Samaritas Foster Parents Share the Joy of Caring for Teens and Tweens
DETROIT – Samaritas, one of Michigan’s most trusted foster care agencies, is actively seeking empathetic adults to foster kids between the ages of eight and sixteen. These impressionable youth are at risk of aging out of foster care without the stability of an adult to guide and protect them through adolescence.
During Foster Care Awareness Month adults who are single, married, and related to kids who need fostering should attend a free orientation session to learn about the foster care process and the potential community benefit of their guidance. They can get started by calling (833) 605-HOPE (4673).
“After a distressed family has done everything – it can do to heal itself – Samaritas steps in with personalized services to help the whole family get better,” said Rachel Sykes, vice president of Samaritas Family Services. “The kids in this situation haven’t done anything wrong and need someone to take them in for a little while, until their biological family can heal.”
Foster care is meant to be a temporary intervention until the whole family can be healed. Foster kids can reside in homes with foster parents for several days, weeks, or months – and in some cases a year or longer – while birth parents are working to resolve the issues that caused their child to be removed from the home. In cases where the child is unable to return home, and the court terminates the parental rights – then the child becomes available for adoption.
The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) estimates that approximately 550 foster youth age out of foster care annually, heightening their vulnerability to homelessness. MDHHS offers services and resources for this group but estimates that 33 percent of Michigan teens leaving foster care will still experience homelessness before the age of 21.
There are 10,000 children in Michigan’s foster care system. This month, visit the Samaritas Foster Care Month page to read about foster parents who are enjoying their foster care journey with tweens and teens.
Samaritas serves children and families throughout Michigan with offices in Detroit, Ann Arbor, Flint, Grand Rapids, Lansing, and Kalamazoo. Visit Samaritas.org/donate to help us recruit more case workers and enrich existing programs to nurture the well-being of families in need.