UNION COUNTY, N.C. — There’s a critical need for families in the Carolinas who are willing to be foster parents, an one Union County couple is almost ready.
David and Nikki Church put a lot of thought into making their home feel like a safe place for children, but it’s not just the things. Everywhere you look, there are messages of hope and kindness.
“I’m most looking forward to just having a chance to show somebody that people care, that they’re loved, and that doesn’t have anything to do with who they are or what they’ve done because they’re human — that’s enough,” David told Channel 9’s Gina Esposito.
The couple has completed the training and inspections to ensure their home meets state requirements. They started the process last spring. Around the same time, Channel 9 reported on Union County’s need for more foster parents.
[ READ MORE >> Union County recruiting foster families to meet desperate need for kids ]
“Since the story aired, it has actually been absolutely fantastic because we’ve had 18 different people from the community who have went through our foster parent training class,“ Ashley Lants, Union County’s social services director, said.
She says the increase in foster parents is filling a critical gap. Union County averages about 130 kids in foster care each month. If all of the new parents get their license, that’s a total of 57 families they can rely on.
The Church family can foster up to three children, which can keep a sibling group together rather than separating them. A challenge in some communities is that children can’t be placed at all.
“Unfortunately, that is happening,” Kimaree Sanders, section chief for regulatory and licensing division of social services at NCDHHS. “The children and youth are unfortunately being boarded in DSS offices or in EDs.”
Sanders says more than 10,000 kids and teens are in foster care statewide with only about 5,500 foster parents. In South Carolina, an additional 869 foster homes are needed to support more than 3,500 kids.
The first goal when kids go into foster care is to place them with relatives, but right now, that’s only possible in about a fourth of the cases in North Carolina. A diverse pool of foster parents is needed, not just in Union County, but in every community.
For Nikki Church, it’s personal. As a child, she was once removed from her home.
“I do remember it was very scary. I was placed in a building with a lot of other kids who had also been removed, and I remember not being able to see my parents at the time,” Nikki said. “I really want to be able to give kids something that I wasn’t able to have in that moment.”
The couple, who’ve been married 16 years, say infertility led them to consider other ways to become parents. They say fostering feels like the right path.
“We’re very open to adoption if that’s where their journey takes them,” Nikki said. “Of course, the goal of fostering is reunification with parents, and we will promote that as much as we’re able to, but yes, if the opportunity arises, we’re happy to adopt.”
Learn more about how to become a foster parent by reaching out to your local DSS office.
[ Find a DSS office near you ]
In South Carolina, the Department of Social Services is hosting training opportunities for anyone interested in becoming a foster parent. Learn more here.