by Mescalero Apache Tribe | April 29, 2021 9:39 am
The Mescalero Foster Care Program is writing to the community about why the month of May is very important. Please read below.
May 2021
As the month of May begins; the Foster Care Program would like to express the awareness of what Foster Care is about. As stated, May is dedicated and marked as National Foster Care Month; and maybe this was not a big deal because it was never acknowledged before in our community of Mescalero. Today, I am happy to express that Mescalero had implemented the Foster Care/ICWA Programs and they are running in full capacity since 2015. Know that Mescalero has a Foster Care Program, it is the duty of the Foster Care Case Manager to keep the program in progress and recruit families to become foster parents.
A little history of Foster Care; Some of the earliest documentation of children being cared for in foster homes in the Old Testament and in the Talmud, established caring for dependent children as a duty under law. Early Christian records showed children were placed with worthy widows and were paid by collection of the church. As years went by the English Poor Law was developed and regulations were put in place for families to foster care. These, early dates of becoming a program starts back in 1562. There was a time where children were placed into care without guidance which was called indentured service until they came of age. This practice of indentured service continued into the first decade of this century. In 1636 at the age of seven Benjamin Eaton became the nation’s first foster child. In 1853 Charles Loring Brace began the free foster home movement, and from there on till this current day the Foster Care Program became in effect throughout the United States and began to services all neglected and abuse children.
The purpose of making May as National Foster Care Month is Awareness. To raise awareness in the community of Mescalero, Lincoln, and Otero Counties about foster care and to encourage more people to get involved in becoming foster parents. Mescalero is in crises of no foster homes for our neglected and abuse children and becomes a hardship to help with their services.
So, my message this month of May is to ask for help and spread the word that foster children are in need of caring individuals who can provide safe and nurturing homes. Mescalero is looking for foster parents who are willing to work with children’s birth parents, be supportive of efforts to return children home, able to work with children who have emotional and behavioral needs and be able to encourage teens to adapt to individual living.
Let us work together as a community and make a difference in a child’s life! If you are interested in becoming a foster parent, please call Mescalero Foster Care Program at 575-464-4334 or 575-937-4810.
Provided by Foster Care Case Manager, Alta M. Branham
Source URL: https://mescaleroapachetribe.com/14627/open-letter-from-mescalero-foster-care-program/
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