A week ago, we officially became licensed foster parents.  Since then we have gotten 4 calls about placements.  For one reason or another, those placements didn’t work out, so we still don’t have any children in our care.  However, we are averaging a call every other day at this point.  Compare that to Illinois where weeks could go by without a call.

One big difference is the fact that we live in a highly populated area.  Yet another contributing factor is that there is truly a shortage of foster homes.  As such, we will likely continue to receive calls every 1-2 days until the right placement comes available.

While we are excited about adding a couple of children to our home, it is also very sad.  We are thrilled to once again have the opportunity to make a positive difference in the life of children, but this is only occurring due to the fact that these children can’t stay with their biological families.

May is National Foster Care month.  If you’ve considered foster care as a possibility for your family, I encourage you to quit thinking about it and take some action.  Contact a local agency and attend an informational meeting.  Gather information from other foster parents.

If you don’t feel like full-time foster care is right for you and your family, what about getting licensed to provide respite care.  For a number of reasons, foster families need respite from time-to-time.  Even one weekend a month could significantly help out a foster family who is in need of a little break.

Sometimes, foster families are going on vacation and the courts will not allow them to take their foster child(ren) with them.  Would you be willing to help out a foster family by caring for their foster child(ren) during their vacation?

How about volunteering to help out a local agency by providing babysitting services for a day while foster parents sit in their required training classes.

If you know of a foster family in your neighborhood, you could offer to take the necessary training to give those foster parents a few hours of babysitting service so they could go out to dinner one evening.

Foster children need homes, but they also need loving, caring people in their lives.

Thanks for considering ways you can help.