You can get a sense of what it's like to be a foster parent without a big commitment...
become a respite care provider.

Respite Care provides short-term care for children for at least 24 hours, to a maximum of 21 consecutive days (30 days if the parent is in an in-patient detoxification unit). Providers are certified foster care parents who are willing to provide short-term care for children who remain in the custody of their parents or caretakers.

It doesn't have to mean a long term commitment.

A foster parent who does respite care is indispensable in helping a parent when they are hospitalized or overwhelmed by the care of their children, particularly when this is the result of an illness of disability of the parent or child.

The Kent County Foster Program team of parents is often on call to help provide care for children when there is a debilitating family emergency.