Need for foster homes surges during pandemic: Become a foster parent today

Foster and adoptive parents Thayer and Sarah play with their twin boys.

When a 10-year-old boy was removed from his home and needed a foster home in late summer, Oakland Family Services didn’t have any available and reluctantly had to turn him away. Instead of being placed into a foster home with caring foster parents who could give him the individual love and attention he needed, the boy was sent to a children’s shelter where it felt more like living in an institution than a home.

It’s a situation that is happening all too often. There is a shortage of foster homes, and it’s especially evident during the COVID-19 pandemic as potential caregivers are concerned about infection risks.

“During this pandemic, we have seen an increase in the need for foster homes willing to take in school-age children,” said Lynette Whitten, licensing supervisor at Oakland Family Services. “We are receiving several referrals every week and, due to the lack of available homes, we are able to help only a few.”

Oakland Family Services turns away about 90% of the referrals it receives. The majority come from counties that are too far away, but for those that are within the agency’s boundaries, the need is great — especially for school age children and teenagers. Since March, Oakland Family Services has had an average of approximately 150 referrals per month with the majority of the requests for youth ages 9-17.

Foster parents are always in scarce supply, but recruitment has gotten even harder during the pandemic, with people worried about the risk of coronavirus transmission.

Oakland Family Services has implemented safety protocols to help ensure foster parents, foster children and families are safe during the pandemic. Prior to any in-person visits with birth parents or caseworker visits to foster homes, a health attestation must be completed by everyone present. Those attending will need to take their temperature and answer COVID-19-related questions. During the visit, masks must be worn and social distancing maintained (except between parents and children).

“We want to make sure our foster parents, foster children and families are safe during any in-person visit so we can continue helping some of the most vulnerable children in our community,” Whitten said.

Oakland Family Services desperately needs foster parents who want to make a difference for these children who have endured abuse or neglect and need a safe place to call home.

“If we had a larger base of families, we would be able to find homes for more groups of siblings, teenagers, school-age children and those with a variety of behavioral and medical needs,” Whitten said. “At Oakland Family Services, we welcome all families who are interested in providing a home for children in the foster care system. You can be single, married, a same-sex couple, or living in an apartment.”

Thayer and Sarah fostered two twin boys through Oakland Family Services before adopting them in 2017. When the twins arrived at Thayer and Sarah’s home with garbage bags containing their belongings, the boys had experienced a lot of trauma in the short seven months since they were born.

“You don’t have to be the perfect parents or provide every little thing,” Sarah said. “The twins had never had a bed before they came to our house. So even being able to give them a bed and a space of their own felt so rewarding, and it felt as if we were giving them a life of what every child should have – a space of their own, a bed of their own, and parents who love them.”

If you would like to learn more about foster care through Oakland Family Services, please let us know!