Foster parents needed in Alaska, Mat-Su

PALMER -- Alaska in general and the Valley in particular rely heavily on foster parenting and adoption to provide support to needy children in the area, according to Susan Frisby, spokeswoman for the Office of Children's Services.

"Foster parents are a very valuable resource for children around the state," Frisby said in a Tuesday presentation to the Palmer Lions Club.

Foster care, said Frisby, is, at heart, a means of substitute temporary care for children in the custody of the state, ideally provided while the child's genetic parents get treatment they require to be able to parent adequately.

"We try to get the family structure healthy again so that the child can move back home," she said.

However, sometimes rehabilitation is insufficient, and the child or children need a more permanent source of shelter. In these cases, Frisby said, foster parents sometimes consider adoption.

"A bond grows between parents and children in foster care," Frisby said.

Frisby said there are 325 foster homes in the Southcentral Alaska region, housing a total of 697 children. The Valley has 93 homes handling 190 children.

The Alaska Department of Health and Social Services is responsible for finding temporary shelter and permanent homes for Alaska's abused and neglected children, according to literature from the department. These duties include the licensing of foster parents, performance of home studies for adoptive parents, placing of children in homes and making sure foster-adopt parents get the support they need.

In some cases, foster care is not needed. Frisby said the first step in dealing with children under state custody is to search for extended family members who might be able to take care of the children. In addition, children who are experiencing a true emergency situation may be sent to a temporary shelter.

If potential foster or adoptive parents meet the department's criteria, they are then given a detailed overview of the foster care and adoption program in the state. The department also offers free foster and adoptive training in communities throughout the state. This training teaches adults about the special challenges children in foster care or adoptive homes typically face and how to cooperate with social workers and other professionals to ease the transition.

In addition, foster parents attend ongoing training, usually 15 hours per year, or 10 hours per year for each parent.

At the Tuesday meeting, Dee Hilbert with the Lions said there is an increase in the number of Valley residents being arrested for cooking methamphetamine, and their children are often turned over to the custody of the state -- thus, foster parenting is crucial in the Valley.

A typical term of stay for foster children is ideally about a year, Frisby said, but may last longer under certain circumstances. One of the goals of the Office of Children's Services is the reduction of this time. The organization also emphasizes self-sufficiency among its older children, providing those under the upper age limit of 19 valuable life skills to enable them to strike out on their own.

Frisby said her organization welcomes new volunteer parents. "We're constantly looking for more foster homes," she said.

For more information about foster care in the Valley or to initiate the process of becoming a foster parent, call the Office of Children's Services' Southcentral Region office in Wasilla, at 357-9780.

Contact Daniel Spoth at daniel.spoth@frontiersman.com.