Foster Care Awareness Month
May is Foster Care Awareness Month. There are thousands of children of all ages in need of homes. There are three different kinds of foster care: Family Foster Care (foster children are taken in and treated as family, can be short term or long term), Kinship Foster Care (family of the child takes them in), and Respite Foster Care (providing short term relief to long term foster parents for a few hours to a few days). To become a foster parent, you must be at least 21 years old, must be financially stable, and must pass a background check, in addition to some other qualifications. You may be single or in a relationship. To learn more about fostering or to start the process for licensure, please call MN Prairie County Alliance at 507-431-5725 or email childprotection@mnprairie.org. Some people are hesitant to foster because they fear becoming attached. However, foster parents should become attached. These children need a loving home and parents who care for them, whether it’s for a few hours or for many years. “And the king will say to them in reply, ‘Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.’”-Matthew 25:40