Many youth in desperate need of families
HOULTON, Maine — May has been designated as national Foster Care Recognition Month, and Peter Crovo of Community Health and Counseling of Houlton is hoping to raise awareness for the dire need of foster families in the state.
As part of his job, Crovo recruits and develops foster families for CHC in Aroostook County, but the number of people willing to enter into this type of program has been on an alarming decline for a number of years.
CHC has offices throughout the state, including three in Aroostook County (Houlton, Caribou and Fort Kent) and specializes in placing foster children with special needs in homes.
“It certainly is a crisis,” Crovo said. “There is a definite lack of foster homes of all types throughout the state. There is a cry for help, but most people just haven’t heard it. These kids need families.”
More than 2,100 children are in foster care throughout the state, according to Crovo. Those youth enter foster care due to abuse or neglect, despite every effort maintain them safely within their birth families with mental health and substance abuse services.
Many youths in the foster care system have mental health issues due to years of neglect, Crovo said.
“Once children come into the foster care system, many are placed with relatives who can provide a loving, caring and stable home for these children,” he said. “When relatives are not available or suitable, then foster families are needed to provide a temporary family setting while the birth parents work on the issues that caused their children to come into foster care in the first place.”
The foster families can care for children in foster care from a few months to a couple of years, while the birth parents work on their issues. The children often maintain a relationship with their birth parents through weekly scheduled visits and phone calls.
“Maintaining a relationship is important to children as the goal is to reunify them with one or both birth parents through a healthy and safe process,” he said. “Foster parents are crucial in this process and they help the child heal and recover from past trauma while developing a trust with the child and the child parents in the reunification process. As one would expect this is challenging work that requires the help of mental health professionals to guide the process of reunifying families.”
After a year or two of working towards reunification, a legal decision by a judge may determine that the parents are unable complete their rehabilitation plan in a timely manner and the judge can decide to terminate all rights of the birth parents. Then the children become available for an adoptive family. Many foster families are able to adopt the children once the parent’s rights have been terminated by the judge.
Currently there are more than 150 children available for adoption throughout the state, Crovo said.
Despite the efforts of many, there is a shortage of foster families to provide the care of children. Many potential families decide not become foster parents due to stories they hear about the foster care system which is often portrayed in movies made for television. There are thousands of success stories and rewarding experiences in foster care that are not known to the public due to confidentiality of the children.
“Without families to care for the children, DHHS workers have had to even stay in motel rooms while other workers have desperately search for a family throughout the state,” Crovo said. “Each day presents a challenge to find a foster family for children who may simply need a place to call home so they can start the healing process and reunification process with their birth parents. The shortage of foster homes cover the entire state of Maine from Fort Kent to Kittery.”
Sharon and John Bulley of Houlton have served as foster parents for many years and have also taken on the permanent role by adopting many of the youths who have entered their home. The Bulleys currently have three young children who were once foster children that the couple has adopted.
The Bulleys, who also have three adult children, first became foster parents about seven years ago, through a program called “Kin Care,” which places a child with a relative. It wasn’t until they became registered with this program the Bulleys discovered just how huge the need was for foster parents.
“I don’t know what the statistics are, but I do know a lot of foster children are never reunited with their birth parents,” Sharon Bulley said. “It’s a lifetime commitment. My husband and I both have a big heart for children and once we saw the huge need it was an easy decision. A lot of these kids have been through an awful lot. There are some people who only want younger children, like us, and there are others that only bring in teenagers.”
