WANTED: FOSTER FAMILIES FOR CHILDREN IN NEED

The Community Counseling Center needs a few good foster families.

Officials at the Cape Girardeau-based center said Wednesday they are having trouble recruiting Cape Girardeau County residents to serve as foster parents for the new state-funded program, designed to allow children ages 6-18 with emotional or behavioral problems to live and learn in a family setting.

"It's a new program we are trying to get started," said Tiffany Parker of the counseling center staff, who heads up the program. "Right now the focus is on children coming out of residential treatment."

The Missouri Department of Mental Health program began about two years ago. It has been implemented at several community counseling centers in the state and is now being expanded to the Cape Girardeau area.

Parker said there's a need for such a program to help youths who have gone through treatment at the Cottonwood Treatment Center make the transition from residential care to life back in the community.

These children, she said, are experiencing emotional or behavioral difficulties.

"These are kids that have suffered abuse, (and have experienced) hospitalization, long-term residential care," said Parker. "We want to teach them about family living," she explained.

"A person would flourish better, we think, in a family home than an institution," said Mati Stone, director of clinical services for the Community Treatment Center.

Such foster care, said Parker, would be less expensive than residential treatment, which statewide averages about $2,500 a month.

The foster parents would receive 40 hours of training and be licensed by the Missouri Department of Mental Health and the Division of Family Services.

"We would even start training as soon as we have one or two families," said Parker.

A foster family would receive at least $604 a month as compensation for caring for one child.

Under the program, a counseling staff member would visit the foster family at least once a week and the foster parents would be considered "part of our treatment team," said Parker.

The foster parents would be able to seek assistance from the counseling center staff at any time, day or night, should an emergency arise, said Parker.

Foster parents would be asked to make a minimum, one-year commitment to the program. "It's really very special people we are looking for," said Stone.

Parker said the center hopes to sign up six foster families, as well as four families that would provide respite care when needed.

Each foster family would be assigned one child, possibly two, she said. In all, the program would serve six to 12 youths at any one time.

A unique aspect of the program would be respite care, said Parker. "If either the child or the family needs time away (from each other), we can pay for the child to be with someone else," she explained.

Foster parents must be at least 21 years of age and have a high school diploma. Interested persons should contact Parker at the counseling center, 334-1100.