Published: May 27, 2006 12:24 am            

Foster parents are life support for children in need

Regardless how difficult a home situation might have been, children who are taken away from their biological parent or parents feel lost and abandoned. They need someone to not only take care of their basic needs, but to love them unconditionally.

Often times, children who are removed from their homes and put in foster care have seen a side of life that no youngster should see. Life has hit them smack in the face, and they are searching for someone to help take the sting away.

That’s what foster parents do. They step in, take children under their wings, love them and then, set them free. A difficult job, but one that carries its own reward — the knowledge that the love and care they gave a child in need will go with the child when he or she is reunited with his or her parent or parents. It is a gift that will stay with that child, even after he or she becomes an adult.

As drug use continues to plague the area, there is an ever-increasing need for temporary homes for children. Unfortunately, often there are not enough foster parents to fulfill the need created by the methamphetamine epidemic.

It takes special people to step forward during times of crisis, but this is exactly what these children need. And there are many special people out there, but they often hesitate before finding out more.

The Department of Children and Family Services is hoping anyone who has thought about giving temporary help to a child in need will find the courage to step forward now and find out more about becoming a foster parent. There is no better time than when families are so desperately needed, as they are currently, to at least take the first step to find out if foster parenting may be for you.