Lindsey Betterman, foster care supervisor with Wesley House, joined Good Morning Keys on KeysTalk 96.9/102.5FM this morning to talk about recent events.
Valentine’s Day saw a formal event.
Betterman said, “We just wanted to thank everyone. It was a great success. We genuinely couldn’t be where we are without the community support that we have. So we are very grateful for our community.”
What is a foster care supervisor?
Betterman said, “I license train foster parents. We go through the home study process and all of that so that we have homes here available for the children who unfortunately can’t remain in their homes, so that at least, hopefully, they can stay in their local communities. There are steps that have to be taken. I know I’ve always thought that they’re really not that extraordinary, background screens. I have to make sure the home is safe, and there is a pre service training class. But once we get through those steps, it’s fairly easy to get licensed. If your heart’s in the right place, these kids really, really need a place to call home for a little while.”
There’s also support services for children who are in foster care as well.
Betterman said, “All of our kids that come into care range the gamut from newborn to teenagers. We have independent living services for our teenagers and basically that is an individual. His name is Craig. He’s amazing. He comes into the homes. He works with these kids to help make sure that they know important life skills as they continue to grow. I mean, some of those are as simple as, of course, doing laundry and doing dishes. Others are about budgeting or teaching kids to drive, those kind of things, but all of those things that adults need, he gives them that step forward.”
Are foster parents needed right now?
Betterman said, “It is a need that’s ongoing. We have families in Key West that need to relocate, so we’re always looking for more. Our homes here, I stress it all the time, they’re smaller than an average American home. So, always having more is a need, as well as this is kind of a transient community that we have, people come, they stay for a little while and they move on. So there’s always an ongoing need. And again, it’s so important. I stress this all the time. If you can imagine a kid being pulled from like Big Pine and then needing to be placed in Miami because we don’t have a home here. I mean, just what a culture shock that would be, let alone just the losses that they’ve also incurred.”
What are the qualifications to being a foster parent?
Betterman said, “You have to be an adult. You have to be able to pass a background screen. You have to be have a home with at least an additional bedroom, so a two bedroom at least home, and you really have to just have the understanding of where these kids come from. I call it just kind of reflection, like to look at a child, understand what their behaviors are, or their concerns or their fears, and try to back think like, okay, this is what they’ve been exposed to. So of course, how else can we help? Good communication skills are great, because you can always talk to a case manager or even myself, so that we can kind of think through a process of what these children need. Some children are going to need doctor visits to Nicholas Children’s Hospital. So how do we coordinate that? They might need someone to talk to about everything that they’ve experienced. So how do we work with that? We’re working with families too. Our goal is to help these children get back home to their parents. So trying to understand that as well is it is a huge part of it. So, honestly, just open minds and, being an adult, that’s really what it’s about, and having a loving place for these kids.”
What happens if there aren’t foster families for children in need?
Betterman said, “Honestly, at this point, we pretty much end up placing them someplace in Miami. So, teenagers maybe at the Children’s Shelter here. So like I said, it’s just a giant loss. I’ve lived here for many, many, many years now and even driving through Miami, you can see the differences in our day to day lives. I find it hard to imagine, if you’ve lost your parents, you’ve lost your home, maybe pets, and now you’ve got to lose your school and your friends and the place you call home, in a broader sense, how difficult that must be.”
For more information, click here: https://www.wesleyhouse.org/