Sounding The CALL for National Foster Care Awareness Month
LITTLE ROCK – Each May, since 1988, National Foster Care Month has raised awareness for millions of Americans across the country. Today, National Foster Care Month continues to broaden awareness, uniting individuals and organizations through strong support and recruitment programs nationwide. This month, The CALL will focus on ways YOU can get involved, whether as a foster or adoptive parent or by utilizing your gifts and talents to benefit families and children.
For a child or youth in foster care, life is uncertain. While their parents work to address the needs of the home and restore the family unit, children and youth need a safe, loving place where they can heal from the trauma they have experienced. The CALL mobilizes local churches to raise up and support families to serve local children and families by providing children and youth in foster care what they need most – a family.
This month, The CALL is launching a campaign to highlight “Say Yes to foster care” focusing on the need for additional foster families and how everyone can get involved to serve these children and families. For the Welch family-saying yes to foster care meant having “The opportunity to see God use you and your family in ways you would never imagine!
The need for more families to open their homes to fostering is great. Currently, there are approximately 3,700 children in foster care statewide and 1,400 foster families open to care for them. On average, 12 children across Arkansas are removed from their homes and placed in the foster care system every day. More than 7,000 children spend time in foster care in Arkansas each year. Arkansas needs 2,500 more foster homes to have more than enough families waiting to care for these children and youth during their time in foster care. When parents cannot keep their children due to crisis, neglect, or abuse, these children enter the foster care system needing safe homes with loving arms to take them in and care for them. Since 2007, The CALL has opened over 3,135 foster and adoptive homes serving over 31,000 children and youth.
For more information or to contact your local affiliate in your community:
PR Contact Name: Jill Bobo
501-580-1214
To learn more about The CALL, visit TheCALLinArkansas.org or Facebook.com/TheCALLinAR.
