May is National Foster Care Month

April 29, 2019

May is National Foster Care Month, a time to acknowledge foster parents, family members, volunteers, mentors, policymakers, child welfare professionals, and other members of the community who help children and youth in foster care find permanent homes and connections. During National Foster Care Month, we renew our commitment to ensuring a bright future for the more than 440,000 children and youth in foster care, and we celebrate those who make a meaningful difference in their lives.

In a quest to meet the demand for foster parents, Richland County Children Services (RCCS), has a new recruitment postcard.

 The card provides information about foster care requirements and foster care rates. The postcard will be distributed at various community events.

“I am very pleased with the work done by Jeraca Barnett and her team on this project! I am excited to see the prospective foster parents and new possibilities for our children!!,” said Nicole Foulks, Program Services Manager.

Child welfare agencies are looking at new ways to recruit through social media. RCCS continues to lead the state in Foster Care recruitment with the software program, Binti.

 Through Binti, the agency has a public recruiting website to let potential families learn about foster care and adoption. Binti offers a mobile-optimized application portal to complete and sign required paperwork. This process can be completed anywhere from any device.

Once the application is submitted, caseworkers use a  private dashboard to track the application and complete background checks. The goal of Binti is to increase the number of licensed foster homes within the Richland County area, in addition to making the application process easier for potential parents.

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