When life's tragedies and traumas strike infants, young children and teens, the state and county foster care and child protective service agencies are the final safety net that keeps these victims alive and out of harm's way.
Source/Credit: BHM News Service
By Jonathan M.A.Ghaffar | March 10, 2014
The children who come into foster care in San Bernardino County rarely come with smiles.
If they are infants, they are almost always the innocent victims of drug addiction, fetal alcohol syndrome, abuse or neglect. Some in foster care are orphans due to the tragic death of their parents with no other relatives available or qualified to care for them. Others in foster care are there because their parents have been convicted of crimes and are now in prison. The reasons are many but the solution is always the same: love. Children, no matter what their circumstances, require lots of unconditional love and a safe home environment in order to become happy, functional and emotionally well-adjusted adults.
Because of the near-constant demand for foster care families, San Bernardino County's Dept. of Children and Family Services conducts monthly educational and orientation seminars for prospective candidates of their foster care program.
March's meeting was hosted by the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community's Baitul Hameed Mosque at 11941 Ramona Ave. in Chino on Saturday the 8th from 8:30am-12:30pm. Registration began at 8:00am. Imam Shamshad A. Nasir welcomed the staff and attendees at the beginning of the event, and let them know that the Mosque was available for use by the members of religious and civic groups, as well as state agencies requiring a place with lots of parking, full audio-video-internet capabilities, and commercial facilities for food preparation and serving.
The Baitul Hameed Mosque is also registered with the state as a civil emergency and disaster relief location, as well as a local area polling station for voting during local, state and national elections.
The 4-hour orientation seminar included TB testing, live-scanning background checks, fingerprinting, foster parent Q&A session, and help with filling out the necessary applications and other paperwork required to become foster care candidates. It's a stringent and exhaustive process that often results in candidates withdrawing their applications before becoming licensed foster care providers. The screening process is designed to be as thorough as possible, utilizing database and criminal records searches in conjunction with local, state and federal law enforcement agencies, and the FBI's National Criminal Information Center (NCIC) database. In-depth investigations are conducted on all prospective foster care candidates, their immediate and extended family members and anyone else residing in the intended foster care home.
But for those with love in their hearts for those in need of love, including special needs children with mental or physical handicaps, the determination and perseverance can pay off with huge dividends in the smiles on the faces of foster children who know they are finally safe and loved for who they are.
Jeannine also pointed out that in order to not turn away qualified applicants due to lack of financial resources, she wanted people to know that state and federal funding programs are in place to provide monthly payments ranging from $640-$800 per foster child (higher for special needs) to cover their expenses. These payments continue up to the age of 18 in most cases. Other services provided by state and federal foster care and adoption programs include medical and educational benefits.
To learn more about becoming foster care or adoptive parents, call San Bernardino County's Foster Home Services at 909-891-3368 or go online to: http://hs.sbcounty.gov/cfs/fosterparents
-- Over 150 attend foster care and adoption seminar held at Ahmadiyya Mosque in Chino
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