Local agency seeks more foster families in time of need

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - A local foster care agency, Wellroot, has seen a 50 percent drop in families interested in fostering since the pandemic.

11,000 kids are in care in the state of Georgia. 421 of those kids are in Columbia and Richmond counties.

Many children across the state have had to sleep in offices or hotels because they have nowhere else to go.

Wellroot says there needs to be more people stepping up to foster.

“We live in a very fast-paced society where it’s very inward focus. It’s very easy to just ‘Go, go, go’ or ‘Let me do this, this, this.’ Oftentimes, I feel like we miss these people around us and children around us in need,” said Kaley Dorsey, a foster parent.

Over the last three years, Wellroot has been working with 39 foster homes around Augusta and the number of kids needing help across the state is increasing.

“We need people to be foster parents now more than ever, for a number of reasons. Unfortunately, the number of kids in care is starting to trend upwards. But at the same time, the number of people that are inquiring about fostering has trended significantly downwards since the pandemic,” said Allison Ashe, Wellroot CEO.

More than two-thirds of children in foster care are thereafter being neglected.

Dorsey said: “I often hear people say, you know, aren’t you afraid of getting too attached and, you know, the idea of me getting too attached to a child is far less scary to me than like the child never experiencing that attachment.”

But isn’t provided just for the kids.

“I think there’s such a need for it. And I think there’s a lot of people who are just a little nervous about doing it. And what I would say to those people is you’re going to have the , you’re going to have the training, you’re going to have all the things that you need to be successful, as long as you can love well,” she said.

She says sometimes it is just about being there for what the child needs.

“The joys of our little 3-year-old running around singing to music in our kitchen and being able to take her on adventures or letting her spend time with our family and just seeing her face light up. It’s like no other. And so I just wish people could look past the daunting idea of foster care that people have in their heads and realize that it’s very rewarding, and these kids really need it,” said Dorsey.

Wellroot says there is training for the parents before and after the child is in their care and that case managers meet with them on a regular basis to ensure the child’s safety.

For more information on how to become a foster parent click here.

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