I Love Palm Beach
I Love Palm Beach
Transforming Lives: The Role of Friends of Foster Children
Have you ever wondered how you can make a real difference in the lives of children in foster care? Join me for an enlightening conversation with Jane Richardson from Friends of Foster Children and discover how this extraordinary organization has been enhancing the lives of foster children and their caregivers since 1985. Jane introduces us to their range of programs, from Foster Navigators who offer invaluable resources and support, to the Clothing Closet initiative that meets basic needs with dignity, and the Family Finders program that seeks to establish vital connections with extended family members.
Jane also demystifies the process of becoming a foster parent or caregiver, revealing the challenges, commitment, and training involved. We discuss the Kinship program, offering support to those generous individuals who open their hearts and homes to foster children at a moment's notice. Plus, Jane highlights the enormous impact of their additional support services that extend from emergency bags to life skills programs for teenagers aging out of foster care. She shares how you, too, can lend support to this inspiring organization and make a significant contribution to our community. Tune in to be inspired and learn how you can be a part of this wonderful cause.
Hi, I'm Rebecca Giocobo. I'm here with Stephanie Coe and actually Jane Richardson from Friends of Foster's, and we are here on Al Lefkheim Beach and we're really happy to have her. We love anything that helps with kids and we really like to get involved in this project. So, stephanie, I'm going to let you lead it from here, all right, thank you.
Speaker 2:Rebecca, and thank you, Jane, so much for joining us today. We're excited to dive into your organization and the impact that it has on both sides. You know a lot of people might think of fostering children as something to benefit people without a home, necessarily, but I think that also a lot of the impact is on the volunteers as well too. I'm sure it's both sides. So first of all, would you mind just telling us a little bit about your organization, the mission and also how you got involved with them? Friends of Foster.
Speaker 3:Children, incorporated back in 1985. So we've been around for a long time. We are the Department of Children and Families contracts with ChildNets and ChildNet contracts with us, and so our mission is basically just fostering happy childhood by enriching the lives of people impacted by foster care. We have many different components. There's 13 over 1300 children in foster care in Palm Beach County alone and we believe a happy child is impacted by a happy household. So we not only support the child but we support the caregivers as well. So we have a program that is called Kinship and we have two Kinship navigators who support a grandma, an aunt, uncle, teacher, anyone that has had a previous relationship with a foster child, and takes them in. Those caregivers are not trained, so they are an auntie that gets in a call in the middle of the night saying will you take your niece or nephew or will you take more than one, and they make an on the spot decision that yes, they're going to do it, but then they're kind of like what to expect. So what our navigators do is they reach out within 24 hours of that placement and then they basically wrap them with services and they hold their hand throughout the entire process and the length of the case. And the beauty of it is, if the Department of Children and Families decides to close that case with the grandmother or whatever caregiver, we don't ever go away. We continue to support her or whatever Kinship, until the child turns 18. And sometimes even after that we are then supporting the child. We also do foster navigators. So what we do there is we have a foster navigator who not only supports the foster parent and has support group and things like that, helps them navigate, maybe works as a liaison between the department if there's something going on. But we also recruit foster parents and I will kind of deep dive into that in a little bit. I will go back through.
Speaker 3:We also learned that children do better when they are placed with family. So if a child is removed from mom and dad and knowing that Palm Beach is very transient, sometimes family isn't located here but due to embarrassment or whatever they have or pride, they don't say oh hey, I have a sister that lives in Pennsylvania and so we have family finders who actually, as soon as that child is placed in licensed care, they start looking for extended family and people who have connections with those families so that we can ultimately get them placed with family, because children do better when they have familiar people around them. We also do background screening, so we do level two backgrounding for all caregivers, all parents, and we also do it for the community If they need. We do a lot for realtors or construction that need a level two background. They can call us and come in and we use the outside folks sort of like fundraising for us to go towards our mission.
Speaker 3:We have a clothing closet that's gently used, where caregivers can come in and or children, depending if they're 18 or whenever they can come in and utilize our clothing closet.
Speaker 3:We also have emergency bags, because a child who was removed normally is removed with just the clothes on their back, and so we create an emergency bag for them that has new clothes, new pajamas, toothpaste, toothbrush, hygiene items, school supplies, school uniforms, shoes, diapers, depending on the age, bottles, that kind of thing formula.
Speaker 3:And then we also provide holiday items for the kids and, there being 1,300 children in foster care, we provide three presents per child. So if it wasn't for the community, it would cost us roughly $72,000. But we rely heavily on our community and the support and they. We have Amazon wish lists and they click it. It's very easy one click away and they can send it right to our office and we set it up where the caregivers come in and shop for the kids. So it's beautiful. It's the entire month of December where they come in and shop and then we offer school supplies, school uniforms, thanksgiving baskets, valentine's Day, you name it. We celebrate the holidays and I think that it for our programming. We do offer life skills for those teenagers who just recently aged out of foster care, and that's a six month program.
Speaker 2:And that's helping make it place the workforce, or what is that until Just?
