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A 6 year old tied to a chair with duct tape and beaten with an electrical cord….a 12 year old left home alone for two weeks to fend for himself…..an 8 year old left alone to care for siblings while mom was on the streets doing drugs…. an 11 year old hit 130 times with a switch… and the stories just keep coming. These are the children who may be in need of foster care.
Foster Care is a temporary living arrangement for abused, neglected, and dependent children who need a safe place to live when their parents and/or other relatives cannot take care of them. Often their families face issues such as illness, alcohol and drug addiction, or homelessness. Length of stay in foster care varies from a few days to much longer.
Every child deserves to have some place to call home. Every child deserves a family. Every child deserves to feel loved and wanted. But the truth is many children in North Carolina have no permanent home or family; and feel like nobody wants them. Durham County has approximately 190 children who are in foster care and in need of a home. These youth are in the Custody of Durham County Department of Social Services because of abuse, neglect or dependency.
They range in age from 0-17, with the average child being 8 years of age and older. Durham County DSS is in need of foster and adoptive parents who will step up to the challenge and work with the 8 years old and older population, especially teenagers. Yes, we are asking a lot from you, however we know YOU can make a difference in the life of a child in Durham County.
You don’t have to be rich. You don’t have to have a degree. You don’t have to be a perfect parent for a child. They just need you to be there for them, to be stable and loving, and provide guidance and stability. They need a family just like YOU!
John Holtkamp
Child Placement Program Manager
Office: 919-560-8086 Fax: 919-560-8100
Email: jholtkamp@durhamcountync.gov
General Requirement To Be A Licensed Foster Parent
Training Program-MAPP/GPS
MAPP Training Schedule For 2012
Adoption Services
For More Information Regarding Foster Care or Adoption
Other resources:
Foster Care brochure (PDF)
Family to Family brochure (PDF)
External resources:
Center for Child and Family Health
Center for Child and Family Policy
Network of Care
Exchange Club Family Center
Prevent Child Abuse NC
Durham System of Care
NC Foster and Adoptive Parent Association |
