Foster families win recognition from territorial government
Department of Health and Social Services holds open house for Foster Parent Appreciation Week
April Hudson
Northern News Services
Thursday, October 20, 2016
DEH CHO
For foster parents like Cora Fudge, the welfare of a child in need is vitally important.
Fudge is a new foster parent in Fort Simpson. Lately, she has been sleeping in the living room of her one-bedroom apartment in order for the child in her care to have their own bedroom.
"It's kind of fun," she said.
Fudge's home is one of nine in Fort Simpson that provide foster spaces for children and youth. Social work supervisor Shaun Ouellette said there are 17 foster homes in total throughout the Deh Cho, with one in Jean Marie River, two in Fort Liard, three in Fort Providence and two in Nahanni Butte.
In the midst of Foster Parent Awareness Week, Ouellette wants to bring recognition to the work foster parents do in the Deh Cho.
Foster parents, he said, provide much-needed support to children who sometimes have no one to turn to.
"They provide structure, support and most often connection to family, as we attempt to place children with extended family foster homes as much as possible," he said.
Jonathan Gray, who has been a foster care and social worker in Fort Simpson for the past three years, said foster parents like Fudge provide much-needed supports to the foster care system.
"A lot of people don't realize how important (fostering) is or the impact it has," he said.
"The more you do the work, the more you see how important it is. If a kid has a really good foster placement, it changes their whole life . It can make all the difference in the world."
Gray's job is to provide support to foster families, aiming to minimize the stress on them and walking them through the foster care process.
"I just want to say how grateful we are, and the community should be, for the work (these parents) do," Gray said.
The department is always looking for more foster parents, he said, adding that although many people may think foster parents must meet a set of strict criteria - such as being a heterosexual couple with children of their own - that's not actually the case.
Foster parents can come from a variety of backgrounds and can be single parents or same-sex couples, for example.
Many of the foster homes in Fort Simpson involve relatives taking in a child, he added.
"Their work is largely invisible (but) the positive impact on the community is big," Gray said.
This year, the local Department of Health and Social Services branch is eschewing its traditional foster parent dinner in favour of an open house, with coffee and cake included.
