December 8, 1999
Foster homes urgently needed in Texas
___By Russ Dilday
___Buckner News Service
___DALLAS--When Christy came to live as a foster child with Don and Rhonda Barber of Arlington, she already was a hardened addict of crack cocaine and marijuana and suffering from withdrawal symptoms.
___Christy's recovery is going well in the few months since she has been in their care--good progress for a 5-month-old who became an addict in her mother's womb.
BARBARA HOUSTON of Dallas opens her home to foster children. (Photos by Russ Dilday/Buckner)
___"She would have tremors, and every day at 2 and 4:30 she would start screaming," recalled Rhonda Barber. "I didn't know what was wrong, but her doctor told us that's when her mother probably used drugs and she was not getting what she was used to getting at those times."
___Stories like Christy's often are cited as a reason many families don't commit to foster parenting, creating a vacuum of available foster homes in North Texas.
___Francine Floyd, foster family recruiter for Buckner Children and Family Services of North Texas, said "unfounded fear" is to blame many times for the low number of families volunteering as foster parents.
___"People tend to be fearful of the kids who have suffered the abuse and circumstances these children have come from; the baggage they can't handle," she explained.
ALFRED AND WENDY DOMINGUEZ of Dallas are committed to helping children who need them.
___"I know there are families who want children but don't know how to help these kids or are afraid to," Barber said. "But let me put their fears to rest: With the pasts these kids have gone through, the majority have learned and gone on and want to have a regular life. The fear stems from fear of failure, and they're afraid because they hear horror stories or they don't want to experience the pain of seeing these kids leave.
___"It is painful to see the kids leave, but what we've been able to do is let them experience firsts, like going to a restaurant, to church or to a park. All kids are going to leave. We're all here on loan from God."
___In addition to fear, other foster parenting barriers include busy lifestyles and a "lack of awareness of the opportunity that they have to change the course of a child's life, Floyd said.
___"The bottom line is, people don't realize how badly they're needed and that there is a shortage," she explained. "The need for foster homes is far greater than the available supply."
RHONDA BARBER of Arlington said the joys of being a foster parent outweigh the fears.
___That demand, according to Floyd, could exceed the supply by more than three times in Tarrant and Dallas counties and the counties that surround them.
___"More than 3,000 North Texas children are in desperate need of foster care, yet only 1,000 foster homes are available. You don't have to be a rocket scientist to see the need."
___Buckner alone is forced to turn away approximately 50 children each month "because we don't have the foster homes," Floyd said.
___She pointed to the latest statistics to underscore the need for more foster families. "In 1997, more than 8,030 North Texas children were confirmed victims of child abuse or neglect. Those numbers have only increased each year and stand to increase an unbelievable amount in 1999 according to the trend."
___Foster care recruiters in other areas are facing similar difficulties.
___Holly Rand, a foster home developer at Buckner Child and Family Services in Lubbock, noted that they have to "turn down one or two children a week" because the 14 foster homes the Lubbock team supports and others in the community cannot provide enough beds for the demand. "I've been in social work for five years, and I have honestly never seen it as bad as it is now."
___Alfred and Wendy Dominguez of Dallas got a quick lesson in the immediate need for foster homes. The Dominguezes, who have two biological children, completed their parenting course and preparations this spring and were approved as foster parents July 19. The next day they received an hour's notice that three siblings needed placement in their home.
___"We had no idea what to expect," Alfred Dominguez said. "But we're committed to emergency, long-term and short-term care and we're committed to adopt if the situation is there."
___"I was adopted myself and can relate," added Wendy Dominguez. "We're at the point where we don't necessarily want more biological kids, but we have a lot of love left and we have a home and we have the opportunity."
___The critical need for foster parents has created a new atmosphere of cooperation among foster care agencies, Floyd said. "What we're doing is pooling our resources and working together to try to heighten public awareness of the need for foster homes. It's not about one agency anymore, it's an issue of having enough homes to accommodate the vast number of children who need foster care."
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