The Henrico County Department of Social Services will hold a meeting Wednesday, March 7 for individuals and couples who would like to learn more about providing foster care to county youth.
The meeting will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. in the Board Room of the Henrico Human Services Building, 8600 Dixon Powers Drive.
Participants will learn about the needs of foster children, traits of successful foster parents, ways to work with foster program staff and the child’s biological parents as well as details of the application and approval process. Henrico has a significant need for foster parents, with 92 children currently placed in foster care. A 10-week training program for new foster parents will begin Tuesday, March 13.
“A foster parent can truly make a positive difference in the life of a child,” said Shawn Rozier, assistant director of Social Services. “Children who need foster care have the same talents, gifts, hopes and dreams of other children. They need a stable, loving home to live in while we work with their families to address the problems that brought them into foster care.”
Foster parents are asked to bring a child into their home and be available to provide short- and potentially long-term care in a safe, stable environment. Henrico has a particular need for foster homes for teenagers, children with special needs and sibling groups. Foster parents must be at least 21 years old, have their own source of income and sufficient space to care for a child. Foster parents may be single or married, male or female, with or without children of their own. Foster parents receive monthly stipends to offset their costs of care.
For more information, contact Kasey Lumpkins at (804) 501-5163 or [email protected], or Sue Sparks Karyshyn at (804) 501-4011 or [email protected]. Information also is available at henricocares.com.
