The Greatest Challenge Facing Foster Care in NC: The Need for More Homes

In this episode of "In Real Life: Foster Care Unfiltered," leaders from Children’s Home Society of North Carolina discuss the urgent need for foster families, the realities faced by children in foster care, and common misconceptions about fostering.  They highlight the shortage of foster homes, the importance of keeping siblings together and children in their communities, and the support offered to foster parents. The team shares success stories and encourages listeners to consider fostering or supporting children in care, emphasizing that anyone can make a meaningful difference in a child’s life. “What really gets me is thinking about that child sitting there, listening to DSS call families and hearing families say ‘no, no, no.’ Just thinking of the trauma that continues to inflict on them is really sad.” Jeremy Wagner  What You Will Learn: Current state of foster care in North Carolina Decrease in the number of licensed foster families post-COVID-19 Urgent need for foster families to accommodate over 11,000 children in care Challenges faced by children entering foster care, including trauma and instability Importance of keeping sibling groups together in foster placements Need for children to remain in or near their home communities for stability Common misconceptions about foster care and birth families Qualities needed to be a successful foster parent Support and training provided to foster families by organizations Success stories and positive impacts of fostering on children’s lives Timestamps: 00:27 – Introductions 02:29 – State of Foster Care in NC 04:41 – Children Sleeping in DSS Offices 07:12 – Who Are the Children? 08:47 – Sibling Groups & Placement 12:08 – Keeping Kids in Community 13:36 – Why Children Enter Care 15:31 – Misconceptions 18:09 – Youth Resilience 20:26 – Urgent & After-Hours Needs 23:00 – Recruitment & Support 24:56 – Training & Ongoing Support 29:01 – One-on-One Family Education 30:00 – Rewards & Success Stories 34:27 – How to Help 37:18 – Final Thoughts 38:45 – Closing Episode Resources: Catch up on previous episodes of In Real Life: Foster Care Unfiltered here: https://chsnc.org/about/podcast/ For more information about Children’s Home Society of North Carolina, visit: chsnc.org To be a guest on the podcast, email: [email protected] To learn more about foster care, visit: https://chsnc.org/adoption-and-foster-care/get-started/ Let’s be friends! Follow us on social media:  Facebook: @chsnorthcarolina  Instagram: @chs_nc LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/chs-nc YouTube: @chsnc