Foster homes needed in Sisters

There is a serious need for foster homes in Sisters for infants to 18-year-olds, according to Mindy Rickman, a 13-year member of the Deschutes County Services.

"Currently, we have only one foster home in Sisters, and we need five or six more," Rickman said. "The most important thing we want to communicate is that we need foster homes in each school catchment (neighborhood) area.

"Sisters is considered a neighborhood because all of the children go to the same schools," she said. "We want to be able to place children who have to go into foster care close to their homes, so that they're near their biological parents for visits, and so that those of school age need not change schools. It's really important that the children maintain a close relationship with their parents.

"Our goal from the time the children are placed in foster homes is to reunite them with their families," Rickman said. "We try to determine what the problems are in the home, and provide services to help the parents meet the needs of their children by offering them parent training, interim management, and drug and alcohol classes to help them solve their problems."

Rickman said that many of the children are found by phone calls or a person coming into the office to report something he or she has witnessed or heard that could indicate child abuse, neglect, or exposure to domestic violence.

The source might be a neighbor, or a member of a school staff - someone who has observed a child's bruises or a house so dirty that it raises concerns for a child's health.

"When we receive such information, we write a report that is presented to a group of staff," Rickman said. "If the report indicates that the situation is imminently dangerous, it is referred to the supervisor for immediate investigation.

"If the report appears less urgent, it is staffed later that day or the following morning. But whatever the situation, decisions are never made simply by an individual."

Once the decision is made to remove a child from a home, Rickman or her coworker is notified that a foster home is needed.

"We have a list of the foster homes in Deschutes County," Rickman said. "After we've learned the number and age(s) of the children involved, we begin calling the foster homes in, or closest to, the child's neighborhood.

"Sometimes that's a real scramble because we don't have enough homes, especially in Sisters. We prefer not to have Sisters children in Bend, for instance, unless it's unavoidable. We don't want the children so far from their families and their schools."

The primary reward for foster parents, Rickman said, is the knowledge that they are really helping the children and families of their communities.

Foster families are reimbursed about $400 per month per child, depending on age. Generally, they are not making a profit; they are being reimbursed for the cost of the child's care, food and clothing and, beginning at a specified age, an allowance. In addition, there is a medical insurance plan for which foster parents are eligible.

Medical and dental care for children in foster care is covered by a state insurance policy.

Qualification as a foster home requires a bed for each child; the size of the bedroom determines the number of beds it can accommodate. Infants may sleep in the bedroom of the foster parents; boys and girls from one to five years of age may sleep in the same bedroom; girls and boys six years of age and older must have separate bedrooms.

The home must have a safe play area for the children. Each room must have a smoke alarm, and safe storage must be available for chemicals, medicine or anything that could be of danger to a child.

Certification as a foster parent is attained by 12 hours of class attendance, spread over several hours per week for several weeks. Completion of classes is followed by home study to determine the foster parents' commitment to attention, nurturing, and providing a safe, healthy home environment for children until they can be returned to their families.

An initial criminal history check and fingerprinting are routine.

There are 95 children in foster care in Deschutes County, and approximately 65 certified foster homes. But at any given time, 20 of those homes might not be taking children - the parents might need a break, have something going on in their own family, or just don't feel they can do it at that time. The hope of the agency is to get the number of homes to over 100 by June 30, 1999.

"The need for foster homes is greater now than in the past," Rickman said, "partly because of the population growth but, in almost every case, because of the pervasive use of drugs and alcohol."