GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — The need for foster parents continues to grow— according to state data, there are about 10,000 kids in foster care right now.
May is National Foster Care Month. In honor of that, local organizations want to break the myths and encourage more people to become foster parents.
D.A. Blodgett St. John's says there are several main myths it wants to put to rest:
- You have to be married
- You have to be a homeowner
- Foster parents have no authority over the children they take in
- Foster parents cannot be part of the LGBTQ+ community
D.A. Blodgett St. John's Child Welfare Director Kellie Oom says none of those are true.
"Certainly in Kent County, what we see is that we have a shortage of foster homes," Oom added.
Right now, the nonprofit has about 100 children in foster care.
"When children are removed from their homes, it's very important that we have a home for them to provide that comfort and safety while their parents are working to get them back in their homes," Oom explained. "We need families right now, you know, we have all types of kids, so we have to have all different kinds of families that we can make the right match. When we get ready to put a child in a home, we don't want to put them in any home, we want to put them in the right home."
Oom added that, right now, they need foster parents who can provide a short-term space for children.
"We are currently looking for emergency foster homes, people who know that when a child comes into care, we might not have the right home just yet. but we still need to put that child somewhere," Oom added.
She says they have one main goal when a child is involved in the foster home program: "We don't want any child to stay in foster care for any great length of time; we want to reunite families."
There are certain steps you need to take before becoming a foster parent, including a licensing process. Click here for more information.
