Did you know that as I was preparing our post to share Unique Holidays: May 2022 I found out it is Foster Care Month. Did I ever tell you after Suzzane passed away I had wanted to Foster a child but the LORD had other plans for me. As my marriage would end and I would get remarried and have Charlie. Now, that he is 14 and were doing better financially it would be nice to Foster a little girl but I don’t know if Charlie or David would want to or not.
Foster Care Month
Started in 1988, The U.S. government has issued annual proclamations in recognition of National Foster Care Month, celebrated in May, to show appreciation and gratitude to foster parents across the nation. Foster care intends to provide a safe environment for children and youth who temporarily cannot live with their families. Foster care is a part of the constellation of services provided to children and families by the Children’s Bureau, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
HISTORY OF NATIONAL FOSTER CARE MONTH
Around 1830, a large population of homeless children emerged in big cities in the Northeast, including New York City. Children were orphaned because of their parents dying of epidemics like Typhoid or the Flu. Other children were neglected due to poverty. At the time, three charitable institutions: The Children’s Aid Society, Children’s Village, and the New York Foundling Hospital, developed a program that allocated these homeless children into new homes.
The United States Children’s Bureau is a federal agency organized under the United States Department of Health and Human Services’ Administration for Children and Families. Today, the bureau’s operations involve improving child abuse prevention, foster care, and adoption. The organization was founded in 1912 when President William Howard Taft turned the bill into law that would fund the government organization.
During the height of its influence, the Bureau was directed, managed, and staffed almost entirely by women. A rarity for any federal agency in the early 20th Century. This was the most influential in bringing the methods of reform-oriented social research and the ideas of materialist reformers to bear on federal government policy. The signing of this law culminated in a grass-roots process that was started in 1903 by two early social reformers, Lillian Wald and Florence Kelly. The stated purpose of the new Bureau was to investigate and report “upon all matters pertaining to the welfare of children and child life among all classes of our people.” Along the way, their efforts picked up support from President Theodore Roosevelt, among other prominent supporters, before finally becoming a law nine years after they launched the initiative. The law also called for the Bureau to be headed by a chief, who would be a presidential appointee, subject to Senate confirmation. The first chief of the Children’s Bureau was Julia Lathrop. Julia Lathrop was the first woman ever to head a government agency in the United States.
HOW TO OBSERVE NATIONAL FOSTER CARE MONTH
- Spread the Word and help us educate people on the importance of the foster care system and how much good the Foster Care system does for our nation’s youth. Get people to donate or to consider foster care if they have the means. The more eyes foster care reaches, the bigger chance you have at making a difference. Sharing using the hashtag #DareToCare
- There are a lot of places you can donate to, to get children and youth out of a potentially harmful situation. Search for your local foster care services and offer a donation.
- Order official National Foster Care Month pins and ribbons from FosterClub. As your looking for a shirt people also wear light blue shirts.
5 FACTS ABOUT FOSTER CARE
- There are over 400,000 children in Foster Care in the United States on any given day.
- Despite the common perception that the majority of children in foster care are very young, the average age of kids entering foster care is eight.
- In 2018, more than 71,000 children whose mothers’ and fathers’ parental rights had been legally terminated were waiting to be adopted.
- Children available for adoption have spent an average of about one and a half years waiting to be adopted since their parental rights were terminated.
- Living with a relative can reduce trauma for a child in foster care, increase normalcy, and lead to establishing permanence. But relatives need our support when stepping up to take in a family member.
WHY PEOPLE OBSERVE NATIONAL FOSTER CARE MONTH
- Children are our future which may sound corny but it’s true. When we invest in our youth we invest in the future of civilization, and we need to ensure we give the children every opportunity possible.
- Foster care does a lot and foster care plays a critical role in providing young people who have had to be removed from their homes a place of refuge. Foster Care is an invaluable resource for keeping children safe in temporary circumstances and providing stability, and comfort to our nation’s sons and daughters.
- The main reason foster care exists is to remove children from harmful situations. Foster Care helps get children into safer environments. The Foster Care program has saved countless lives over the years through prevention, education, and fostering to provide the best circumstances possible for children.
Thank you,
Glenda, Charlie and David Cates
