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Show Foster Parents Needed Foster parents are needed now to help more than 1,400 Utah children who cannot live in their own homes, a Department of Social Services' Ser-vices' official said. ACCORDING to Sally Patterson, Pat-terson, Foster Care Specialist, Division of Family Services, a state-wide foster parent recruitment campaign "Tie A Yellow Ribbon. . .If You Want Me" has been launched to help find more families willing to be foster parents. The recruitment campaign was launched by Gov. Scott M. Matheson who met with foster children and their foster parents this month. Yellow ribbons are being tied on agency doors and worn by foster parents and social service ser-vice workers to emphasize the need for more foster parents. WHILE THE Division of Family Services and private agencies have many good foster parents already involved in-volved in the program, Pat terson said many more families are needed. "We particularly need families willing to take older children, children with physical and. mental handicaps and groups of brothers and sisters. 'These children are hard to place and we have a difficult time finding foster homes for them," she emphasized. She stressed that being a foster parent is not always easy. It takes a family willing to share their love and their home life, yet also willing to let go when the time comes. THE DIVISION of Family Services attempts to find a permanent solution for each youngster referred to them. The average length of time a child is in foster care is between a year and 15 months. If the home situation has not improved by that time, we usually try to find a permanent adoptive home," she said. She noted that .o become a foster parent one must be stable and mature. Couples with or without children, as well as single individuals living liv-ing alone, may become foster parents. The Division of Family Services provides training to help foster parents handle their new role. Training Train-ing includes such things as basic parenting, discipline and handling emotions. "THOSE FAMILIES willing to accept children with handicaps or emotional problems normally take additional ad-ditional training to help them cope with the additional responsibilities," re-sponsibilities," she said, stressing again the need for couples or individuals witling to work with these children. Patterson said that foster parents receive some finan- , cial reimbursement. However, it normally only covers the expenses incurred. For children over the age of 11, a family receives $184 monthly. Those families accepting ac-cepting children with physical handicaps receive $285 monthly. Families willing to work with teenagers with behavioral problems requiring specialized counseling can receive $327 monthly. "ANYONE interested in providing a temporary foster care home for a child should contact their Division of Family Services office. Training sessions are held in the day and evenings for individuals in-dividuals interested in the program," she said. |