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Rhode Island Foster Kids Need Families: Families Like Yours

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PROVIDINCE, RI — Helping with homework, playing catch or sharing a meal are the everyday activities between a parent and child that often are considered no big deal, but to a child in foster care, moments like these are special, wished for, and priceless. Casey Family Services, one of the Northeast’s foremost foster care providers, is embarking on a recruitment campaign aimed at connecting as many of the 2,800 displaced youth in Rhode Island as possible with stable, safe and loving permanent parents and families. ABC6/WLNE TV, NBC10/WJAR-TV, and Fox Providence/WPRI will air a series of spots throughout the day and into prime time during the month of March.

According to Roye Anastasio-Bourke, Casey public affairs manager, the campaign, “Kids Like These Need Families Like Yours,” seeks to reach prospective parents and families from traditional and non-traditional homes. “You don’t have to be married, rich, or live in a fancy house to parent a child,” she asserts. “Our Casey families come from all cultural and economic backgrounds. They are single, married, empty nesters, business women and men wanting children later in life, as well as those who just want to expand their families.” 

To facilitate a more user-friendly intake process, Casey Family Services in Providence has formed a special recruitment team consisting of current foster and adoptive families. They are reaching out to potential families to help them navigate the screening and decision-making process. 

“Our recruitment team members are well-equipped to encourage and inform those wanting to open their hearts and homes to youth. They have first-hand knowledge of the challenges and benefits of fostering or adopting a child or teen,” says Jim Gannaway, director of Casey’s Rhode Island Division.

Common questions prospective parents ask include:

• In a tight economy can I afford to take in a child or teen?
• Will there be financial assistance for college-bound teens or am I responsible for all aspects of care and education?
• What resources and supports are available for children with special needs?

In addition to Providence, the campaign is being launched simultaneously across New England. The ads feature compelling portraits of foster youth – school-age children through older teens - who share their hopes and dreams of having the ordinary, everyday, loving connections that most young people take for granted. “We hope these vignettes will drive home the idea that the needs of the majority of youth in foster care are the same as those of any child – having a caring parent who keeps them safe, attends their school play, reads them a book, and cheers them on in good times and bad,” Anastasio-Bourke explains.

Casey Family Services, the direct service agency of the Annie E. Casey Foundation, provides a monthly stipend as well as high-quality support services to foster parents affiliated with the agency.

In addition to television advertising, the parent/family recruitment campaign also includes grassroots outreach through partnerships with local professional, social, business and faith-based organizations. To learn more about the campaign and view or listen to the spots online visit: www.caseyfamilyservices.org. For more information on becoming a foster or adoptive parent call: 1.888.799.KIDS (5437).