The Henrico County Department of Social Services is looking for families to be trained as foster parents as the need for foster home placements has increased during the past year. Henrico has 94 children in foster care, up from 73 children in October 2011.
An orientation meeting will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 3 in the Board Room of the Henrico Human Services Building, 8600 Dixon Powers Drive. Participants will learn about the needs of foster children; the traits of a successful foster parent; the process of working with program staff and the biological parents of a foster child; and the application and approval process.
“This is an opportunity for families to make a positive difference for youth in our community,” said Shawn Rozier, assistant director of Social Services. “These kids have talents and gifts, dreams and hopes, but they need a stable home to live in while we work with their families on solutions to their problems.”
Foster parents are asked to be available around-the-clock to bring children into their homes and provide short-term and potentially long-term care in a safe, stable environment. Foster homes are needed for children of all ages, children with special needs and sibling groups. Foster parents must be at least 21, have their own source of income and sufficient living space to care for a child. Foster parents can be single or married, with or without children of their own, male or female, and from all backgrounds, races and nationalities.
For information about foster parenting, call Georgia Phillips at (804) 501-7496 or Riva O’Sullivan at (804) 501-7182 or go to www.henricocares.org.
