SCOTTSBURG, Ind. — In Indiana, there are more than 14,000 kids in the foster system, and in Southern Indiana, social workers are feeling the burden.
Terrilyn Durnal, a licensing coordinator with the National Youth Advocates Program (NYAP), said she and her coworkers are overwhelmed with 'referrals', or names of children needing foster placement.
"Last week I saw about 60 kids come through in referrals and that's a typical number - anywhere from 50, 60 to 100 kids come through the system each week. That's just in my region - Region 18 Southern Indiana. I was able to place one of those kids last week," she said.
NYAP Licensing Coordinator Ashley Morgan said the biggest need is households willing to take in sibling groups, teenagers and children in the LGBT community.
Durnal said NYAP relies on the few foster families they do have, including Heather Barry, who opened her home to foster children when faced with infertility.
"I thought that we would just get a little baby, love them, adopt them and then we would be done. And now we're 22 kids in," Barry said.
Barry said the youngest child was five-months-old and the oldest was 17.
"We have been pleasantly surprised. We did not think we would ever want a teenager and they have been some of our favorites," Barry said.
Barry said she had some hesitancies. "You worry where are they coming from? What are they going to bring into your home?"
But she said what's come into her home hasn't been the hardest part. Instead, she said the hardest part is saying goodbye.
Right now, social workers in Southern Indiana say they desperately need more people willing to open their home to the area's children, left without a bed of their own.
"When you can't place kids in foster homes and you don't know where they're going, that's hard. You definitely bring that home with you. It makes you want to work harder and find these kids homes," Durnal said.
So, that's what her office is doing now. They're working harder and faster to get foster home applicants through the licensing process. That's a process that has gotten more simple since COVID-19.
Morgan said, "We put everything online and put all of our training on Zoom, which is really great for families because they have several options now."
Morgan said all of the paperwork and training can be completed online and you could have a child in your home 30-60 days after starting the process.
"Not only are we helping children recover from trauma. We're helping their biological families too. And by doing that we're helping our community," Morgan said.
Morgan said there is no ideal candidate - NYAP invites single or married couples, those with or without children of their own and people from all cultural, ethnic and religious backgrounds to apply.
"We all imagine that these foster kids are just trouble. They're just trouble. But they're not. They want to be loved. They want a home. They want a family. And you could be that for them. Its worth every heart ache, every tear, its worth saying yes," Barry said.
If you think this could be right for you or your family, you can apply at NYAP.org. Applicants must pass a background check, be at least 21-years-old and have a stable home environment.
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