The Johnson County Public Library will host an event Wednesday to help people learn how they can become foster parents.
The event, “Foster Care Basics – Filling the Need” will take place at the Franklin branch from 6 to 7:30 p.m. The event is run by Firefly Children and Family Alliance, a private, nonprofit agency based in central Indiana with 15 locations, including one at 520 Tracy Road, Suite 160, New Whiteland.
During the event, leaders from Firefly will present data on the number of children in the temporary care of the Indiana Department of Child Services. They’ll also provide suggestions and answer questions about how people can support children in foster care, and how Firefly and its network of foster parents preserves and uplifts at-risk families, according to an event description from the Johnson County Public Library.
In 2021, the most recent year the organization has data for, it served more than 91,000 kids, according to its website. Those services include not only placing children into foster care homes, but providing child abuse prevention services, outpatient counseling services, domestic violence services and substance abuse treatment, said Holly McFadden, Firefly’s foster care director.
“Most of those services would be open to anyone, they don’t have to be involved with (the Indiana Department of Child Services) for those,” she said. “Then we have specific services for kids in the child welfare system and for parents in the child welfare system. We have residential shelters, home-based counseling, case management services and the foster care program.”
As of July, there were 7,866 Hoosier children in foster care. While 62% of kids in foster care from Marion County were rehomed in the same county, just 21% of kids in foster care from Johnson County were placed in homes within the county. This highlights the need for more foster parents in Johnson County, McFadden said.
“When they’re out of the county, they’re displaced from their school and friends and family,” she said.
It is important for people applying to be foster parents to understand the children they care for may be reunited with their original parents. It’s key for foster parents to be flexible and love their kids for whatever time they may be with them, said Matt Ashcraft, Firefly’s director of licensing.
“People who do well have taken a lot of consideration,” he said of foster parents. “Some people don’t know whether they’re suitable for foster care and they take a leap without knowing what to expect, without preparation and understanding foster care is sometimes temporary. I think our CEO (Tina Cloer) says it best when she refers to it. ‘Sometimes you have to love kids for a season.’”
A common misconception about foster care involves the idea that parents are on their own when they decide to take care of a child. In reality, case managers are there to help them every step of the way, Ashcraft said.
“Kids coming into the system come from hard places and sometimes it requires a great deal of skill (to take care of them). That’s the benefit of having a case manager on their side to guide them through that,” he said. “Sometimes people have perceptions that once they take kids into their homes, they’ll be flying solo. Our parents would share with you they get a great deal of support from case management. We also have a mentor and coordinator that helps families as well.”
Beyond becoming foster care parents, people can help children in need by donating needed items, such as clothing for children in shelters, Ashcraft said.
People who can’t attend Wednesday’s information session can still learn more about Firefly and becoming a foster parent by visiting foster.fireflyin.org
IF YOU GO
What: “Foster Care Basics – Filling the Need”
When: 6 to 7:30 p.m. Wednesday
Where: Johnson County Public Library Franklin branch, 401 State St.
Registration and info: jcplin.libnet.info/event/8239000
For more information on becoming a foster parent through Firefly Children and Family Alliance visit: foster.fireflyin.org
Firefly Children and Family Alliance will also appear at the following Johnson County events:
Autism Trunk or Treat at New Hope Church
When: 10 a.m. to noon Oct. 21
Where: 5307 W. Fairview Rd, Greenwood
CarniFall Johnson County Parks
When: 4 to 6 p.m. Oct. 28
Where: 2100 S. Morgantown Rd, Greenwood
Center Grove Craft Fair
When: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Nov. 4
Where: Center Grove High School, 2717 S. Morgantown Rd, Greenwood
Source: Firefly Children and Family Alliance
