May is National Foster Care Month – Orientation scheduled to inform, dispel myths about foster care
San Rafael, CA – Marin County has 85 children in out-of-home care, also known as foster care, and nearly 35 percent of them are placed in homes outside of Marin. The Marin County Recruitment Collaborative seeks more homes in Marin so the Marin County Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) can help bring these youths back to our community.
Children come into the child welfare system through no fault of their own and are among the county’s most vulnerable residents. Every effort is made to keep foster children in their own community, to keep siblings together, and to create good matches between kids and families. To do that, Marin HHS needs a larger, more diverse pool of foster homes. Resource families can provide temporary care to children while biological families work toward reunification or they can choose to be an adoptive family; both are needed.
May is National Foster Care Month, a time to acknowledge the resource parents, family members, volunteers, mentors, policymakers, child welfare professionals, and other members of the community who help youths in foster care find permanent connection and attain safety and well-being. It is also a time to focus on ways to create a bright future for the more than 430,000 children and youth in foster care nationwide.
Marin HHS appreciates the dedication of its resource families. Four local families have provided foster care for over 20 years, and some have just begun their journeys. We thank all members of the foster community for their support of Marin youths.
You can learn more about foster care at an orientation hosted by Marin HHS’ Children and Family Services Division. A social worker and a caregiver facilitate the meetings, discuss the application process, training and support available, and answer questions. The next orientation will take place on Thursday, May 17, from 7-8:30 p.m. at the Marin Health and Wellness Campus, 3240 Kerner Blvd, Room 110, San Rafael.
For more information and to register for an orientation meeting, visit www.FosterOurFutureMarin.org or call Leslie Fields at 415-473-6418. For accessibility accommodation, please contact us in advance of the event at lfields@marincounty.org or TTY (415) 473-3232.
Another way to celebrate National Foster Care Month attending the Marin Foster Care Association’s annual Walkathon on Sunday, May 21. The walkathon is a kid, stroller, wheelchair and dog-friendly 1-mile loop on the beautiful Shoreline Trail in San Rafael. Register online to walk or sponsor a walker at the MFCA event.
The Marin Recruitment Collaborative is comprised of Marin Health and Human Services, Aldea Children & Family Services, Alternative Family Services, Marin Foster Care Association, Seneca and TLC Child and Family Services.
Melanie Nathan
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