Speaker 3:everything you think about it. If you were raised in a group home and you don't have parents that are teaching you things, there's some things they don't know how to do banking, they don't know how to clean the toilet from anything and everything, and also working on communication skills. We do have a section on employment readiness, but it's really just the overall health of that teenager.
Speaker 2:Well, thank you for everything. First of all, that sounds like you guys do quite a lot and I'm glad to hear one of the questions. As you were talking, I was thinking one other times of the year besides obviously Christmas, but I think you touched on that where it's constantly celebrating and obviously back to school as well. For those other times, how, and even for Christmas? I mean, you mentioned that Amazon wishlist. What's the easiest way for people to find those lists and also donate Our website?
Speaker 3:is wwwfriendsoffosterchildrencom, and that's probably the easiest way, or you can call the office 561-352-2540. Lots of people, church agents, churches, other agencies they'll come up with an idea and they will say, hey, can we do, can we partner with you? And I don't know if we've ever said no. And the community comes up with great ideas and we do that it's awesome, all right, perfect.
Speaker 2:Well, you kind of skimmed over what it's like to become a caregiver and you touch into that and elaborate Sure.
Speaker 3:So I will first talk about kinship. Kinship is anybody that is familiar with the child prior to the child being removed, so it doesn't have to be a blood relative, it can be a teacher. We've had teachers and godparents and neighbors just a familiar person to that child. And, like I said, they're normally blindsided by the whole ass. And we have two kinship navigators that immediately help them with everything. Because if you're a foster parent, you've taken classes to get ready to take in a child.
Speaker 3:But grandma on a fixed income, who just hit retirement, is not planning on raising children or babies, and so we help with all of that. And we also have a class that we offer quarterly and it's we call it information and it's giving those caregivers additional support trauma training and understanding the legal system within DCF, understanding the case management, the removal, what it takes for a child to go home All of that stuff we provide. We also do Wednesday nights. We partner with Center for Child Counseling and they provide a support group run by a licensed therapist. We provide the childcare while the caregiver attends that support group and they can come anytime for that. That's wonderful.
Speaker 2:I'm sure that makes the difference on some people even saying yes or no in the situations, because they think that they're going to have to do it alone.
Speaker 3:Right, they're scared and it's overwhelming initially. If we can take some of that burden off of them and help them, and help them better understand what's going on, I think it's a better situation for them and for the child.
Speaker 2:How do you I mean gosh? We could go into so many different questions. I don't want to take our time too long just because I'm sure you have stories and stories and stories. But just as a brief detour, what is that conversation usually like? When you reach out to the family member, that's obviously a very tricky conversation to navigate, and then do they give you that pushback, and then do they ask you how long and all those things.
Speaker 3:Yes, we aren't the ones asking for that, it's normally the investigator, the child protective investigator reaches out. We do do that through family finding though. We reach out to them and we say, do you know a child that is in foster care? Lots of times they do. Then we connect them with the case manager to reach out and begin like a home study type thing. But it's very overwhelming for them because you have all these people calling you and you don't know what's going on and you don't know how long. Lots of times they think, oh, it's just going to be for a couple of days until they get it back together.
Speaker 3:But normally when DCF becomes involved we try to have permanency for that child within nine months. So that's Palm Beach County standard is nine months. It goes longer than that for sure. But that is our goal is to have the permanency by nine months. But the caregivers initially are thinking, oh, it's just going to be a little while and then the parents will get them back. But parents do get the children back at a faster rate historically when they're placed with relatives Because they get to see the kids more. They have more support through those caregivers. So we really encourage it and there's a federal push right now, because children do do better, families do better when the kids stay with family.
Speaker 2:Okay and then so we touched on the kinship side of it all. Let's go back to the foster parent portion and how people also can get involved.
Speaker 3:Yes, so we desperately need foster parents in Palm Beach County. We have six, seven, eight year olds going out of county being placed with foster homes because we do not have enough foster homes in Palm Beach County. So it's a process. You would reach out to us. Reach out to Danielle at 561-698-2332. And she can give you all the ins and outs. People think, oh, I rent, I can't become a foster parent. Or oh, maybe I'm too young I can't be a foster parent. But there's a lot of myths out there. You just have to be over the age of 21. You can rent. You do need to be financially sound and just have a big heart. And so we desperately need that in Palm Beach County. Yeah, I'm sure.
Speaker 2:And then how does that work with? I mean, for people like me that haven't had firsthand experience on it, being a foster parent, how long of a commitment is that? Is it the same kind of you know where you're kind of unsure on it all? Are you committing to the child until they graduate?
Speaker 3:No. So with a foster parent it's a little different than a relative, but they are placed with you. So you would go through an eight to 12 week training and you have plenty of time. So you go through all that training and then you say, yeah, okay, yes, I can do it. Or maybe that's not for me and maybe I need to give my time of talent in a different way.
