May 2, 2022

 

May is National Foster Care Month and Richland County Children Services (RCCS) believes that every child deserves a loving home!

There are over 407,000 children and youth in foster care across the country, and 34 percent were placed with relatives or kin.

Kinship care, in its various forms, is important in meeting the needs of children involved in the child welfare system.

This year, National Foster Care Month focuses on how relative and kin connections keep families strong. When children cannot remain safely with their parents, we should prioritize placements with kin. Kinship care helps to maintain family connections and cultural traditions that can minimize the trauma of family separation.

Take time this month to raise awareness on how prioritizing kinship care, identifying connections rather than just placement options, and maintaining community ties makes a difference in the lives of children and youth and can shift the foster care system to one that truly supports families.

Whether it's promoting a collaborative relationship between birth parents and foster caregivers or providing parents with the right combination of supportive services to enable reunification, keeping families together is the primary goal in a successful child welfare system.

The goal of Richland County Children Services (RCCS) is always reunification. RCCS has on average 140 children in custody. Families are needed for all age children, but especially for older youth.

Foster care involves the temporary care of children ages newborn to age 18, all races, sibling groups, various religions, and children with special needs.

RCCS encourages all individuals to invest in the lives of children and to provide them with unconditional love, support, guidance, and every available resource to ensure their health and well-being.

RCCS believes every child needs a permanent home. Many of our foster parents adopt the children who are placed with them. Others help children prepare for placement with an adoptive family or relative.

We need more heroes to help make a difference in a child's life! We need foster parents for sibling groups, teenagers and African - American foster care families. If you are interested in becoming a foster parent, contact Richland County Children Services 419-774-4100.

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