Dear Editor:
May is National Foster Care Month. It is a time to share the success stories of foster care and to inform policymakers, business leaders, and others in our local community and across the country of the need to keep those children who are in foster care in their own communities and schools.
Our priorities in Hollister are to recruit and train more foster parents, keep children connected to their extended family, and support the foster families we have. If you know of a family providing foster care, take a moment to thank them for making a difference in the life of a child.
For example, when Joey was 6 years old, he was removed from his biological mother due to neglect and abuse. His mother was involved in drugs and she left Joey with people she did not know very well.
When Joey came to the attention of the authorities he was very depressed and withdrawn. He was placed in a foster home, and at first the transition was difficult for him. He started to have problems at school and as a result was suspended.
Joey’s mother tried to get off drugs, but made a bad decision and ended up in jail. This was very difficult for Joey; his social worker got him into therapy and worked with his foster parents so they could help Joey express his feelings in an appropriate way.
As Joey began to cope with the loss of his mother, his behavior began to improve. Unfortunately Joey’s mother continued her drug use and was in and out of jail repeatedly.
The county determined that Joey could not be reunited with his mother, and Joey’s foster parents were asked if they would be interested in adopting him. They said yes without hesitation. Joey is now 15 and doing very well in school. He has future plans to go on to college and study computers.
There are countless opportunities for you to make a difference in the lives of the children in foster care here. New foster families are desperately needed here in our local community.
Being a foster parent is not the only way to have an impact on the life of a child in foster care. You can be a mentor, volunteer, or support foster youth in college and vocational school, offer a teenager job training or a job, or donate to your local foster care program.
Take a few minutes to call Rebekah Children’s Services Family Linkage Program at (408) 846-2119 to see what you can do to help our local foster children. To learn more about foster care and how you can help check out the following Web sites: www.rcskids.org, www.casey.org, www.cwla.org and www.nfmainc.org.
Together we can make foster care a success in our community.
Melissa Driscoll
