May is Foster Care Awareness month. So many people don’t realize there is a huge need for foster parents in South Carolina, or if they know about the need they don’t know what foster parenting entails or would look like for them. One of our Board Members, Sundae Johnson, is a current foster parent and last week she shared a personal and poignant Facebook post that really highlights the need for more foster parents in the Lowcountry. She is happy for us to share her post here:
Could you take an 11 year old girl- even if just for the weekend?
No. I’m sorry. I don’t even have a vehicle big enough to transport another child in and my husband is out of town with the big car. ( Yes- you lucked out Mike Johnson!)
Then the response went something like this….
Please! We got 10 kids today that are just sitting in the DSS office and we need to find someone to help take these kids.This is why the supply / demand for group homes keeps growing…. there just aren’t enough families willing to step up and help.
There isn’t ever a “right time”, but if you feel like God has called you to explore fostering, then I would encourage you to just take a small step of faith and just make a phone call to get more information.
Every day isn’t easy, but every day is worth it!
And while these kids might “survive” without you- isn’t the question. They won’t thrive without you!
(I literally just got another phone call from DSS, as I’m getting ready to hit “post” on this message….. it went like this… and this is after I’ve already told them I don’t even have a car big enough for another child right now.
Me: Hello
DSS: Ms Johnson? How are you?
Me: Good- how are you?
DSS : “DESPERATE…….is there any possible way you can help us with these children?”…….)Every one person or family that decides to foster, can make a lasting impact on the life of one or more children…… opening up your home to a child in need….and LOVING them, could mean the difference between being bounced around from place to place and eventually winding up being a statistic OR them growing into self confident adults, ready to head out into the world one day.
Children don’t go into foster care because they are bad kids, they go into foster care because they have parents who make bad choices. These children or babies have been abused, neglected or abandoned. They are often removed without warning, by police. They leave their homes scared and often with only the clothes on their backs. Sometimes they show up without shoes on their feet.
Then they are taken to a DSS office, where many workers know it’s not in the child’s best interest to bond with the worker, so they don’t hold the child’s hand or hug them and tell them it will be ok, because if the child attaches to someone they may only see for a few hours, they will feel further traumatized to be taken away from that worker as well.
So what do the kids do?
THEY WAIT……
They wait while a placement team starts going down a list of foster parents in the area- looking for someone who has an open “bed”. And when their are not enough open beds, like today, they start going down the list begging people to take another child because if they don’t find a foster family, then the child winds up in a group home or they could wind up getting moved hours away, which just makes their case that much harder…… siblings get split up, the kids get “visits” with their families less often and reunification can just take that much longer.
And all the while, as these phone calls are being made, the child just sits and waits….. scared, not knowing where they will sleep that night.
Often they might find someone who can just take the child for a few nights….. just giving them more time to find a more permanent situation….. which just creates one more unnecessary traumatic event and move for the child.
This could go on multiple times for a single child.Folks….. there is such a need for foster homes!
Consider it!
Help spread the word… I bet there are more people than you think, who aren’t really familiar with foster care or the need!Did you know???
It costs you almost nothing to get a foster license?
You could have your foster license in about 6 months?
The process to become a foster parent is actually fairly easy?
There are tons of local and online support groups and ongoing training classes that you can take to help continue to learn how to help these kiddos, so you aren’t doing it alone?
These kids get Medicaid,so their health insurance is covered?
There is a small monthly stipend given, to help cover expenses for the child……..even a small quarterly clothing allowance?
Foster children get free breakfast and lunch in public schools.
There are local organizations who will help provide free clothing and services for foster children.
This doesn’t mean that everything gets covered….. it doesn’t. But I’m sharing this because I honestly didn’t know any of this and I know there may be some people who might be interested in fostering, but they don’t do it because they have more limited resources.
Feel free to message me if you are interested in just getting some information on fostering!
( Or if you’re in SC, call Heart Felt Calling to get information 1 (888) 828-3555 /
Also let me know if you’re interested in opportunities to help your local foster community or foster families!…….. If you’re not interested or able to foster, you can still help in other ways!
It takes a village!
Be the change!