Private child placement agencies offer licensing, support for Colorado foster parents
Colorado faces a continuous and critical need for foster parents. The need is even greater in rural parts of the state. County human services departments can license foster parents, but there are also several private child placement agencies that do licensing too. Hope & Home is among those agencies.
"We support foster families and help them through that journey as they take in children that are in children that are in need of a home that is safe," said Malia Johnston, Home Supervisor for Hope & Home in Pueblo.
Hope & Home offers a step-by-step plan for getting licensed to be a foster parent. Beyond that, the organization provides trauma-informed training, counselors, and support groups, building community around foster parenting.
"When you're a foster family with Hope & Home, you have a team of professionals who also support you, but then we encourage the community to come together and other foster families to come together," Johnston added.
Hope & Home was founded in 1998 by a group of concerned Colorado Springs residents. They wanted to improve the experience of children living in foster care, by improving the quality of foster parents. The organization has grown to service the entire state working along side county caseworkers.
"We go beyond because we want the families to be supported, to be informed, and not to be blindsided by challenging behavior from the children or the system itself," Johnston said.
Hope & Home works with families like Miguel and Euriah, who are 2nd generation foster parents. Miguel's mother was a foster parent for years, and Miguel grew up with children coming and going.
"I enjoyed being in a busy household, and a lot of the foster kids we had stayed for awhile. I stayed in contact with them even after they left and a lot of them are still family," Miguel told CBS News Colorado.
He and Euriah are growing their family. They have a toddler and a newborn. But, they're also parenting three teens through the foster care system.
"The bigger picture for me is them just finally feeling some stability in their life," Euriah said.
As young parents, they welcome the support and education they get from Hope & Home.
"We have a lot of support from our support group and my mom helps a lot too," Miguel explained.
The couple can also get services for their foster children through Hope & Home.
"They're given a Zoomdoogle currency, and they're able to purchase toys that they're wanting," Johnston explained.
Hope & Home offers the kind of support that allows Miguel and Euriah to do the hard work at home everyday.
"I think it is hard, but it's worth it. It feels good to help these kids," Miguel said.
LINK: Wednesday's Child on CBS Colorado
Hope & Home is one of many child placement agencies in Colorado, here are some additional agencies:
