National Foster Care Month - Children's Home Society of NC

May 19, 2009

NC NEWS -- The month of May is National Foster Care Month during this time we salute those advocates that serve as, foster parents, mentors, relative caregivers, social workers, and volunteers. Thanks to these compassionate people, many formerly abused or neglected children and teens will safely either reunite with their parents, be cared for by relatives, or be adopted by loving families. CEO Ken Tutterow and Executive Vice-President Sandy Cook of Children's Home Society of NC (CHS) released the following reminder about their honorable mission here in North Carolina:

"May is National Foster Care Month, a time to come together on behalf of the nearly 500,000 American children who are living in foster care because their own families are in crisis. Over 10,000 of these children live right here in North Carolina.

"Through our work with these amazing children and teens, we know how resilient they can be. Children have an extraordinary capacity to overcome many challenges  but only if they have the support of caring adults in their lives.

"Foster parents play a key role in the lives of these children. They willingly open their hearts and homes while providing safety, love, and support for children with a wide variety of needs. They advocate for the children's health and well-being as a permanent plan is made for the child  to either return to their birth families or begin the search for an adoptive family. They become the child's ally and touch their lives in so many different ways.

"During National Foster Care Month, we take time to honor the dedicated foster families, volunteers, and child welfare professionals who are serving children. The foster care "system" is only as good as the people who choose to be a part of it. With the help of more North Carolinians, the lives of these children will change for the better.

"However, without permanent, nurturing relationships, children and teens that grow up in foster care are far more likely to endure homelessness, poverty, poor health, unemployment, incarceration, and many other adversities in their adult lives.

"Nearly every community is suffering from a shortage of foster families. More and more children are in need. Children in foster care feel more secure and are likely to do better in school when they are able to stay in their home community. The simple truth is that the larger the pool of qualified foster parents, the easier it is to ensure that children can remain in their own neighborhoods and schools, and to place sibling groups together in foster homes.

"No matter how much time you have to give, you have the power to do something positive that will change the life of a child in foster care. Call 1-800-632-1400 to find out how you can make a difference today."

"Sincerely,
Ken Tutterow and Sandy Cook - Children's Home Society of North Carolina"

Children's Home Society of NC was founded in 1902, and has been serving children and families for more than a century and has placed more than 13,500 children into loving adoptive homes. CHS has four facilities in Greensboro and offices in seven other cities across the state. CHS services include pregnancy counseling, family and therapeutic foster care, domestic adoption for infants and older children, and adoption support services. Children's Home Society of NC is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina, at the CHS Adoption and Foster Care Resource Center.