Open your hearts to help all of our children
By Patte Smith
Each child is a very special gift to the world. Many children grow up in secure and happy homes while others suffer abuse or neglect. In the hope of helping the children who have endured hardships, the Douglas County Human Services Department is partnering with Arapahoe and Jefferson County in the Collaborative Foster Care Program. This program recruits, trains, certifies, and supports foster and adoptive families who provide needed care for children who cannot safely remain in their own homes.
These children come into the care of human services due to neglect, physical, sexual or emotional abuse, or medical neglect. Douglas County Human Services is educating and hoping to inspire the community about this program. It is inviting the community to attend three free information nights that are scheduled in Douglas County.
On June 11, the free information night will be held at the Parker Library from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Attendees will hear a presentation about the requirements and considerations for becoming a foster parent or adoptive parent. There will be an opportunity to ask questions of the team members.
The Philip S. Miller Library will be host to the free information night on September 29 and the Parker Library on November 11. Both of these meetings are from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
On average, there are more than 1,000 children in foster care and 40 children awaiting adoption in Arapahoe and Jefferson Counties at any given time. Families are needed who can meet the challenge and reward of parenting these children through foster care or adoption. Foster care and adoptive families need to provide for these children unconditionally and realize the vital role they play in preventing future cycles of abuse, and the importance of giving children hope.
For more information about the program, visit www.collaborativefostercare.com or call 303-636-1KID. Profiles of the children currently waiting for adoption in Arapahoe and Jefferson Counties are on the website. Take a moment and take a look. As Nelson Mandela stated, “There can be no keener revelation of a society’s soul than the way in which it treats its children.”
