May is National Foster Care Month and Kara Kloss, G.A. Family Services family resources coordinator, said they need to find foster parents to care for a foster child every day.

“Every single day we get new ones. We’ve already had two today,” Kloss said. “We have kids coming in every day. We are constantly looking (for foster parents). We have a need every day.”

Between G.A. Family Services three foster care locations, program officials are trying to find homes for between 100 to 150 children. Kloss said the requirement to become a foster parent includes taking a 10-week class and having to pass all the necessary security clearances. She said the class provides the foster parent with training with children, of which some have been through trauma, and what it’s like to deal with the birth parents.

“We have to make sure they are on the up-and-up, and doing this for the right reasons,” she said. “They also need a bed, a dresser and a space for the child, and love.”

The staff of G.A. Family Services during a special dinner for foster parents earlier this month. May is National Foster Care Month.

Kloss said there is a daily stipend provided to foster parents, which pays for food and clothing for the child.

“It’s not a lucrative amount, but it does offer a little bit of assistance,” she said.

There are different ways to be a foster parent, Kloss said. She said some parents want a foster child to possibly adopt in the future. She added that some are respite foster parents who just take a child for a weekend.

“We have placement options and we find the perfect fit,” she said. “Sometimes the foster parents specifically ask for a teenager and we will find them one or they will want a child under five and we will accommodate that too.”

Kloss said G.A. Family Services also works hard to return the foster child back to their birth parents once the time is right.

“A kid can stay with a foster parent until mom or dad gets back on track and creates a nice big happy home,” she said.

G.A. Family Services provides foster care to children and families throughout Western New York. The organization is the only foster care program in the area that also offers adoption services too, Kloss said.

“Through a grant from the state, after the adoption they can still get services from us,” she said.

Ashley Bennett, along with her husband Emory, in August adopted their first foster child, Evei. Bennett said she has been a foster parent for five years and has fostered around 20 children. Currently, she has three foster children living at home.

“Four is the max we’ve had at any time,” she said.

Bennett said she is a foster parent because she has always wanted to be a mother.

“I’ve always known I’m a mom,” she said. “I read an article in a magazine about a woman in the same situation as me, who has fostered more than 100 children in her lifetime. I always thought it would be too difficult. I wouldn’t be able to let them go. I read about how this woman was able to give children back and it didn’t kill her. It inspired me. Even though it’s hard, it’s worth it. It helps them. So a magazine article got me started.”

Bennett said when she first applied to be a foster parent, she requested a child from newborn to age 5. However, after nearly being able to foster a 2 year old, she was setup with a 12 year old instead.

“(G.A. Family Services) thought she would be a great fit and we agreed to meet her. She is now 17 and we adopted her in August,” Bennett said. “I absolutely love working with the staff at G.A. Family Services. The training was very informative. The skills they taught me can be used on every child, whether they have been traumatized or not. There good life skills in general.”

Bennett said being a foster parent is a great experience and it helps the children to be in a caring environment.

“It’s so worth it. These children are wonderful,” she said. “There were twins that lived in my home for 10 months and they have been adopted by another family. I still have contact with them. A couple children I fostered over a year ago they were united with their aunt and I stay connected with her on Facebook.”

Kloss said often foster parents will accept siblings, which is the most ideal outcome.

“They are losing their parents and their home so we try to keep siblings together so they still have each other,” she said. “We have one foster family who has two siblings from one family and three from another.”

Anyone interested in G.A. Family Services foster care program can call 708-6161 or email kkloss@lutheran-jamestown.org. For more information, visit gafamilyservices.org or on Facebook at G.A. Family Services Foster Care.