LIIDLII KUE/FORT SIMPSON
A free workshop next month is part of strategy to increase the number of foster parents in Fort Simpson.

Jonathan Gray: Social worker with the Dehcho Health and Social Services Authority, said more foster parents are needed in Fort Simpson.

Jonathan Gray, a social worker with the Dehcho Health and Social Services Authority said there are only two foster homes in the village right now.

That's not enough to meet the demand, he said.

"We're having a bit of a crisis," he said, referring to the lack of foster parent options in the community.

It's hard to put an exact number on how many foster parents the community needs, he said, but it is more than two.

"The more the better," he said.

He's hoping that by putting out the call for applicants and holding the workshop, more people will consider foster care.

The Parenting Resources for Information, Development and Education (PRIDE) workshop from March 6 to 8 in the village will be hosted by the Foster Family Coalition of the NWT.

PRIDE is a 14-step process to help families fostering children and provides training to help parents deal with various issues and situations.

Gray said the program, administered across the North, helps people empathize with children entering the foster system and where they're coming from.

It also provides strategies to help with issues that could come up with foster children who have come from difficult backgrounds.

The process to become a foster parent includes criminal record checks and home checks.

If everything goes smoothly, a home can be approved in about a month, he said.

There are several types of foster care, he said, ranging from an open home that accepts any child, to specific restrictions - such as just boys or just girls - to homes that take in a child from a family member or friend.

While in the past there have been misconceptions about who can be foster parents, Gray said they're open to people of various backgrounds.

Most of the foster parents in this region have been families that have had their own children but he said the health authority is open to single foster parents, male or female and those of any sexual orientation.

"There are people sometimes afraid that they'll be rejected but we're very welcoming to everyone in the community," he said.

Fostering a child is often rewarding both for the parent and the child, he said, adding people often underestimate the impact they make.

"That can make a huge difference in the life of a young child," Gray said.

Often children who grow up in care have such a strong bond with their foster parents that even when the child leaves the home, there is still a lasting connection.

He said the workshop isn't just for foster parents, but any parent in the community who thinks they could benefit.