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 healthy, 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.

Once we have reviewed your application, we will send you an email with the link to submit your background screen.

This is one of the most important steps in our onboarding process — Foster Orientation. During this step, you’ll watch our Foster Orientation video, which walks through key aspects of the program, expectations, and what it means to be part of the FWACC Foster Family. After watching the video, you’ll complete a short quiz to confirm understanding before moving forward.

Once Foster Orientation is complete, your next step will be to schedule your Foster Program Consultation (First-Time Fosters) appointment at the shelter location where you plan to pick up your first foster pet.

CLICK HERE for North Animal Campus

CLICK HERE for Chuck and Brenda Animal Shelter

While you wait for your first appointment, please make sure to read the Foster Manual in full prior to picking up your first foster.
Link to Foster Manual

We also require all fosters to complete our Animal Health Training. This training takes approximately 15–20 minutes and is required before taking a foster pet home. Completing it ahead of time will help ensure a smooth and timely first placement experience.

Animal Health Training

This process is designed to set you up for success, give you confidence in your role, and ensure the best possible outcomes for both you and the animals in our care.

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!

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