With National Child Abuse Prevention Month occurring in April, the month also brings awareness of the healing that needs to take place in the lives of the often forgotten children who have been victims of abuse or neglect. Then May is National Foster Care month, and more often than not, the key to healing these children comes in the form of foster and adoptive parents.
Many Saline County families have opened their arms and doors to children in need. John and Tricia Goyer of Bryant have added seven children to their family through adoption. Tricia Goyer said she and her husband felt called to adopt when their three biological children were older. After adopting 6-day-old Alyssa in 2010, the Goyers wanted to expand their family further.
“When she got a little older, we hoped for siblings her age, but my husband worked for a ministry, and funds were short,” Goyer said. “We soon discovered there is no cost to adopt from foster care. We also discovered there was a huge need for placements for sibling groups. After going through training and home studies, we welcomed a sibling group in 2013 and another in 2015, making the total of seven adopted children. Our house overflows with noise and love.”
A staggering 884 children entered foster care in Arkansas from the beginning of October through the end of 2015, according to the most recent quarterly performance report released by the Arkansas Division of Children and Family Services. But Amy Webb, director of communications for the Arkansas Department of Human Services, said the number of open foster homes isn’t adding up to the number of children in need.
“We currently have over 4,800 children in foster care, and that number has been growing for some time,” Webb said. “The number of foster families and available foster beds is only about half of that number. As a result, children end up staying in emergency shelters and group homes.”
Webb said that in nearby Perry County, for instance, there are currently 15 children who were placed in foster care because it was not safe for them to remain in their homes — 15 children in a county with zero open foster homes.
The U.S. Census Bureau estimated Perry County to have 10,189 residents in 2015, with roughly three-quarters of the population older than 18. So why are there no foster homes in Perry County?
“There are a number of reasons families give as to why they don’t want to foster in Perry County,” Webb said. “Mostly, people talk about how small the community is and how they are worried that children of friends or family may come into their care. They also worry that biological family may show up at their homes unannounced. We understand their fears, but Perry County is a big place, not just Perryville, so we can work with parents to alleviate their concerns. Often, bio families and foster families do interact, and it can be a very good thing for children.”
Julia DesCarpentrie, director of The CALL (Children of Arkansas Loved for a Lifetime) in Saline and Perry counties, a faith-based organization that helps to educate, equip, encourage and recruit foster and adoptive families, said there are a lot of misconceptions about foster care that contribute to the shortage of foster families in any area.
“A foster family is a family who opens their home and their hearts to children who need a temporary, safe and healing home,” DesCarpentrie said. “There are many misconceptions, such as unmarried or working parents can’t adopt, having too many kids and not enough room, the misconception that children came into care because of their behavior, the fear of children returning to an unsafe situation. Attending an informational meeting can help dispel the misconceptions, address fears and answer questions.”
With no open foster homes in Perry County, children who are removed from their homes without a relative to take them in are sent to group homes or foster homes in neighboring counties. Webb said the Department of Human Services does everything it can to keep children close to their home communities, but unfortunately, that is not always possible.
“Regardless of the neglect or abuse a child has suffered,” DesCarpentrie said, “it is a great loss for the child to be removed from their family. If a foster home is not available in their home county, they will have to be sent to a home in another county. The loss they already experienced is compounded by further loss of their community, school, church and removal from their extracurricular activities. Reunification efforts with their family are made difficult by the distance, also adding stress to the Department of Children and Family Services’ resources.”
Webb said the children of Perry County who are in the department’s care range in age from 7 months to 17 years, but many counties have children entering the system as newborns. For those with doubts about taking a child in, DCFS isn’t looking for perfect parents, just people willing to open their homes to these children. The basic requirements of foster care are often less stringent than many people believe.
“Foster parents must be at least 21 years of age, single or married, financially stable, willing to provide a safe and loving home, and willing to take all necessary background screenings and trainings,” Webb said. “The family must also be in good health so that they can take care of the children in their care.”
As Webb said, the number of children in foster care is growing, and there are aren’t enough open beds for waiting children. A lack of foster families is a problem that exists not just in central Arkansas, but across the state.
“We have become so busy, we fear we will not have enough time to foster children in need,” said DesCarpentrie, a former foster/adoptive mom. “We fear the unknown of the process of foster care and do not take the time to educate ourselves. We have also become so focused on our families and our schedules that we fail to see the needs of those in our community.”