Is There Room In Your Marin-Area Home For A Foster Child?

MARIN COUNTY, CA – Coinciding with National Foster Care Month in May, the Marin County Department of Health and Human Services has issued a plea for additional local families willing to provide foster care to children, as their biological families work toward reunification, and also ­­is co-hosting an upcoming screening of Instant Family, with a portion of proceeds benefiting the Marin Foster Care Association.

Nearly 30 percent of the Marin County children in foster care live outside of Marin due to a lack of available, local foster families, officials said.

The Marin County Recruitment Collaborative and the Marin County HHS are seeking more Marin-area homes to enable the youngsters to remain in their area schools and communities, the county said.

"Children come into the child welfare system, through no fault of their own, and are among the county’s most vulnerable residents," officials said. "Every effort is made to keep foster children in their own school and community, to keep siblings together, and to create good matches between kids and families.

"In order to do that, we need a larger, more diverse pool of foster homes. Resource families can provide temporary care to children while biological families work toward reunification or they can choose to be an adoptive family; both are needed."

Meanwhile, the screening of Instant Family, a movie inspired by true-life events of writer/director Sean Anders, is set for 7 p.m. Thursday, May 9, at the Smith Rafael Film Center in San Rafael. A panel discussion with members of the Marin fostering community will follow the screening.

A portion of proceeds will benefit the Marin Foster Care Association. Tickets, $11.75 for adults and $8.50 for kids and seniors, are available on the Rafael’s website.

Those unable to attend the film screening can learn about foster care at monthly orientation meetings hosted by Marin HHS staff. A social worker and a resource parent co-facilitate the meetings, discuss the application process, go over training and support available and answer questions.

The next orientation is Wednesday, May 15, from 7 p.m.-8:30 p.m. at the Marin Health and Wellness Campus, Room 110, 3240 Kerner Boulevard, San Rafael.

For more information and to register for an orientation meeting, visit www.FosterOurFutureMarin.org or call Leslie Fields at 415-473-6418.

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