GREENE COUNTY, Ohio — More than 800 kids in foster care across the Miami Valley are waiting to be placed with families and the problem is there aren’t enough families taking them in.
News Center7’s Cody Butler was at the Greene County Fair where one organization is looking to make sure kids have a home.
SAFY Ohio was hoping that their presence at the Greene County Fair would help get families to foster.
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“We really need more foster homes open to help with the amount of kids that are just coming into the system,” said Kristen Teter of SAFY of Dayton.
Teter is working to recruit foster parents for SAFY of Dayton, which is a state-trusted organization providing foster care services.
Right now, more than 800 kids in Montgomery, Clark and Greene counties are waiting for a home.
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Teter is hoping a booth at the Greene County Fair will help even just one child.
“Even just talking about it to your neighbors, talking about it your church, anything like that, any community partners you have, any businesses, that’s really effective,” Teter said.
“This is something that I’ve always wanted to do,” said Kaitlyn Howell, a foster parent. “And I’m unbelievably happy that I get to be able to do it.”
Howell has fostered 30 kids over the last five years, and she has five in her care right now.
Most return to their biological parents.
“I tell my kids all the time, and like good people make bad choices all the times,” she said. “Just because somebody made a bad choice does not make them a bad person. Learning from it and being able to do better is what makes them a good person.”
She said she wishes more people would sign up to take in kids.
“It’s kind of heartbreaking because like there’s so many kids in care and kids come into care for all kinds of reasons. It’s not always it’s not always abuse or neglect,” Howell said.
Teter said anyone can be a foster parent.
Potential parents need 24 hours of training, pass a background check, and do get paid.
“It’s so important and the kids really need they really need good people,” Teter said.
Teter told us foster parents can live in a different county than where the child’s case originates.
She said that’s why the Greene County Fair is a great place to recruit for Montgomery and Clark counties.
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