At least 5 children a day in Connecticut are being referred to foster care, according to child advocates the I-Team spoke with, but there’s not enough room for them.
Advocates say, now more than ever, foster parents are needed.
Since 2019, the Village for Families and Children has seen a steady decrease of licensed foster homes in the state.
But the need for help keeps growing.
For three years Latisha Rush has been a foster parent, offering her home to ten children, mostly teens girls, over the years.
“The way that I look at it is, whatever time they’re with me, I just try to be that source of light for them during that period,” says Rush.
Inspired by her own upbringing, Rush says her goal is to just be there for these children, no matter what they need and how long they stay.
“You’re offering them a place of healing and rest right,” says Rush.
She wants to encourage others to think about doing the same.
“For me, it’s a greater sense of purpose in my life. If you’re looking for something like that, it’s definitely an opportunity for you to fulfill that,” says Rush.
“There’s a lot of different ways you can go about it,” says Jonathan Singngam, who works in foster care at The Village for Families & Children, an agency that provides resources for at-risk families and children.
He says there are children out there that need your help.
“We are not looking for perfection, I think that’s something that skews the idea. Even just the simple thing of being able to show up for the first time for maybe one of these kids’ games, give them medicine for the first time, just that presence is what we are looking for,” says Singngam.
According to The Village for Families & Children, on average 131 children enter care every month in the state. As of last month, there are 2,585 children from infants to 18 years olds currently in care. As of May 2024, of the 1,400 licensed caregivers in CT, only 200 households are available right now across the state to foster them.
“There are just not enough homes in CT to meet that demand,” says Singngam.
Rush will be the first to tell you, fostering is rewarding, and hard.
But she wants you to know, the Village provides a support team every step of the way.
“You’re not alone. You have a team, you have support. If you’re genuine and you’re doing it from the heart you do what you can do,” says Rush.
The Village for Families & Children also wants to point out that if the idea of full-time fostering sounds “too much too soon” for you, there’s other options that can also help.
You can ask about being a respite home or even just a mentor.
BECOME A FOSTER PARENT:
Click here for information on how to become a foster parent.
Foster care: Expanding Services to Help More Youth