Monticello Live

May is National Foster Care Month, and The CALL in Arkansas is working to find the 2,500 homes needed to take care of children removed from their homes because of crisis, neglect or abuse.

The need for more foster families is great. There are approximately 4,710 children in foster care statewide and 1,510 foster families open to care for them. On average, 20 children across Arkansas are removed from their homes and placed in the foster care system every day. More than 8,000 children spend time in foster care each year. Arkansas needs 2,500 more foster homes to have more than enough families waiting to care for these children and youth.

Each May since 1988, National Foster Care Month has raised awareness about foster care. In Arkansas, Gov. Asa Hutchinson has signed a proclamation declaring this May to be Foster Care Awareness Month.

The CALL mobilizes local churches to raise up and support foster families. In 2020, The CALL supported more than 901 foster homes caring for 3,810 children and youth.

This month, The CALL will focus on ways YOU can get involved, whether you chose to foster or adopt, or use your gifts and talents to benefit families and children. The CALL is launching a campaign to highlight “Why Foster Care?” focusing on the need for additional foster families and how everyone can get involved and do something to serve children and families.

Life is uncertain for young people in foster care. Each one needs a safe, loving home where they can heal from the trauma they have experienced while their biological parents work to restore the family unit. Sometimes children cannot be reunited with their biological families, and need to be adopted by a forever family.

Logan and Hannah Williams decided in November 2017 to become a foster family. In the three-and-a-half years since they began fostering, they have had three placements. One, Gracie, became a part of their forever family when they adopted her in 2019.

“We decided to foster after being married for three years with no biological children,” Hannah said. “We felt like we had so much love to give, and we knew there were a lot of kids who just needed someone to love them through a difficult season.”

The CALL strives to provide resources and support to foster families every step of the way.

“The CALL has been so important to us during this journey,” said Hannah. “We have made lifelong friends who we can always count on. The support from The CALL is like none other.”

For more information on how you can become a hero to a child in foster care, visit TheCALLinArkansas.org or Facebook.com/TheCALLinAR.

This entry was posted on Thursday, May 20th, 2021 at 12:33 am and is filed under Announcements. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.