Jefferson County is in need of foster families, and an orientation on August 1 and two following training sessions will provide the information and training necessary to become one.

According to Elsa Golts, co-chair of Foster Supports of Jefferson County, there are, as of last month, 26 “dependent” children in Jefferson County, many of whom are living with relatives. However, there are not enough foster homes for the remaining children, who are sent out of Jefferson County. There are seven licensed foster homes in the county, with rare openings, Golts said. There are no respite homes, so when a child is removed from their family there is no local home available for them while their family situation is stabilized or until a long term placement opens up. Many are relocated to Clallam County, which has more foster homes, while others find themselves moved as far away as Vancouver, WA.

To fill the gaps, new foster families are being sought and trained.

The two-day Certificate Core Training (CCT) sessions, run by the Washington State Department of Youth, Children and Families, are made up of eight units with certificates upon completion. After this, people can begin the application process to become a resprit (short-term) foster family, long-term foster family, or foster-adopt family.

Linda Cortani, the Jefferson and Clallam County liaison for the non-profit agency Fostering Together, adds that Jefferson and Clallam County have the highest placement of dependent children with relatives in the state, and that in many cases, siblings have to split up across counties.

“The abuse is traumatic, and the system can be traumatic as well,” Golts said, “especially if they have to leave this community. They end up leaving everything familiar.”

In addition, the DCYF often works with the children’s biological family to determine if the child can be sent back to live with them. This process involves government-mandated meetings between the family and child, sometimes a few times a week. When the dependent children live far away, the logistics of transporting them becomes challenging, and the frequent long journeys can be tough on the child, especially if they’re still infants.

Another reason that more foster parents are needed in Jefferson County is to support the current foster parents and others who wish to join them. Fostering is a challenging job, Golts said, and with the childs’ state representatives changing over time, foster families need people who understand their situation to turn to for advice and support. Many communities have created foster villages, in which the dependent children are placed in families near each other. Fortunately, Foster Supports believes such a support system would be easy to create in small and close-knit communities such as ones in Jefferson County.

The number of active local foster homes has decreased in the past two decades, Golts said, and aging foster families are not being replaced by younger ones.

The group that founded Foster Supports, including Golts, were mainly guardians ad litem, individuals appointed by the superior court to represent the child’s best interest in court. They saw the need for a support program for foster families after doing the long drives to visit youth across Washington whose biological families were in Jefferson County, and realizing the stress these drives must place on children.

Their support programs include three social events a year for foster families to meet up, a “Clothing Closet,” in which they offer clothing donated by the community to foster families, and a free shoe program with Quimper Mercantile called “Kicks for Kids.” They work to help children integrate into the community by setting them up with local organizations and activities that the children have previously been involved with. Recently, they secured free pool passes at the Mountain View Pool for foster youth.

Foster Supports recommends that people wishing to donate contact them. Options include donating clothing and diapers, offering services such as hair cutting or therapy, cooking or baking meals, or buying take-out meals or gift certificates for local businesses. These gifts give foster families more time to bond with their new child.

“That foster parent needs to be eyeball-to-eyeball with that child, and if there are other things that need to be done, then a group can surround them and do that,” Golts said.

The orientation will be on August 1 from 5:30 - 8:30 p.m. at the Port Townsend DCYF Office, 915 Sheridan Street #201. The orientation can also be taken online at: https://www.dcyf.wa.gov/services/foster-parenting/training-requirements.

The CCT courses will be August 3-4 and 17-18, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. each day at the Port Townsend DCYF office. Register at allianceforchildwelfare.org.