“Urgent need” for foster parents
By Samantha Lyles, Staff Writer, slyles@newsandpress.net
Right now, there are nearly 3,600 children in South Carolina placed in foster care. That’s 3,600 kids feeling anxious and frightened, confused and angry, and – more than anything – lost. Making matters worse, there aren’t nearly enough qualified foster homes to care for these children, particularly those kids with special needs. Volunteers are needed, and the South Carolina Youth Advocate Program (SCYAP) is hoping that you can help.
SCYAP is a state agency charged with providing care for special needs youth taken into custody by the Department of Social Services. These may include young people from SC Mental Health, Department of Juvenile Justice, or Disabilities and Special Needs.
“These children may have severe emotional or behavioral problems, or they may have severe medical issues that require specialized parents – what we call “professional parents” who are trained and licensed,” says Lurline Jerry, associate executive director for SCYAP.
While these “professional parents” come from a variety of economic, racial, and ethnic backgrounds, they have one very important commonality: a willingness to take displaced children into their homes and provide them with a sense of safety, love, and belonging. That task can be difficult, since many kids have been through a number of foster homes before coming into the care of SCYAP.
“Most children in foster care have been traumatized…There’s some resentment, some damage. There is more hurt and more pain for them every time they move (homes),” says Jerry.
Dealing with these troubles requires specific training, which SCYAP provides to foster parent volunteers after they undergo background checks, home studies by SCYAP licensing coordinators, and home inspections by fire, health, and environmental agencies. Those who pass initial qualification are required to complete 32 hours of pre-service training to help them care for therapeutic children.
SCYAP provides therapeutic foster care (TFC) by specially recruiting, training, and matching foster parents with children who can best benefit from their skills. Since TFC often deals with children who have emotional or behavioral problems, foster parents have access to a 24-hour crisis response team to help them de-escalate any burgeoning crises. Treatment homes can also assist young people with independent living or medical supervision needs.
Short-term assistance is also provided through temporary de-escalation care, where children suffering emotional disturbance may be placed in TFC to help them or their families during a time of need, such as when a caregiver becomes ill or unavailable for a limited period of time.
Youthful offenders can sometimes avoid detention through the short-term alternative placement (STAP) program, which rehomes the child in TFC for the term of their detention/institutionalization. STAP youths might also transition from temporary care to long-term TFC if all parties are amenable.
SCYAP also provides therapy services to individuals, families, and groups, offers diagnostic assessments to tailor services to a child’s specific issues, and covers various socialization and educational support needs through its “wraparound” program.
Becoming a legal adult does not necessarily mean aging out of SCYAP’s care continuum. Youths aged 18 and older who are clients of the Department of Disabilities and Special Needs may be eligible for Community Training Home placement, where the youth (normally someone with a brain disorder/injury, autism, or behavioral disorder) can receive specialized care and support from trained TFC volunteers.
Jerry says there is an urgent need for volunteers to care for displaced children, especially those with special needs, and while the transition to foster care can be difficult, the reward of seeing a child grow confident, happy, and strong is worth all the effort. She adds that volunteers don’t need to be flawless paragons of virtue, just patient, loving people who can provide safe haven for a child in need.
“Children don’t need perfect people, they just need someone to love them,” says Jerry.
To learn more about the South Carolina Youth Advocate Program, phone the Florence Region office at 843-661-7080 or call 1-800-882-5513. Visit their website at: www.scyap.com