Dayton city council’s Jan. 12 meeting focused on Northern Kentucky’s growing need for foster families.
Jennifer Wehe and Tiesha Elmer, both representatives of the state’s Cabinet for Health and Family Services, presented the agency’s December data for Campbell County at the meeting.
“Statewide, we have 8,692 children in out-of-home care,” Wehe said. “In Campbell County alone, there are 172 children in foster care.”
That statistic means that two women have been busy. Since last August, they’ve visited meetings across the region to spread awareness about how everyone can support local foster children.
In Kentucky, there are two accepted models of foster care. The first type, which Wehe calls out-of-home care, is a traditional foster setting; an unrelated party taking care of an unrelated child. The second is referred to as relative and fictive kin care, which means a person who knows the child — whether a family member or an unrelated but known adult like a teacher, coach, or bus driver — takes care of them.
Both paths include background checks, fingerprinting, and 20 hours of training on how to care for a fostered child. Both paths also have benefits, including per diem payments, an adoption tax credit, and tuition waivers to any in-state college or technical school.
If fostering a child seems like too much, there are other ways to support foster families.
“Not everybody can become a foster parent, but you could donate items,” Wehe said.
“Listening to us, raising awareness, and sharing our information,” are other ways to help, she added.
New items can be donated to the Foster Adoptive Parent Association of Northern Kentucky. For foster teens, gift cards are especially appreciated.
Most importantly, Wehe said, “The need is out there. We want to keep kids in Dayton.”