Last week, Cumberland Youth & Family Services celebrated the launch of its newest program — a foster care and adoption program to recruit, train and license community-based foster homes — with a ribbon-cutting ceremony.
Denton County typically has well over 100 kids in foster care needing placement, according to a news release from Cumberland Services, which was founded in 1904 and located in Denton since 1932. Several years ago, Cumberland executives and its Board of Trustees began planning and creating a program for community-based foster homes, and earlier this month, its first licensed community-based foster family welcomed a foster child placement into their home.
“Denton County has more children in foster care that need a safe place to call home than we have actual homes for kids,” said Courtney Banatoski, Cumberland’s president and CEO. “In fact, in Denton County, there are about 150-170 kids in care each month who need placement, and only about 25 licensed family-based foster home placements and about 25 licensed group residential placements in our county. We end up sending kids outside of our community when we can’t meet the need. Our new Foster Care & Adoption Program will help build capacity for our community. We hope to be able to recruit, train, license and support family-based foster homes for an additional 30+ kids in 2024.”
Jennifer Maddox, Cumberland’s Foster Care and Adoption Program Director said that Cumberland is eager to build foster home capacity in Denton County and other nearby counties.
“The Foster Care and Adoption team brings knowledge and experience in recruiting, training, and supporting foster and adoptive families,” Maddox said. “In preparation for caring for children with a history of trauma, foster and adoptive families receive training that exceeds the state’s minimum requirement in order to provide a safe, nurturing environment. We intend to provide unparalleled support to foster and adoptive parents as they are caring for children who have experienced abuse and neglect. Foster and adoptive parents are the critical piece in a child’s healing through the connection that is created, which leads to the child developing trust and increasing their sense of self-worth. Through increasing the number of foster homes in our community, children and youth will be able to be closer to familiar surroundings, which lessens the impact of the foster placement and helps them feel safe in the new home.”
Cumberland is currently hosting two information sessions each month that are designed to educate and answer questions about community-based foster care, for people interested in adopting or becoming a foster parent. The team of experts will provide valuable insights, answer your questions, and guide you through the process. For more information about Cumberland, visit cumberlandservices.org.
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