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Centre County proclaims May Foster Care Awareness Month; foster parents describe keeping sibling groups together
Summary
The board adopted Proclamation No. 22 of 2025 recognizing May as Foster Care Awareness Month. Foster parents Ben and Maggie Lee and county staff described challenges and supports for foster families and emphasized a local need for families willing to take school‑age children and sibling groups.
The Centre County Board of Commissioners adopted Proclamation No. 22 of 2025, designating May 2025 as Foster Care Awareness Month and hearing testimony from local foster parents about the county’s need for more homes for sibling groups and school‑age children.
Ben and Maggie Lee, who identified themselves as a foster family living in Centre County, described having hosted seven children through foster care and said keeping siblings together has been “worth every challenge.” Their son Graham told commissioners, “It's fun. I really like little kids coming to our house.”
County staff described current foster care statistics: there are 71 children in the care and custody of Centre County Children and Youth Services, with 59% placed in Centre County homes and about 30% in kinship foster homes (caregivers who had a prior relationship with the child or family). Staff identified Keystone Family Alliance as a local nonprofit partner and provided a website (keyfam.org) and a county phone number (814‑355‑6755) as contact points for people interested in fostering.
Commissioners and staff stressed community supports available to foster families, including county children and youth services, Keystone Family Alliance and other nonprofit networks. The board recorded a motion and second to adopt Proclamation No. 22 of 2025; the clerk announced the motion carried.
Why it matters: Commissioners and foster parents said Centre County is actively seeking more foster families — particularly for school‑age children and sibling groups — and that community support networks can assist parents with respite, meals and other resources.
What the meeting record shows: the board received personal testimony from foster parents, county staff provided placement statistics and resources, and the board adopted the proclamation.
