Goshen, N.Y. – Orange County has declared May as Foster Parent Month in the County.
According to Darcie Miller, Orange County’s Commissioner of Social Services and Mental Health, Foster Parent Month provides an opportunity to acknowledge foster parents, family members, volunteers, mentors, policymakers, child welfare professionals and other community members who help children and youth in foster care find permanent homes and connections.
“Through their love and guidance, foster parents in Orange County provide vulnerable children with the care and supervision they need to grow and develop until they can find a permanent family,” Miller said. “It is important to recognize the invaluable contribution that foster parents make and thank them for their dedication to these children.”
Added Orange County Executive Steven M. Neuhaus: “Foster parents play a valuable role in our communities and provide a nurturing family environment to children in need of stability in their lives. We are extremely grateful for the dedicated service from our foster parents and our staff to the children of Orange County.”
Miller said that the County’s DSS foster families and social service staff are currently caring for 174 children.
“Foster families are our partners in keeping children safe and helping them heal from the trauma of abuse and neglect,” Miller added. “Since March 2020, we have asked even more from our foster parents. They have accepted emergency placements of children at all hours of the day and night and hosted virtual visitations and managed virtual learning. They often act as mentors to birth parents working to regain custody of their children. They endure the simultaneous joy and heartache of children leaving their home to be reunited with their birth family.”
For more information on becoming a foster parent in Orange County, please contact the Foster Care Network at 877-297-3303 or visit the website fosteradoptorangeny.org. Potential foster parents must be at least 21-years-old and have a reliable source of income.
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