Speaker 3:But if you agree and you say yes, I want to be a foster parent, then you would go through a licensing process and there's about I don't know off the top of my head about six or seven licensing agencies, including ChildNet, within Palm Beach County and they would start the licensing process. So they would run backgrounds and they would come and do a home study and make sure you have a fire extinguisher and just the basic things, and then you go on a list so say all of that is perfect. Then your licensing agency gets notified of every child sheltered and license care. Oh, and you can also say, hey, I want babies, or I want, I don't want babies, I don't want to deal with diapers. Can I have three and older? Or I only want teenagers, or I only want boys, because I have a son of my own and that would be best, so you can pick things that best suits your lifestyle.
Speaker 3:And so you go on that list and then they reach out to you and they say, hey, a 12 year old boy just came in. Would you be interested? And so the foster parent can see a little bit about his history and whether or not they think that would be a good fit for their family. But then they're committed to that youth until permanency is reached. So you are licensed yearly. So I guess when your year is up you could say, yeah, hey, this isn't for me, but hopefully you would see placement through. And the goal is reunification and the majority of our kids over, probably 60% or more, return home. So that is our goal is for reunification. But we have foster parents here who they maintain relationships, they become, they're in that child's life and they stay in that child's life.
Speaker 1:Beautiful how often are the children adopted by the foster parent, and when is that decision made?
Speaker 3:So it really depends. The parents are given over a year to to really change whatever it is that got them into the situation right away. Family is low. You try to find family as well, but then say all of that, nothing, that child is there and the parents haven't done anything. Then termination of parental rights happens and then the child is freed for adoption. But even if that happens, the caregiver can say, yes, I would like to be considered for adoption, and then more home studies are done, right, or they can say hey, no, and then the child continues to live there until there is an adoption match.
Speaker 1:Okay, and then I'm really fascinated with the kids that age out of foster care. That seems so you know you don't really think about that. You know, if a kid is in a home and let's say they're, you know, in 12th grade, and then they turn 18, do they get booted out in the middle of that school year, or can they stay if the foster parent wants them to it?
Speaker 3:truly depends on the situation. So there are certain group homes. If a child comes in, I mean it's really unlikely that the child has spent his entire life in foster care. Normally the youth that age out, they come in 15, 16 and then age out. So if it's a foster parent, the foster parent can say, hey, no, I want the child to stay with me until they graduate and then they would continue to get paid to keep that child and the child can have more permanency and finished school and then move out.
Speaker 3:Or I mean we've had others that basically permanently stay but then, because you have to think about it, if they go away to college they need somewhere to come home to for Thanksgiving and holidays and things like that. But then there's also we have some good programs Vita, nova, place of Hope. We have a few that where you age out and you go into a program. It's still not mom and dad, it's still not someone, but it is a support. But you're living with a group of youth in the same situation as you and so they can have support to make sure they're getting up and going to school, when working or whatever they need to do. But child that provides support for them if and they get allowances and their rent is paid and colleges paid, so they do get support ongoing, but it's never the same and it's always a struggle.
Speaker 1:Yeah, we've done some work with Place, I Hope, in the past and visited the cottages, so I didn't know you guys all kind of work together or how that really worked. I want to talk about something that people know about, but you just mentioned is the foster parents do get paid. So I want to talk about what that stipend is and is it enough to take care of the child. I'm just curious what that means to people.
Speaker 3:Yeah, it's a board rate. Even the relatives get paid. So relatives and foster parents both get paid. It used to be that foster parents got paid a little more than what a relative does, but now both are paid and then it depends on what level of need the child is. And I'm not 100% up on the board rates. But they're paid per day and it's definitely enough to pay for whatever the child needs and groceries and all of that. A foster parent is definitely not going to like it's not going to be a source of income. So I'm saying you're not going to live on that, but it's definitely enough to take care of the child and then, like ChildNet has stipends for, like back to school the caregivers whether you're in foster or a licensed relative caregiver you can you get a stipend to buy back to school clothes and things like that.
Speaker 2:Also. Alright well, I think we've covered quite a bit. Are there any other upcoming besides your, your toy drive and everything else? So there are any upcoming events or anything you want to shout out or anything you want to add in before we wrap up on our final question.
Speaker 3:Sure, I just want to again talk about our holiday and do sort of a holiday push. It's a lot. We're buying for roughly 1600 kids and three presents each and it's a lot. So we rely heavily on our community and you can find that on our website and or you can reach out to me at Jane at friends of foster children dot com if any any businesses would like to have a toy box or do a collection for us. A lot of holiday parties we rely on businesses and they will ask everyone come into the holiday party to do an unwrapped gift, those type of thing. So we welcome that.
Speaker 2:Alright, rebecca, you want to take us out with our final question.
Speaker 1:Our final question is why do you love life in Palm Beach County?
Speaker 3:Oh, sunshine. My family, my family, lives in Pennsylvania and I always say to them if you're going to be a social worker, why not do it in paradise? So it is paradise. I love the culture, I love the restaurants, I love the sense of community. Even though we're big or small, you run into people all the time. I just love it.
Speaker 1:Well, thank you so much, jane. We'd love to help out. I think you'll find a few things coming from us for the kids for the holidays. Thanks for being on. I love Palm Beach. Thank you for having us. Alright, have a great day, thank you.
Speaker 2:Bye, bye.