{"id":13846,"date":"2018-10-29T14:33:06","date_gmt":"2018-10-29T18:33:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/?p=13846"},"modified":"2018-10-29T14:34:19","modified_gmt":"2018-10-29T18:34:19","slug":"answering-a-heartfelt-calling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/answering-a-heartfelt-calling\/","title":{"rendered":"Answering a “heartfelt calling”"},"content":{"rendered":"

[et_pb_section bb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”3.0.91″ custom_padding=”0px|0px|0px|0px” next_background_color=”#000000″][et_pb_row custom_padding=”2px|0px|8px|0px” _builder_version=”3.0.47″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Featured Image caption” _builder_version=”3.15″ text_font=”|600|||||||” text_font_size=”12px”]<\/p>\n

Over the years Carl and Mary Brown of Elgin have made it their goal to insure that every child that comes into their home feels like a part of their family. Even after fostering over 200 children, they said they wouldn’t change a thing about their decision.<\/p>\n

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[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section bb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”3.0.92″ custom_padding=”2px|0px|37.9062px|0px” prev_background_color=”#000000″][et_pb_row custom_padding=”0px|0px|18.9531px|0px” custom_margin=”10px|||” _builder_version=”3.0.92″][et_pb_column type=”2_3″][et_pb_text admin_label=”News Story” _builder_version=”3.15″ custom_margin=”0px||0px|”]<\/p>\n

Over the last 44 years, Carl and Mary Brown have shown in over 200 different ways what foster care can accomplish when you open your hearts to others.<\/p>\n

The couple has welcomed over 200 children into their home in Elgin, a small community outside of the state capital, along with their three biological children and eight adopted children. And even at the ages of 79 and 75, they still continue to foster.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been the greatest thing that we\u2019ve ever done. It\u2019s become a part of our lives, almost our whole life,\u201d said Carl Brown.<\/p>\n

Mr. Brown believes that since opening themselves and their home to fostering, they now know how important family is.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople need to know that there\u2019s nothing greater than being a part of a family. Every child needs a family,\u201d he explained. \u201cWhen they\u2019re taken away from their family in under what they think are normal conditions, it\u2019s so important for those children to have someone that\u2019s willing to take them into their home \u00ad\u2013 you\u2019ve never seen them and they\u2019ve never seen you \u2013 and to open your heart and home to that child and be that family for them.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to the South Carolina Department of Social Services, in the month of October there were 4,702 children in foster care throughout the state.\u00a0The number of homes available for them to be placed in? Only 2,729.<\/p>\n

That means there is a gap of almost 2,000 homes that are needed in order to meet the number of children that are in the state\u2019s care. Two of the biggest demands for homes involve families that are willing to take in siblings or teenagers; without those families, siblings will have to be separated and teens will be placed into group homes.<\/p>\n

No matter the age of the child, two or eighteen, Mr. Brown said that they need someone to tell them that they\u2019re loved. When children come into the system they sometimes don\u2019t understand why, but \u201cyou\u2019ve got to wrap your arms around them, you\u2019ve got to love them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mary Brown said that foster parents must understand the individual circumstances of each child who arrives in their home.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey all have a background and a history of what brought them into care and that affects them,\u201d she said. \u201cThe trauma that they suffered affects them throughout their lives and we try to instill that you\u2019ve got a family that cares about you and loves you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fostering a child that you\u2019ve never met can be challenging but the Browns believe that it\u2019s absolutely worth it.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt times you want to give up, but it\u2019s so rewarding when you see what you\u2019ve accomplished in helping to parent those children in a time of need,\u201d said Mr. Brown. \u201cIt\u2019s not easy. Sometimes we wish we had the time to do things that we couldn\u2019t do, but we love what we do.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mrs. Brown explained that while the job of being a foster parent can be difficult at times, which is no different than the challenges you have with your own children, knowing that you\u2019ve been there for a child when they need you makes a lasting impact.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019ve just have to have a heartfelt calling and be determined that you are there to help that child when it needs help,\u201d she said. \u201cYou just have to take that child and love and nurture them.\u201d<\/p>\n

She went on to say that through fostering, the couple has been able to better view the world around them by the children that have come into their home.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s opened our eyes to what a lot of families live in and how they live, but it\u2019s also made us want to help more from seeing that.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Browns believe that while fostering isn\u2019t an ideal situation for anyone involved, it can, more often than not, be exactly what is needed.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs bad as it may seem to a family to have their children taken into foster care, I think that we as foster parents can really be a support for that family,\u201d Mrs. Brown said. \u201cWhat we want is for the parents and children to reunited. We let them (the children) know that it may take weeks, it may take months, but that\u2019s our goal.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even after children leave their home and the foster care system, Mrs. Brown says that they still have families that come to them for support, advice, and to just keep in touch.<\/p>\n

When asked what their advice would be to people that are currently considering foster care, Mrs. Brown chuckled before saying that she believes a lot of families come into foster care thinking that the child coming into their home will be perfect.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s not always true. We\u2019re going to get children that have issues and challenges and we have to deal with them,\u201d she explained. \u201cJust being separated from their parents is enough. We have to be willing and able to help them through that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr. Brown\u2019s advice was quite simple.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you have a lot of patience, a lot of love, and care about people, you\u2019ll make a good foster parent.\u201d<\/p>\n

Finding a safe home
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The driving force behind foster care in the state comes from the South Carolina Department of Social Services. This state agency provides a myriad of services, such as protective services for children and vulnerable adults, adoption, and foster care.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

When a child is found to be a victim of neglect, abuse, or an emergency situation, SCDSS takes them into their care.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe look around and if there\u2019s a relative who has a safe home, who can care for the child, then that\u2019s our first option. But if not, then we look for a foster home,\u201d said Chrysti Shain, a public information officer for SCDSS.<\/p>\n

