SARASOTA/BRADENTON, FL (MAY 27, 2022) – For hundreds of children in Safe Children Coalition’s care in Circuit 12 (Sarasota, Manatee and DeSoto counties), children that have been abused, neglected or abandoned require they be removed from the home. For those children, when no relative or close family contact is available to take them in, a foster family must be found.
Foster care is the temporary placement of children and youth with families outside of their own home. The goal of foster care is to provide a safe, stable, nurturing environment while the family is working on reunification. As National Foster Care Month, May provides the ideal time to recognize those caring individuals and families who open their homes and hearts to children experiencing the disruption and trauma of being removed from their home.
According to national data:
• There are more than 407,000 children and youth in foster care in the U.S.
• More than 250,000 children and youth are placed into the foster care system in the U.S. each year
• Of those children and youth, just 34% are able to be placed with relatives or kin (those who are not blood relatives but have a close emotional relationship to the child or youth)
In Safe Children Coalition’s 2021-2022 fiscal year so far – from July 1, 2021 through April 30, 2022 – 412 children have entered the state care system; the total number of youth who entered in FY20-21 was 602. Drug and/or alcohol abuse by a parent or caretaker is the top reason children enter into Safe Children Coalition’s system of care (more than 60% of the cases), followed by inadequate supervision, and domestic violence in the home. Each month this year so far, between 28 and 65 children and youth have come into SCC’s system of care. Last year SCC served a total of nearly 1,700 children in foster and out-of-home care.
Foster families involved with SCC report that there is a sense of fulfillment in providing care for children who have been removed from their homes. They say they feel honored to help children going through deep trauma to live better lives and enjoy more positive outcomes. They feel blessed to impact children for a lifetime – regardless of the amount of time they may be together – through teaching them valuable life lessons and showing a positive example of how healthy families should live. Some families even take the next step – when the decision is made by relevant authorities to permanently remove a child from their biological family – and adopt them.
Foster parents Jenny and Paul McConachy learned about the challenges and rewards of fostering very quickly. They began the required educational coursework in April of 2021; in December, they (and their biological children, Maddison, 21 and Kiser, 16) took in four brothers, ranging in age from 6 months to 10 years. Jenny reports that the house went from peaceful and quiet to being full of noise and activity. The siblings had never had a routine or set schedule, they weren’t accustomed to sitting down to eat dinner together, were not used to taking care of their own personal hygiene, and had never experienced activities that others might take for granted, such as going out for ice cream cones, hunting for shark’s teeth on the beach, or seeing a movie in the theater.
After five months, the younger children (now 1 and 3-1/2) went to live with their grandparents. By the end of the summer, Jenny expects the two older boys will be placed there as well. In the meantime, the boys have been enrolled in summer camps and Jenny and Paul are continuing to parent them and enjoy new experiences together.
Jenny says that regardless of the duration that children are with a foster family, the effects can be powerful and long-term. “No matter how long you have them, if you’re providing a stable, loving, grounded place for whatever amount of time, it will benefit them,” she says. “We feel like they will remember us and the time we spent together will be impactful for them – as it has been for us.”
There are currently 350 foster homes in Circuit 12 but many more are needed to ensure a safe, caring and stable environment for children in the state care system. When there is a shortage of foster homes, children must be moved out of area, which is not preferred due to the disruption it causes them, with regard to schooling, activities and medical care. Safe Children Coalition is seeking additional foster homes to meet the current level of need.
“While there are numerous challenges to being a foster parent, there is a lot of support available within our community and our agency, and the rewards are tremendous,” said Brena Slater, president and CEO of Safe Children Coalition. “We believe all children deserve to be in a safe, stable and nurturing home and our incredible foster parents – like Jenny and Paul – have shown their commitment to being heroes to area children and youth.”
For more information or to inquire about becoming a foster parent, contact foster parent recruitment specialist Jeremy Gorzynski at 941-404-0079 or jgorzynski@sccfl.org.
About Safe Children Coalition, Inc.
Safe Children Coalition, Inc. (SCC) serves as the lead agency for community-based care for Sarasota, Manatee and DeSoto counties. SCC is a collaboration between local community agencies who provide services to children and families in need. SCC is committed to protecting children, strengthening families, and building community. The core functions provided by SCC include child welfare case management, foster care, adoption, independent living, prevention, diversion, quality management, and support services. Visit sccfl.org or call 941-371-4799.