Olmsted County recognizes National Foster Care Awareness Month
May is National Foster Care Awareness Month. Olmsted County recognizes the important role foster parents, family members, volunteers, mentors, policymakers, welfare professionals, and other members of the community play with helping adults, children, and youth in foster care find permanent homes and connections.
“Every person deserves to live in a supportive, loving home where they can thrive and prosper,” said Director of Olmsted County Adult and Family Services Amy Thompson. “During unfortunate times when children or adults cannot remain safely in their own homes, the individuals and families who open their hearts and homes as a foster provider offer a vital service to their communities.”
Olmsted County provides both child and adult foster care services such as emergency shelter, family foster care, special services homes, resource family homes, respite care. They also provide services to aid with personal care, independent living skills, medication administration, and/or safeguarding cash resources.
There is a growing need for foster care providers in Olmsted County.
“Foster families can support a child or adult during a time of transition and provide a safe and comfortable family-like environment. In honor of National Foster Care Month, Olmsted County wants to recognize the foster families that often go unnoticed and share our thanks for all that they do,” said Olmsted County Director of Child and Family Services Amy Rauchwarter.
“Olmsted County wants to continue to bring an awareness about foster care and the continued need for foster families in our community. While we welcome all those willing to foster children, we are actively working to increase the diversity of foster homes to be representative of the children entering foster care. There is also a need for foster homes for older youth, foster homes able and willing to take sibling groups of three children or more, and those able to accept children into their homes with special medical and/or mental health needs,” said Rauchwarter.
If you are considering becoming a foster care provider, check out the following videos featuring two foster families in Olmsted County.
If you are interested in learning more about foster care services available in Olmsted County, please visit our child foster care and adult foster care webpages.