It is great to see your blog on Bakersfield.com!

 Is there anything that users can do to help your organization?

How do you choose foster families?

Thanks for asking about how you can help!  We are ALWAYS looking for patient, kind and loving homes for our county's children who are in out-of-home care.  However, not everyone is ready or able to make that kind of commitment to a child.  Many of our children come to us with few or no pictures or scrapbooks of life before foster care, so one of the things we like to do is start to help them record memories and pictures of their lives in a scrapbook.  We are a private, non-profit agency so we are able to accept donations of cash as well as items such as scrapbooks and scrapbooking materials (for "fostering" memories), toys or educational items for children of all ages, blankets or cuddly toys that help them adjust to a new home.

One of the projects I am working on is called "Sweet Dreams."  Many children come into care with very few clothes and belongings.  What little they may have is often transported with them in a black plastic garbage bag.  Some of the women in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day-Saints (L.D.S. or Mormons) in the Laurelglen Ward are making pillow cases that are personalized for children in our agency.  These pillow cases are not only soft and comfortable, but it is something they can take with them when/if they return to their natural parents.  It also is a little better way of taking their belongings with them when they go, or if they need to change foster home placements.  This same group of women are also making little Teddy Bears that we give to little ones who are placed with our agency.  People have donated money earmarked especially for this project, or they donate fabric or we can give them the instructions on how to make the pillow cases and bring them to the agency.  Really, as far as doing something to help kids, the sky's the limit.

In answer to your second question, foster parents are required to become certified through an application process with our agency...

Orientation, Application Packet, Initial Interview, 18 hours of Pre-Service Training, LiveScan Fingerprint Clearance, CPR/First Aid for Infants and Children, DMV Report, Physical and TB Test, Family Interview and a home evaluation.  A family needs to be self-sufficient to run their household outside of a foster child's monthly stipend.  But anyone can foster a child, married or single, male or female, young or old, homeowner or renter.  You just need to be energetic and ready to learn about the special needs of foster children.  If a family is excited about fostering, they can complete the application process in about a month (that was the quickest I've seen it done)... but there's really no time limit.

Feel free to call our office and ask any questions you'd like.  Thanks for inquiring about fostering!  Glenda

Foster parents can change the world for a child. Imagine being a foster parent of a child who doesn't have caretakers from the time she is 12 until 18? These are crucial years when she is learning to become a woman. By interveening in her life, you could be the only woman who she will ever identify with in a really positive way. Kudos to those who foster. I was a foster child. And there were many girls who really wanted nice parents, safe homes, and a family to identify with. I was fortunate because I was paired with a perfect foster mom who parented me until I graduated from high school. She is still my mom to this day.  Don't discount the rewards as a foster parent. You can make a difference in every child's life. I am proof of that. Normally I wouldn't share such personal information but in this case there are teens who really want parents, who want to spend the holiday with a family, not in an institution. There is a 12, 13,  or 14 year old girl  who really needs a woman to look up to, to care about her prom, to help her fulfull her dreams of being a cheerleader in high school, to help her get her driver's license, to attend her graduation and help her pick out her major or the university she'd like to attend. These are things every child should have. That girl will be a woman one day and she will want her babies to have a grandmother.  Her mother may be gone, but that doesn't mean she doesn't still need a mother. Because of your influence she might believe she can  be the next CEO of a major advertising  company because she had a positive female or parental role model in her life. You can be the one who forever changes the way she sees herself or dreams herself to be. If it's something you have been considering, please don't discount the difference you can make. You really can turn a life around.

Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts and experiences.  It is also my experience that one person can make a true difference in the life of a child.  May is National Foster Care Month and it is a great time to think about how we can touch a life.  It is also an excellent time to stop and thank foster parents for their efforts on behalf of children and families. There are over half a million children in foster care in the United States, over 78,000 in California and over 3,000 in Kern County.  Youth in foster care benefit from enduring, positive relationships with caring adults and the need of homes for all children, but especially teenagers is great.  With guidance and support from nurturing adults, children and youth in foster care are capable of overcoming the repercussions of previous abuse and neglect.  No matter how much time you have to give, you have the power to do something positive that CHANGE A LIFETIME for a young person in foster care.  Visit www.fostercaremonth.org to find out more about how you can make a lasting difference.  Glenda Love, Director