries, and give animals a better chance at adoption. Thanks to people like you, we’re able to save thousands of lives every year and continue to build a stronger, kinder community for Fort Worth’s pets.

If you have any questions along the way, please email us at fwaccfoster@fortworthtexas.gov