Foster Parents
Needed for Children
If you have a special concern
for children, consider becoming a foster parent.
May is National Foster Care
Month. Right now, there's a shortage of foster homes to care for the
11,300 children who need foster care in Minnesota.
"There are times when we turn
away referrals of children because we just don't have enough licensed
foster homes," explained Jo Ann Shultz, statewide treatment foster care
coordinator for Lutheran Social Service. "Foster parents open their hearts
and homes to children whose families are being challenged or are in
crisis. Their heartfelt effort plays a vital role in helping children and
families heal and reconnect."
Lutheran Social Service offers
a specialized program called Treatment Foster Care. Through this program,
foster parents are specially trained to parent children with challenging
behaviors. Treatment foster care offers a team of professionals that work
intensively with the child, the foster family and the biological family
with the goal of reunification with his/her family. A LSS mental health
practitioner works in the home on a weekly basis teaching life skills to
the child and being a mentor and coach to the foster parents.
Staff are available 24 hours a
day to be a resource to families. Weekly support is also provided to
foster parents, along with monthly foster parent support meetings, ongoing
newsletter information, a monthly reimbursement allotted for each foster
child and training opportunities. Foster parents can be single or married.
Foster parents provide a
stable, supportive home environment and offer to teach life skills and
positive relationships with others, while recognizing that children come
from all different backgrounds and may have been raised with different
values.
Following are some of the
characteristics of foster parents that serve children best, according to
the Minnesota Department of Human Services:
-
Foster parents are flexible
and can adapt to changing situations
-
Foster parents love children
despite their behavioral problems
-
Foster parents are able to
discipline consistently and with patience
-
Foster parents have a healthy
sense of humor
If you would like to provide
stability and support to a foster child, or sibling group, contact
Lutheran Social Service at (888) 881-8261, or visit
www.fostercaremn.org
Lutheran Social Service offers a wide variety of human support services
relating to the basics of life-food, shelter, safety, physical and
emotional well-being. The non-profit organization, headquartered in St.
Paul, serves over 100,000 Minnesotans yearly with operations in 300
Minnesota communities, and employs over 2,300 people. Comprehensive
information about statewide services can be found through the agency's web
site at www.lssmn.org
