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 Each
year, approximately 170,000 families care for over 500,000 Source: Casey Family Programs (February 2004) That
is reality. This is Catholic Charities. Every time children are taken from their birth families for their safety, it speaks volumes about how our communities care for their most vulnerable members. Foster parenting provides temporary homes for children in need. They are unable to live with their birthparents due to a family crisis such as mental illness, financial difficulties, marital conflicts, substance abuse. When children are neglected, abused, or raised in unsafe situations, foster parents provide warmth, love, attention and security. The goal of foster parenting is to reunite the children with their birthparents through the team efforts of social workers, foster parents, and other professionals Catholic Charities is a leading provider of foster care services in the counties of Berks, Carbon, Lehigh, Northampton and Schuylkill since 1961. In the event that the birth-parental rights are legally terminated, Catholic Charities SWAN (Statewide Adoption Network) Department may help in the children’s transition from foster care into permanent adoptive homes. How does it work? When Catholic Charities receives a referral call that a child needs a temporary home, the staff reviews the list of foster homes to make a match between the child and a foster family. The child is placed with the foster family for a period ranging from several days to 18 months or more. During this period, social workers maintain contact with the foster parents, providing whatever assistance is needed. Visits between the foster child and the birthparents are also arranged, usually every week. Catholic Charities professional staff and the foster parents work as a team to help the child heal and grow. As mentors and role models, foster parents provide emotional and practical support to the birthparents. What children are in need? Foster homes are needed for children of all ages, from infancy through teenage years. Often, more than one child from the same family will need a foster home. Every effort is made to place siblings together. At times, children with serious or potentially serious health problems will need a nurturing place to stay. Foster homes are especially needed from the Latino and African American communities to preserve important cultural ties. Foster parents may have a preference for a child of a certain age or gender. Catholic Charities staff will respect these preferences when making placement decisions. Are funds available? Foster parents receive reimbursement toward the costs of feeding and clothing their foster children. Reimbursement increases with older children or those with special needs. But the greatest compensation that foster parents receive is the satisfaction of knowing that they are making a big difference in the life of a child. When a child comes to live with a foster family, he or she may be frightened and unsure of what is happening. Foster parents help in a special, and immeasurably gratifying, way. By providing a caring and supportive home environment, foster parents enable children to gradually lose their fears. With the gentle guidance of foster parents, the children may learn to trust others and to gain self-confidence. Foster parents—a world of difference! The most important qualification for being a foster parent is the genuine desire to help a child in need. Foster parents show love and understanding for their foster children at a time when the children may be feeling unloved, afraid and confused about their situation. Catholic Charities provides ongoing support and training for foster parents as they take on their new, challenging, and rewarding role. Foster-Adopt Program Around 65% of children in the child welfare system who have a goal of adoption are adopted by their foster parents, according to the Pennsylvania Statewide Adoption Network (SWAN), Department of Public Welfare, Office of Children, Youth and Families. Research further indicates that 94% of foster/adopts remain intact throughout the life of the child. Families who wish to adopt through SWAN and want to receive a child as early as possible initially serve as foster parents. This enables them to begin the attachment process even though legal rights of the birthparents are still intact, and the possibility exists that the child could be returned to a birth relative via court order. The concept of “concurrent planning” is used to match children earlier with families who can be a permanent resource rather than place a child in a temporary foster home. Catholic Charities provides a wide array of foster-adopt services, from pre-service training to post-adoption counseling and support.
BERKS
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