Have You Ever Considered Foster Parenting or Adoption? January 26, 2013

FAM, the Foster Adoptive Mission, is recruiting families to be foster and adoptive parents throughout CT. FAM is a state and federally funded community collaborative whose mission is to find safe, nurturing homes for children of all ages who are served by the CT foster care system. At any given time there are over 4000 children in the Connecticut foster care system longing for a safe, nurturing home.

Find out more about becoming a foster parent through one of thirteen licensed foster care agencies in this area, including the Department of Children and Families. FAM will be hosting an Information Meeting at the Bristol Public Library, 5 High Street, Bristol on Saturday, January 26 at 10 a.m., weather permitting. Please join us! Any adult, age 21 and over, is welcome.

At the meeting, FAM will provide information and assistance to prospective families regarding licensing requirements and the child welfare system. We will walk you through the maze of child welfare providers (DCF and private) available to Bristol area families and assist you in identifying a match to fit your family’s needs. There is no cost or obligation. All of FAM’s costs are covered by a federal grant from The Adoption and Safe Families Act and state funding.

Could you consider opening your heart and your home to a deserving child? Did you know that foster families receive assistance with medical coverage and care and a daily stipend to cover the costs associated with fostering a child?

Do you enjoy spending time with teens? Teenagers are an underserved population in foster care and all too often wait too long to find good, loving homes. We need patient, responsible, loving adults to help them during their time of need.

Do you enjoy caring for babies? Finding temporary homes for infants is increasingly challenging in Connecticut due to the increase in two-parent working families and the difficulty finding daycare for newborns on short notice.

By fostering or adopting, you will help to fill a void in a child’s life and enrich your own. “I missed having children in my home,” states one foster mom. “I love being a ‘mom’ again. And I find it so rewarding to have been a part of the kids’ lives when they needed it most. I miss them when they leave but many times I keep in touch with their families.” Many foster families form bonds with children’s birth families and/or adoptive families and maintain ongoing relationships that continue long past the day a child moves out. It is one of the many rewards associated with being a foster parent.

For more information or to pre-register contact FAM at 203-706-0101 or check out our website at www.fosteradoptivemission.org.

Official Website: http://www.fosteradoptivemission.org/