When children are being placed into foster homes after coming into care, SCDSS looks first in the child\u2019s own community.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe try to keep children close to home so the child can still go to the same school, still be in the same class, because chances are that teacher and those classmates are probably the only stability in that child\u2019s life,\u201d Shain explained.<\/p>\n

According to Shain, a lot of times keeping the child in the same area isn\u2019t possible because of the lack of available foster families.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are always looking for families, especially in our larger counties, so that we can keep kids close to home. We\u2019re really trying to educate people about the need close to home so kids can stay near their support network.\u201d<\/p>\n

When it comes to recruiting foster parents, SCDSS often finds itself running into a wall of negative labels surrounding the process. That makes prospective foster parents hesitant.<\/p>\n

Jim Casserly, the foster care recruitment coordinator for SCDSS, believes that there are a lot of \u2018myths\u2019 about fostering that need to be \u2018busted,\u2019 such as the fact that you don\u2019t have to be married or own your home.<\/p>\n

\u201cWill you be inconvenienced a little? Yeah, you will because you\u2019re going to take this child to medical appointments, you\u2019ll have to take this child to school as if they were one of your own,\u201d Casserly said. \u201cHaving these children is literally no different than having your own biological children.\u201d<\/p>\n

Besides hesitation, SCDSS explained that one of the biggest reasons they\u2019re constantly on the search for foster parents is actually a good thing.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of times when someone is a foster parent, they end up adopting the children they\u2019re fostering. They can no longer be a foster parent because they don\u2019t have any more room in their home,\u201d Shain said. \u201cWhich is a happy ending for the children, but that means we still need more families to take in the new children who are coming into care.\u201d<\/p>\n

Step-by-step to become a foster parent<\/strong><\/p>\n

The steps to becoming a licensed foster parent are, contrary to popular belief, fairly easy.<\/p>\n

According to Shain, the process takes between three to five months and includes an application, orientation with 14 hours of training, fire marshal inspections, a physical with your doctor and a background check.<\/p>\n

The timeline of getting your license depends on how long it takes you to get your paperwork in order and how fast you can get any corrections on your home that are needed after the initial inspection.<\/p>\n

For a complete step-by-step layout of the licensing process, take a look at the bottom right graphic provided from the SCDSS.<\/p>\n

[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_3″][et_pb_image admin_label=”Image 1″ show_in_lightbox=”on” show_bottom_space=”off” _builder_version=”3.15″ custom_margin=”||2px|” custom_padding=”|||” animation_style=”slide” box_shadow_style=”preset2″ box_shadow_horizontal=”4px” box_shadow_vertical=”4px” url_new_window=”off” use_overlay=”off” always_center_on_mobile=”on” force_fullwidth=”off” src=”http:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/SCFosterP1_web.jpg”]<\/p>\n

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Carl and Mary Brown have spent the past 44 years fostering more than 200 children. Fostering has been such a huge part of their lives that they now run the S.C. Foster Parent Association out of their home, while also continuing to foster.<\/p>\n

[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image admin_label=”Image 2″ show_in_lightbox=”on” show_bottom_space=”off” _builder_version=”3.15″ custom_margin=”||2px|” custom_padding=”|||” animation_style=”slide” box_shadow_style=”preset2″ box_shadow_horizontal=”4px” box_shadow_vertical=”4px” url_new_window=”off” use_overlay=”off” always_center_on_mobile=”on” force_fullwidth=”off” src=”http:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/SCFosterP3_web.jpg”]<\/p>\n

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[\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text admin_label=”Caption 2″ _builder_version=”3.15″ text_font=”|600|||||||” text_font_size=”12px” text_line_height=”1.4em” custom_margin=”8px|||2px” custom_padding=”|||”]<\/p>\n

Mary Brown enjoys telling the individual stories behind each photo on her refrigerator. More often than not, the memories attached involve a child that they once fostered.<\/p>\n

[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image admin_label=”Image 3″ show_in_lightbox=”on” show_bottom_space=”off” _builder_version=”3.15″ custom_margin=”||2px|” custom_padding=”|||” animation_style=”slide” box_shadow_style=”preset2″ box_shadow_horizontal=”4px” box_shadow_vertical=”4px” url_new_window=”off” use_overlay=”off” always_center_on_mobile=”on” force_fullwidth=”off” src=”http:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/SCFosterP5_web.jpg”]<\/p>\n

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The South Carolina Department of Social Services continuously works towards the welfare of the state’s most vulnerable children. The ultimate goal of the agency is to reunite kids with their families after parent have overcome their personal struggles.<\/p>\n

[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image _builder_version=”3.15″ src=”http:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Screen-Shot-2018-10-29-at-2.14.21-PM.png” \/][et_pb_image admin_label=”Image 4″ show_in_lightbox=”on” show_bottom_space=”off” _builder_version=”3.15″ custom_margin=”||2px|” custom_padding=”|||” animation_style=”slide” box_shadow_style=”preset2″ box_shadow_horizontal=”4px” box_shadow_vertical=”4px” url_new_window=”off” use_overlay=”off” always_center_on_mobile=”on” force_fullwidth=”off” src=”http:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/SCFosterG2_MP.jpg”]<\/p>\n

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[\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.15″]<\/p>\n

The complete step-by-step licensing process to become a foster parent.<\/strong> (Graphic provided by SCDSS)<\/p>\n

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There are many myths and stereotypes that surround the foster care system; here’s a look at the reality of being a foster parent.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":130,"featured_media":13864,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":""},"categories":[67,39],"tags":[96,305,306,304,99],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13846"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/130"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13846"}],"version-history":[{"count":28,"href":"https:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13846\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13908,"href":"https:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13846\/revisions\/13908"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13864"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13846"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13846"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13846"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}