During a financial crisis, the volunteer fire station in the area is fundraising for necessary equipment

Jonesboro, Arkansas – It can take a while to convert a house into a foster home.

Do you want to make a difference in the lives of local kids who are in foster care? On Sunday, February 18, a public meeting for prospective new foster parents was hosted in Jonesboro by the nonprofit organization Together We Foster.

Children and families in Northeastern Arkansas that require foster care can get it via Together We Foster. It supplies Clay, Craighead, Fulton, Greene, Izard, Lawrence, Mississippi, Randolph, and Sharp counties, along with nine other counties in Region 8.

According to Executive Director Lindsay Roberts, informational meetings are attempted to be held once a month throughout the region.

“Not only do we have a need in NEA, there’s a need across the state for foster homes,” Roberts said.

You must go through a procedure if you wish to use your home as a foster care. But by offering all the paperwork, training, and free background checks, Together We Foster helps streamline that process.

The Department of Human Services (DHS) will examine your house and your capacity for providing care, according to board member Kara Spencer.

“They have to have a home study where they walk through the home, talk to them, and interview them,” Spencer said. “Just to make sure the home is fit to have children and that it’s a safe place for them to be taken care of.”
With 101 foster children and just 25 foster homes, Greene County has the highest number of children in the system, according to data from the organization. There are 38 more children in Craighead County than there are foster homes.

According to Roberts, a child is compelled to relocate to another area of the state if there is nowhere nearby for them to be placed.

“We want children to be able to stay with their school system, where they know their teachers and their friends,” Roberts said. “We want children to be able to say where home is.”

Whether single, married, a parent or not, Spencer stated that you can take care of a foster child if you meet all the conditions and are at least 21 years old.

“I feel like people feel like, ‘in order to be a foster parent, you have to be special,’” Spencer said. “These kids need love and stability, and someone who will just take care of them and meet their immediate needs.”

For anyone who would like to become foster parents, please give Lindsay Roberts a call at 870-476-6424.