Need for foster families in Monterey County

Hundreds of kids in Monterey County do not have a home to call their own, in
what’s being called our own foster care crisis.

With a state mandate pushing to have all foster kids out of group homes by 2021, a local foster center is doing what they can to fix the problem.

The problem is there are just too many foster kids but not enough
families taking them in. The Kinship Center in Salinas, helps families
and children through the foster care and adoption process. They say every child deserves a family.

There are nearly 400 kids in Monterey County that are looking for a place to call home

Chandra Allen works with families at the center that are interested in foster care. She says some kids just need a place to stay before getting back to their biological families… others need a place to grow up.
But this needs to happen outside of a group home. Allen says group homes are meant to get children into the family setting, not for long term stays. This is why there is so much help offered at the Center.

“There’s therapists, there’s social workers, they can be family support
counselors… all kind of services to surround the family,” Allen says. And those services are free! Because this process isn’t easy.

Jennifer Danielson is a child and family therapist. She says, “Caregivers and families just kind of struggle with their present kind of situation that is happening. But I think an understanding, which then builds empathy and growth.”

Without families stepping up to the plate, many of these children age out of foster care without a support system. This often time’s leads to homelessness, being unemployed, not getting that college degree. But for these reason, the center is pushing extra hard to partner loving families with loving kids.

Next month is foster care awareness month, so the kinship center is hoping more families will consider fostering after educating themselves.