May is National Foster Care Month
“Kids Need Families – it’s just what they need.” – foster youth
Imagine growing up without your family. Sadly, there are hundreds of thousands of children in the U.S. for whom this is the reality. May is National Foster Care Month, a time to highlight the plight of children in foster care and to salute those families and professionals who ensure that these young people have what all kids need and deserve – someone to love and a place to call home.
Plummer Foster Care works throughout Northeastern Massachusetts to find foster families willing to parent children and teens in the system. The Plummer Foster Care Program is dedicated to getting those kids into families so they don’t bounce around from place to place, school to school and community to community.
All types of people qualify as foster parents. To become a foster parent, you don’t need a big house, a spouse or partner or extensive parenting experience. What you do need is dedication, patience and a strong desire to provide a stable and loving home for a young person in foster care.
Community information sessions hosted by Plummer Foster Care offer a chance to learn more about the roles and responsibilities of foster parents. These sessions let you know about the children and youth served by Plummer, allow you to meet staff, answer your questions and determine if fostering is right for you. A list of these sessions is on the Plummer website at https://plummeryouthpromise.org/.
The Plummer team provides 24/7 support for all of its foster families. Plummer foster parents have access to a network of social workers, support groups, experienced parent mentors, programs and services and other community and state resources.
“No doubt that foster parenting can be challenging” admits Knapp-Hernandez. “But many foster parents agree that it’s also the most rewarding experience of their lives.”
Plummer foster parent Tina says, “There’s always support, the social workers are great. It doesn’t even feel like you’re talking to a social worker, it’s like you’re talking to someone you know. They’ll come out and play with the kids on their weekly visits, things like that. They make the kids feel like it’s another person they can trust and count on and that’s what these kids need.”
Plummer turned down more than 200 requests for homes from the Department of Children and Families just in the last year. This National Foster Care Month, call Plummer to find out how you can make the difference of a lifetime to a child in foster care. There’s no obligation and it may put you on the most rewarding path you’ve ever taken.
