Foster care increasing rapidly

PHARR - Edinburg resident Crystal Sutherlin spent her teens in foster care.

Now 25, she wants to become a foster parent herself.

"I think I'll be a good mom," says Sutherlin, who attended a meeting for prospective foster parents in May.

As the number of South Texas children in foster care rises at more than four times the state rate, Child Protective Services is heavily recruiting prospective foster parents like Sutherlin to keep up with the need.

Despite the growing number of children in foster care, though, the number of local foster parents working with the state is nominal, and in some cases declining.

In fiscal year 2007, Hidalgo County registered 26 foster homes working with CPS, compared to 50 in 2000.

In Starr County last year, there were three foster homes, actually up from two in 2000.

Foster parents can directly work with CPS, or through licensed private agencies often associated with religious ministries. The state does not maintain figures on the number of foster parents working through private agencies, but officials say outside agents help make up for the disparity they face in meeting demand. And for local children, some are placed with CPS foster families in other parts of the state, such as Victoria and Corpus Christi.

So, while there may not be a foster care crisis, there is concern about the stagnation of foster care recruitment.

"We've reached a level where we're bringing children in and we're not growing (the number of foster homes)," said Sandra Rodriguez, a CPS program director.

The agency's mission is not easy, as children placed in foster care often come from families plagued by abuse, drugs and neglect.

Foster parent recruiter Gloria Chamberlain regularly hosts events where she speaks to prospective foster parents.

At a meeting earlier this month that drew about 15 people, she went into excruciating detail about some forms of sexual abuse children in CPS custody have been through. Her methods are meant to emphasize to prospective foster parents the types of children they may receive.

"They've experienced more pain - whether it's physical, emotional or both - than any of us may experience in a lifetime," Chamberlain told a crowd at Pharr Memorial Library. "These are the kids you get into your home."

The process of becoming a foster parent takes about four months and includes home visits from CPS staff and parental training.

Foster parents can be single or part of a couple, with their own children or without.

"We have a lot of older families going through the empty nest," says Monica Blake, a regional foster/adoptive development supervisor. "They have the space available and the heart."

Chamberlain emphasizes that CPS tries to eventually reunite children with their parents or other family members, so any relationship with a foster child is likely temporary.

Sullivan City resident Jose Chapa, 58, says he's provided foster care to about 45 children over the past 8 years.

"It's difficult to say goodbye," Chapa said in Spanish.

Araceli Cabrera, of San Juan, says it was especially tough to part with her foster children after they started calling her "Mommy."The 40-year-old became a foster parent about nine months ago, when she took in four children aged 6 months, 9 months, 2 years and 3 years old.

She says within minutes of learning CPS had certified her family as a foster home, she got calls from two CPS case workers on two separate cases. The Cabrera family said ‘yes' to both and immediately took in the four children.

She says she and her husband originally wanted to adopt children - they already have two teenagers - but decided to become foster parents so they could help as many children as possible.

"We try to make their lives easier," Cabrera says of her foster children. "We want them to feel comfortable."

She admits fostering can be difficult work. Some of her children have not been potty trained, even at 3 years old. And she says her foster children have had speech and reading problems that are not typical for their age.

Now that her original four foster children have come and gone, the family is fostering another four children.

She says she intends to continue fostering until she's no longer able.

"It's a challenge," Cabrera says. "But it's worth it."

‘It's worth it'

Lifetime of pain