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51 °F Forecast | Road Cams Saturday, November 13, 2004 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Menu Guide How To Guide Wellness Connection Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Passport to the Rogue Valley EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People MARKETPLACE Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Classifieds Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend October 27, 2004 Lone Pine Elementary School kindergarten teacher Sue Horton has taken former student �Nathan� into her home as a foster child, joining the growing ranks of teachers recruited to help absorb an influx of kids needing foster care. Mail Tribune / Bob Pennell Foster teachers The growing need for foster parents prompts county officials to tap teachers to take on that additional role in children’s lives By JONEL ALECCIA Mail Tribune Last year, the 7-year-old with the gap-toothed grin was just another kindergartner in Sue Horton’s class at Lone Pine Elementary School. This year, he’s part of her family. Horton, 53, of Medford, became a certified foster parent last summer so the boy we’ll call Nathan wouldn’t have to switch schools when another care arrangement ended. "He just kind of works his way into your heart," says Horton, who’s been teaching for 29 years. "He just blended in real well." So that was Nathan at a Horton family wedding, break-dancing in a tiny coat and tie. And that’s Nathan watching cartoons after school in Room 8, waiting for Horton to take him home. Advertisement In fact, the teacher placement has been so successful that child welfare workers in Jackson County are urging other educators to become foster parents, too. Advocates hope that teachers, aides and other school workers will help ease a record-breaking need for local foster families. "We are in a crisis," foster care manager Penny Esser told a group of Medford principals last week. "Can we find a liaison, two or three from each school, that we can bring into the fold to be the emergency placement for these kids?" In September, 59 children were taken into foster care, the most admitted in a single month in Jackson County, Esser said. Overall, the county’s average monthly foster care placements have more than doubled in the past three years — up from 17.5 in 2001 to 36.8 in 2004 so far, county figures show. In 2003, nearly 5,000 kids entered foster care; nearly 4,500 exited. Drug use, particularly methamphetamine addiction, appears to be driving the rise, said Phil Niemeyer, an intake manager with the state Department of Human Services. "It feels to us like it’s just a flood of meth that is so hurtful in families," he said, estimating that up to 80 percent of removals are caused by the drug. Foster parent recruitment hasn’t kept pace with need, Esser said. In the Medford School District, for example, 142 children are in care and only 40 foster homes are available. Asking school personnel to consider certification seemed like a logical step, Esser said. Teachers, aides and others already know the children and they can help keep them in their current classroom to maintain stability, she said. Medford principals forwarded e-mail requests for foster parents to their staff, but some did so with trepidation. In a year marked by budget cuts and bigger classes, asking workers to take kids into their homes seemed like an imposition. "To be honest, my gut instinct was that I was a little nervous," admitted Julie Evans, principal at Oak Grove Elementary School. "They give so much of their time during the day to these kids. I passed on the letter, but I was reluctantly doing it because I’m protective of my staff." Within days of Evans’ e-mail, however, two teachers had volunteered to become certified. One teacher, a 42-year-old single mother of two, said her family was eager to help. "I know that there is a critical shortage of foster care in this county," said the teacher, who wanted to remain anonymous. "I don’t feel like it’s asking too much. What’s a couple more when your house is always filled with kids anyway?" Such an attitude is welcome among foster care advocates, who say an extra bed and a flexible attitude are key requirements for providers. Right now, nearly all existing foster care providers are full, including several at the eight-child maximum limit, Esser said. There are days when placement workers search until 8 p.m. or 9 p.m. for space for kids. "The plan that they’re talking about is that we’ll take overnight shifts at the office," said Esser. Meth use was one of the reasons for Nathan’s initial placement in foster care years ago, said Clover Leonard, a Court Appointed Special Advocate. As a CASA volunteer, Leonard, 54, has followed the boy’s progress through various court processes and foster placements. "He is such a great kid, he had people stepping up volunteering to be foster parents for him," she said. Shifting from being Nathan’s teacher to being his foster parent was not difficult, Horton said. She believes that other educators would do the same for other kids, given the opportunity: "I think there are a lot of little precious people out there, and people would open their hearts if they knew." Reach reporter JoNel Aleccia at 776-4465, or e-mail [email protected] Volunteers are desperately needed Asking teachers to become certified to take kids into their homes is one indicator of the urgent need for foster parents in Jackson County, said recruiter Penny Esser. Of the 250 certified foster families, most are relatives who take specific kids. Only about 100 are available to care for the flood of children who need shelter, including 59 in September alone. "I’m hoping this is not a trend," Esser said. But the shortage of adults to help care for vulnerable children extends beyond foster care. Organizers for CASA — Court Appointed Special Advocates — and for the Children’s Advocacy Center in Medford said they’re woefully short on volunteers as well. "We can’t go lower than our highest-priority kids," said Ed Mayer, director of CASA. About 100 volunteers help guide about 250 children through the legal system, serving as the child’s voice in court. Another 250 kids remain on a growing waiting list, Mayer noted. At the Children’s Advocacy Center, which helps victims of sexual and other abuse, the need is expanding rapidly, said Jackie Ralph, volunteer advocate coordinator. In August, workers provided services for 504 children, up nearly 100 kids from the same period a year ago. "I have about 12 volunteer victim advocates and I could use about 20," said Ralph. The advocates help children and families when kids report abuse. They also coordinate resources and follow kids for up to a year after the initial contact. For information about becoming a foster parent, call Esser at 776-6120, extension 232. For information about CASA, call Mayer at 734-2272.For information about the Children’s Advocacy Center, call Ralph at 282-5474, extension 115. Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2004 Mail Tribune. 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