MOTHER: FOSTER KIDS AGREE IN 3-PART HARMONY

SIKESTON -- When the children Marsann Critten cares for as a foster parent agree on the same thing, their "merry-go-round" has reached three-part harmony.

"That's one of the best moments with these children," Critten, 38, said. "And there are many good times when they don't agree on something."

A firm believer in establishing a distinct, healthy identity at an early age, Critten practices what she preaches. She has a knack for allowing children's personalities to flourish even when their interests sprout in different directions.

"Everybody likes something different, but every once in a while they all go for the same thing and when that happens you can really tell it," she said. "When I serve hot dogs, they all seem to go for ketchup. So that's what they have."

Critten decided she was interested in becoming a foster parent when her children grew old enough to move away.

"There was this void in my life when my children were gone," she said. "A girlfriend told me about children in need of a home and some love. I had what they wanted and they gave me what I wanted. They've turned this house into a merry-go-round and it's been a fulfilling experience ever since."

It only takes something as routine as lunch to realize the children Critten cares for are not only in a stable environment but are aware they are being loved on a daily basis.

"That's the most urgent need from the beginning," Critten said. "They come from a background of problems; everybody has problems. I come from a family of 13 kids and I've had my own children. I want the kids I have now to know what is right and what is, so they can be prepared when they go back."

Critten is one of a myriad of Scott County mothers who have turned their homes into foster care shelters for abused and neglected children. In May 1993 she heard the first sounds of her merry-go-round upon receiving three siblings: a 3-month-old boy, a 2-year-old girl and a 3-year-old boy.

"Every day is a new experience," Critten said. "I had almost forgotten about the 3 o'clock feeding or what it was like to go through the measles and the mumps. I have had experience as a nurse, so there's a built-in sense of what's wrong when they don't seem as active as usual."

A back injury forced her out of the nursing profession. However, when she is not caring for her foster children, Critten is working part time as a housekeeper.

After the children have finished their peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and hot dogs, they scatter from the table. The 5-year-old boy reminds his "momma" he must brush his teeth. The girl came back to offer a guest some of her Christmas candy.

"You can have some," the girl said with an expansive smile. "There's enough for all of us."

When this story was related to Gary Thurman, who is assistant director of Family Services in Cape Girardeau and Scott counties, he said he has heard similar success stories.

"Scott County has one of the largest foster home programs in the state," Thurman said. "And these people aren't just caring for neglected or abused children from their own backyard. Thirty-five percent of the children in foster care homes are from Scott County. However, 65 percent are from other cities around the state."

Some 150 children are in foster care in Scott County.

"People from around the state ask us what we're doing in Scott County that makes this program such a success," Thurman said. "The answer is complicated. It has to do with a dedicated staff of supervisors and recruiters and foster care parents who have a very good attitude."

Foster care mothers in Sikeston say their connection with the church has enabled them to understand what they were about to get into.

"It's not so much by word of mouth as it is seeing someone with a foster care child in church and wanting to love a child the same way," Critten said.

The children Critten is caring for are from St. Louis. Their mother used crack and neglected them. When they arrived at Critten's home in Sikeston, they had just one shopping bag full of clothes.

Two years later they were wearing clothes that appeared as though they were just bought. The state pays Critten $212 a month per child and provides health care, day care and $100-a-year allowance for clothes.

Tracye Harris interrupted her pursuit of a graduate degree in elementary education to become a foster parent five years ago.

"I had a boy whose feet were dipped in scalding water," Harris said. "He still has to have surgery for that. He's also got a behavioral disorder. But thanks to the love he gets from me and my son, who is the same age, and the health services in this area, we are able to overcome some things."

Harris' sister and mother are also foster parents.

"It works out pretty good," she said. "We help each other out and it seems to give the children the support and love they need at a difficult time in their lives."