Imagine being a child uprooted from your home because a court has been it deemed dangerous, inappropriate or unhealthy.
Thirty-five children in Allen County, ages newborn to 18, have recently experienced such turmoil, either because of their home lives or because their own behavior cannot be managed at home.
Their safety net is foster care.
More foster parents are needed in Allen, Anderson and Woodson counties. There is only one foster home in Anderson County and no foster homes in Woodson County. In Allen County several families provide foster care.
Ideally the children are returned to their biological families when disputes are resolved, said Ashley Marple, resource family services worker at TFI Family Services, Inc. in Iola.
If reintegration with the natural family cannot be achieved, children are placed with relatives, adopted or prepared for adulthood through independent living.
Kelly Alumbaugh became involved in foster care three years ago as a kinship home for her daughter’s friends who had an altercation with their mother.
Kinship care is a situation in which a close relative or someone who is emotionally close to a child takes primary responsibility for the care of that child.
Within six months of caring for her daughter’s friends, Alumbaugh began training to become a foster parent. She has one foster child who is aging out of foster care and will be taking in another teenage girl soon.
As a foster parent Alumbaugh works with the child’s natural family and welfare professionals to ensure the child has a chance to become a healthy, well-adjusted member of the community.
“I think the hardest part of being a foster parent is not getting too attached to the child, because I know the best thing is for the child to return to his home,” Alumbaugh said.
“WE TRY to keep siblings together in their home county so they can maintain a relationship with their biological family,” said Steffany Wilson, resource family services worker with TFI.
It is important for the child to not only be close to his parents but also be able to attend his school and maintain childhood friendships.
If homes are not available in a home county, children my be placed in any available home throughout the state. It is difficult for weekly parental visits if a child is placed in a home where a parent has to travel two to three hours for the visitation, Marple said.
“Our goal is to help foster children find a ‘forever’ home whether it is going back to their parents or through adoption,” Wilson said.
TO BECOME a foster parent a person must be 21, have an outside source of income and have a permanent residence with enough space to provide a separate bed for each foster child.
Prospective foster parents must complete a free 10-week training course offered by TFI.
