In the News
Foster Care Information Nights
When:
Thursday, September 9 6:30 to 7:30 p.m.
Where:
York Kilgore Memorial Library
To find out more contact:
Hannah Miller (402) 362-2556
Foster Care Fosters Hope
Epworth Village foster program’s focus is family support
Kerry Hoffschneider
The Epworth Village Foster Care Program is actively seeking new foster parents. Training courses will be held throughout the fall. The next 10-week foster parent training course begins Thursday, September 16. The next Foster Care Information Night is Thursday, September 9 from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Kilgore Memorial Library. This is a chance for people who are interested in potentially becoming a foster family to ask questions. Contact Hannah Miller about both opportunities at (402) 366-6653.
Hannah Miller discusses progress and gives support to foster mom, Kimberly Doht. Foster Parents will have phone contact with support workers at least once a week and visits at least once a month.
Hannah Miller takes a moment to talk heart-to-heart with a foster child. Thousands of Nebraska children are in need of foster care services each month. You can help.
Pictured from left; Allen Meade, Foster Care Specialist with Hannah Miller, Foster Care Supervisor. The two function as “team Epworth foster care” and support nearly a dozen families 24-hours-a-day, seven-days-a-week. They are actively looking to recruit more caring hearts into the program.
YORK-There is a quote hanging in Hannah Miller’s office. At first glance, one may think, “What do Theodore Roosevelt’s thoughts have to do with Foster Care at Epworth Village?” However when you dig deeper into the stories, the “battles” and “triumphs” families across Nebraska face each day, his words fit.
“The credit belongs to those people who are actually in the arena...who know the great enthusiasms, the great devotions to a worthy cause; who, at best, know the triumph of high achievement; and who, at worst, fail while daring greatly, so that their place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.” Theodore Roosevelt
Those benefitting from and serving others through the Epworth Village Foster Care program are definitely in the “arena” they also know the “enthusiasms” that come with devotion to the “worthy cause” of helping families become healthier and happier. They also know realistically the triumphs and failures that can happen along the way. The main thing is they know they are supported. Support is truly the heart of Epworth’s Foster Care Program, to “focus” on families so that families can “focus” on creating better lives.
According to the 2009 Kids Count Report, a publication of Voices for Children in Nebraska, “there were 4,615 children who left foster care during 2008. A total of 3,125 (67.1%) were returned to their parents and 572 (12.9%) were adopted.” Because the overarching goal in the vast majority of foster care cases is family reunification, the training and understanding of foster families is imperative to the success of these cases. The Epworth Village Foster Care Program focuses on working hard to develop a strong network that supports all the entities involved.
The 2009 Kids Count Report also indicates the great need for even more foster families across Nebraska. “We need more foster families. That’s without a doubt,” said Miller, who serves as Epworth’s Foster Care Supervisor. “We also want to be open and honest with families from the start. If we hold anything back about the realities of being foster parents, they can’t make an educated choice about whether or not this is something that fits them and their life situation.”
The Epworth Village, Inc. Foster Care program supports families in the counties of Adams, Butler, Clay, Fillmore, Hamilton, Hall, Jefferson, Lancaster, Platte, Polk, Merrick, Nance, Saline, Seward, Thayer and York Counties. The process of becoming a foster family involves an in-depth interview and 30 hours of pre-service foster parent training. Families go through an assessment process, learn state regulations and also go through a series of background checks. Miller said the training and home study process can take up to six months or more for the first child to go into the home.
“It has been a year next month,” said Kimberly Doht, who is a foster mom with her husband Mitchell. “Hannah has been such a huge support to us from the beginning and is a huge compliment to the Epworth program. There is always someone there to contact for more information or to just call and ‘complain’ to. They are there to support you and lead you through the best and worst days.”
Kimberly said she was moved to take the leap into providing foster care because of what she had seen in her work environment, “In my work in the prison system I saw a lot of young kids and wanted to do what I could on the outside. But everyone has to look at their family life and decide what fits and works for them.”
“I think one of the cool things about being a foster parent is learning and trying a new way of parenting,” said Mitch. “We had done things differently with our own kids, but it’s rewarding to apply the new techniques we have learned and see results as well.”
Kimberly agreed, “It’s really fun to see those ‘small’ changes in their lives. It’s also rewarding to meet with their families and see how far they are coming as well. Foster Care is really about providing children with a stable, loving home while the family can work out things. We have been happy to be able to do that.”
“Our hope,” said Mitch, “is that we’ve been able to make a difference in their life and that they will be comfortable enough to stay in contact with us. We always tell them if anything happens that we will always be there for them.”
Michelle Dick and her husband Ryan are also foster parents in Epworth’s program.
“My husband and I were supposed to not be able to have children biologically, so we started the adoption process,” said Michelle. “We were never called, so we decided to do foster care. We were placed with three siblings and since then have adopted those siblings. Right before the adoption, I found out I was pregnant. It has been a great journey.”
Michelle added that it is rewarding, “to have a positive influence in someone’s life. The children come from all sorts of circumstances and backgrounds. Sometimes it can definitely be tough. We had a placement with an infant and then the baby did go back to mom and dad. That of course was the goal, but it was still hard for us. We just try and provide the love they need at the time they need it. The children come with so much love too. They give you so much love back.”
Epworth Village’s program offers three options for those interested: Respite Care, Agency Supported Foster Care and Foster to Adopt. All three branches require various levels of training and have different goals attached. However, Miller said the main thing is the understanding that foster parents must develop from the get-go, “we are here to serve families and children who have experienced a crisis situation within their own home and need temporary assistance. Foster families provide security, consistency and love for children and work as part of a professional team to help heal families.”
“We really are a team,” said Allen Meade, who serves as the Foster Care Specialist with Hannah. “I like to just sit in Hannah’s office sometimes and talk about scenarios and successes we have seen. She is great at providing feedback and direction.”
“And Allen is so enthusiastic about this work,” Miller said. “When he started his position, at least every other day he would say, ‘I love my job!’ This is so evident through the work he does too.”
“I really enjoy seeing the success in the foster homes and the biological families too,” Meade said. “There is always something good that can be celebrated, regardless of the situation.”
“The main thing we want potential foster parents to know is we are here to provide you with the support and information you need,” Miller said. “There is literally someone available 24-hours-a-day, 7-days-a-week to answer your calls. Yes it can be challenging, but it’s so rewarding when children’s underlying needs are met and families can find the hope they need.”