With over 12,000 children and teens currently in the North Carolina foster care system, the Moore County Department of Social Services is seeking dedicated families willing to open their homes to foster children.
The journey to becoming a foster family begins with interested parties participating in official foster parent classes. The upcoming classes will begin on Tuesday, Aug. 29, beginning at 6 p.m. and ending at 9 p.m., with a total of 10 sessions. The training results in 30 cumulative hours as per North Carolina law and helps participants to develop essential skills to promote the safety, well-being, and permanence of foster children, as well as teaching participants how to best assist foster children in coping with trauma they may have faced.
According to Moore County adoptions social worker Renessa Carthens, the need for foster parents is “growing rapidly across all of Moore County, from North Moore to Aberdeen in the south.” Carthens described the need as an ongoing crisis, with a report earlier this year showing a staggering 73 children currently in the foster care system of Moore County with only 23 licensed foster families.
“It’s rewarding to be able to give them a loving and stable home that they didn’t have,” explained Carthens.
Typically, foster families are recruited, trained, and licensed to care for abused and neglected children temporarily while their parents work with social work professionals to resolve their family issues. Regardless of the potential permanency of the child’s status with a foster family, Carthens emphasizes that their goal remains to find each child a safe, stable environment while working toward the goal of a permanent home.
There is a growing need for families who can take in children with special needs, such as physical, mental, and emotional disabilities, as well as sibling groups and teenagers. Moore County is additionally seeing an uptick in the need for Spanish-speaking and bilingual foster families.
The greatest crisis of all, however, remains the need for foster homes for teenagers.
“Foster parents can help teens learn life skills they may not otherwise learn and help them become successful adults,” explains supervisor Melissa Smith-Packett, who has nearly three decades of experience in her field. “They can teach them fundamental skills such as cooking, how to do laundry, and how to do taxes. Many teens in the foster system haven’t been taught these skills.”
Social workers try their hardest to keep foster children in the area they are local to minimize stress on the child and prevent them from having to change schools and acclimate to a whole new environment. Department of Social Services also stresses a partnership between foster families and the children’s birth families to determine what actions are best for the child on a case-by-case basis and how each family can better connect with and provide for each child.
Prior to fostering children, potential parents must be at least 21 years of age and be able to provide financially for the children they are taking in. Marital status is not a factor, but both parents must attend the classes to become licensed foster parents.
Beyond becoming a foster parent, individuals interested in helping the Moore County Department of Social Services can always provide a much-appreciated monetary donation. Carthens noted that donations are especially appreciated during the holidays and back-to-school and summer camp seasons.
Those interested in enrolling in classes, becoming a foster family, or simply learning more are encouraged and welcomed to reach out to licensing worker Kim Cherry via phone call at 910-947-7405 or email at [email protected]
Feature photo: Moore County Department of Social Services employees; Kim Cherry (left), Renessa Carthens, Xiana Waiters and Melissa Smith-Packett.
~Article and photo by Sandhills Sentinel reporter Abegail Murphy.
