For those looking to make a difference in the lives of children, becoming a foster parent provides a rewarding opportunity to help a child in need. Youth Villages is looking for caring adults in the Birmingham-area to open their hearts and homes as foster parents to children who have suffered abuse, neglect or abandonment.
Youth Villages offers free training classes for new foster parents to teach them how to address a child’s emotional and behavioral problems, as well as parenting and discipline techniques. A free orientation session will be held Thursday, Feb. 6 at 6 p.m., and a series of free foster parent training classes will be held on Tuesdays from 6-9 p.m., beginning Feb. 11.
The orientation session and training classes will both take place at the Youth Villages office, located at 600 Beacon Parkway W., Suite 800, Birmingham, AL 35209.
Foster parents provide children with a safe, comfortable environment and monitor their emotional growth, school progress and physical health. They also serve as positive role models to children who may lack caring adults in their lives. Foster parents care for children until they can return to their birth families or an adoptive family is found for them.
Youth Villages provides foster parents with 24-hour access to counselors, support groups and a monthly stipend to offset the cost of adding a child to the home. Foster parents also often have the first right to adopt if the child becomes available for adoption.
Foster parents should be over the age of 25 and living in the Jefferson County-area. Foster parents should have viable income, reliable transportation and be able to pass a background check and home study.
For more information about the upcoming training classes or how you can change the life of a child, contact Christi Koons, foster parent recruiter, at 205-917-2960 or christi.koons@youthvillages.org.
