Americans recently celebrated Mother’s Day and will soon celebrate Father’s Day. These holidays are important because they remind us how crucial parents are and how critical a sense of belonging to a family is to our emotional and physical well-being.
In recent years, the number of children entering the foster-care system has increased in a dramatic fashion. Unfortunately, the number of available foster homes has not increased at the same rate. A shortage of resources means that sibling groups must be separated, children are placed far from their original communities and institutionalization becomes necessary when a far less restrictive home setting would adequately meet a child’s needs. A child’s placement outside his or her home is almost always a traumatic experience, and current shortages add to this trauma as social workers are unable to match a child’s needs to a specific foster family able to meet those needs.
As we celebrate parents and families of all kinds this season, please consider the possibility of becoming a foster parent. Help foster the hope and the security that allow children to grown and to thrive.
For more information on becoming a foster parent, contact the Foster Hope Network of Lake County at 847-446-4364.
