Every child deserves a safe home, in their community, with people who care about them—from the clerk at Stewart’s to their Little League coach.
But in Schoharie County—actually in most places—those numbers fall short:
With 40-50 kids needing foster care or short-term respite care, there are fewer than a half-dozen families and homes available here to help.
May is National Foster Care Awareness Month and Schoharie County Department of Social Services Senior Caseworker Melissa Bialkowski is working to spread the word about how to help.
The short answer?
Sign up with DSS to become a foster care or respite provider.
While foster care is longterm and can sometimes lead to adoption, respite care is often just a weekend for a short-term crisis or when families need a break.
“The numbers ebb and flow, but it’s still a really difficult time to find foster parents,” Ms. Bialkowski said.
That means instead of staying locally, too many kids in foster care are sent somewhere else—Oneonta, Fort Plain, Johnstown, Gloversville—which means switching schools and too often, losing contact with the people who care about them in their community, she said.
The problem’s not unique here, Ms. Bialkowski said, “I get calls every day from other counties needing foster care.”
When they can’t find it, that means that too often the answer is residential or group homes.
Even for people—individuals or families—who might be interested in getting involved, national statistics show it usually takes eight times of reaching out, asking questions, and exploring what’s involved before someone commits, Ms. Bialkowski said.
“That’s why we work so hard to get the word out, to get people thinking out this,” she said.
All foster care and respite providers must undergo background checks and training.
While in the past, training was done in a group setting, now it’s done on an individual basis using workbooks and meeting in a prospective provider’s home over 5-6 weeks.
Families get involved in foster care for a variety of reasons, Ms. Bialkowski said.
Some are unable to have children of their own, some just want to help, and in one case, a mom got involved at the urging of her daughter, who brought a flyer home from school.
It’s not for everyone, though—even for those who’d like to get involved—with time, space, and work obligations getting in the way.
Families also fear they’ll get too close to the kids they foster, only to see them return home or to relatives—always the ultimate goal.
Even when someone’s gone through the training, Ms. Bilalkowski said DSS never pushes a family to take a child if the fit—or the timing—isn’t right.
“But when it does work out, it’s giving a child the stability, love, security and support they need,” she said. “They become a member of the family.”
For more information on becoming a foster care or respite provider call Ms. Bialkowski at (518) 295-8751.