Foster families urgently needed to care for Ohio’s most vulnerable children

The Village Network is one of the many nonprofit agencies in Wayne County working on behalf of children. With offices statewide and in Northern West Virginia, it has been serving kids and families in every corner of Ohio for nearly 80 years with services including residential treatment, treatment foster care, outpatient programs, early childhood mental health and child welfare managed care.

“We are a behavioral health organization that focuses on helping at-risk youth and their families navigate through difficult situations," said Cathy Ballinger Brown, foster care program marketer. "Our services range from outpatient therapy programs (including school-based) to residential treatment to foster care.”

The nonprofit was originally called the Boys’ Village. It was started by Clarence Kerr in 1946 in a farmhouse just outside of Wooster. Kerr was inspired by “Boys Town,” a 1938 classic film with Spencer Tracy and Mickey Rooney. The film is loosely based on Father Edward J. Flanagan and his work creating a residential community for boys who were growing up without stable families.

“Our mission is to work in partnerships to empower youth and their families to build brighter futures,” CFO Martha Welker said.

While the nonprofit started as a residential facility, facilitating foster care has become an integral part of what the Village Network offers.

“We can draw on all of our services to help our children and their families heal and grow,” Brown said. “We feel every child deserves a loving, caring home.”

Foster care is a temporary family living situation for children who need a safe place to live when parents or other relatives cannot take care of them. The children may be any age, from birth through 19.

Both Brown and co-worker Travis Porter, also a foster care program marketer, have experienced firsthand being part of a family offering foster care. For both, it informed their career choice.

“With the lived experience of my parents being foster parents in Stark County for 20 years, this is my passion and my calling,” Porter said.

“Even though I didn’t fully understand at that time exactly what we were doing (acting as a foster family for a friend),” Brown said, “I do remember how I loved the feeling of being able to help her out, and I do believe that guided me towards a career path of wanting to help others.”

Brown said the agency’s modalities — Neurosequential Model of Therapeutics and Collaborative Problem Solving — provide the highest level of assessment and intervention for youth.

“While NMT helps our caregivers identify the neurobiological skills that have been stopped due to trauma, CPS helps build lagging skills in a trauma-informed way,” she said. "Our goal is to help youth establish the ability to self-regulate by developing the ability to control their impulses, emotions and thoughts and to create healthy relationships.”

Both long- and short-term foster care families are available for children separated from their biological families. Foster parents may be anyone at least 21 years old who is willing to open their home to a child in need.

“If you have extra room in your home and in your heart, you can be a foster parent,” Brown said. “It takes patience, persistence and understanding to be a good foster parent.”

Single-parent homes are accepted as are dual-parent homes.

Is there a need for more foster homes?

“The need is dire," Brown said. "We are always on the lookout for loving, caring homes for our most vulnerable populations.”

According to Brown, there were 360,000-400,000 children in the United States foster care system this year. Currently, there are nearly 17,000 children in Ohio and only 7,100 homes to accommodate them.

There are three types of foster parents: foster to adopt, foster for long-term care and foster for short-term care. Foster homes are licensed for a certain number of kids based on the space they have available. Foster parents have a say in everything during every step of the process.

Training is provided prior to licensure for foster families, and there is money to help with expenses. A background check is required. Once approved, there is a lot of support in place for both foster parents and the children they foster. Each child is assigned a clinician, and parents have access to support groups and a 24-hour crisis therapist. There also is respite care available for foster parents.

For those wanting to help but unable to foster, donations of time and resources are always welcome. Visit www.thevillagenetwork.org for more information or email tporter@thevillagenetwork.com or cballinger@thevillagenetwork.com.

Find The Village Network in regional offices across the state, in Wooster, online and on social media.

“In this holiday season, where it’s all about love and cheer, many of our children don’t get to experience that joy,” Brown said. “Please consider opening your heart and home to help provide some holiday love for our children.”