Local foster parents urge Salem Lakes residents to help close county-wide foster-home gap
Loading...
Summary
Two foster parents told the Village Board that Kenosha County averages about 200 children in out-of-home care and is roughly 44 families short of needed foster homes, and asked for community partnerships to recruit local families.
At the Oct. 30 Salem Lakes Village Board meeting two foster parents, Melissa and Jen, described a shortage of local foster families and asked the board and community to help with recruitment.
"On any given day here in Kenosha County, we have on average 200 children in out of home care," Melissa said, and she added Kenosha County is "44 families short of what we need to sustain the amount of children coming into out of home care." The presenters said the shortage forces siblings to be separated across homes and counties and stressed that shelters are being used to house children of all ages.
The presenters asked whether local businesses could host information sessions, post flyers or display banners, and offered to leave printed materials with the clerk for residents interested in learning more. When asked how many foster families operate specifically in Salem Lakes, the presenter said she did not have that statistic available and apologized for not knowing the local count.
The board accepted the informational presentation and asked the presenters to leave printed materials with the clerk for distribution.
What’s next: presenters left recruitment materials with the clerk for community members who want to follow up; the board did not take formal action on the presentation.
