Story by Lisa Rowell
The American Society for the Positive Care of Children (ASPCC) indicates that more than 437,000 children live in the foster care system in the United States.
If you reword a basic search from “how many children are in foster care in the United States” to “how many children in the United States, under the age of 18, do not live with their parents,” the difference in the results is staggering.
Statistics from a 2022 U.S. Census Bureau Report show that four percent of children under the age of 18 did not live with a parent. With 73,225,324 children of that age range reported in the U.S. in 2022, that comes out to nearly three million children who did not live with their parents that year.
So, where do our children live?
In delving into all the statistics and studies, the information from that 2022 report that seems most relevant to share in this space is this:
“Most children in non-parental care live with grandparents (63.1%), followed by foster parents (14.7%), and other relatives and non-relatives (22.3%).”
The Cabinet for Health and Family Services for Kentucky reports in their statewide foster care facts, the total number of children in OOHC (out of home care) with active placements at 8,317. This includes placement in a variety of settings, including 2,696 in foster homes.
SAFY helping children in our region
There are many agencies throughout our region dedicated to helping children in need of safe placement. SAFY (Specialized Alternatives for Family and Youth) is one such entity.
With nearly 30 locations nationwide across six states, the Somerset office is one of six in Kentucky. Stephanie Justice, recruiter, and Jennifer Thrasher, office manager, shared some insights about how they are helping children in our region find a nurturing place to call home.
Children could be in need of homes — whether temporary or permanent — for any number of reasons, none of which are their fault. Some stay in the system until they “age out.” Statistics for these youth can be grim.
SAFY’s foster and foster-to-adopt programs are just a couple of ways they are trying to lower those statistics, one child at a time.
“SAFY, as an agency, has been around for 40 years,” Jennifer said.
“We are a therapeutic foster care agency,” Stephanie explained. “We are a non-profit agency and we are licensed through the state of Kentucky.”
Jennifer explained the difference between the state foster care system (which also sends them referrals) and SAFY’s foster care, is they provide therapy services within their programs.
“We provide not only individual mental services to all youth in our care but we also provide family therapy services,” Jennifer said. This includes the foster families and/or the biological families.
Stephanie said the chances of foster youth becoming homeless once they age out of the system is very high. “We have an independent living program,” she said. “SAFY helps to provide them with an apartment, they help them with rent, sometimes they even help them obtain a car or transportation, and then help with bills and living expenses until they can become independent.”
Jennifer added that some youth will age out of the program without having been adopted. Their biological families may have terminated parental rights. Statistically, nationwide, about 75 percent of these young people will end up homeless. Less than three percent will earn a college degree.
“Our permanency goal is pretty high within our agency,” Jennifer said, adding that eleven youth have been adopted through their agency this year by their foster families. “Several others are pending.”
“Our goal is to preserve families and secure futures — that’s our motto,” Jennifer said.
Jennifer said the stigma of foster kids is often “delinquent youth.”
“Nine times out of ten, that’s not it,” she said, explaining the family dynamic might not have been healthy enough for those kids at the time.
“When they come into foster care, our primary goal is to reunify them with their family,” Jennifer said. “We want that. We want to help the family, nurture the family, and see if we can make that reunification happen. And if it doesn’t happen, we’re going to try our best to get them in a position to have a forever family,” she said. Of course, all state guidelines must be followed in the process.
SAFY appears to be very invested in the good outcomes of each of these kids, as individuals, and not as statistics. Being able to provide good placements and offer them stability in their own communities, helping them deal with their trauma triggers, being supportive of both their bio families and their foster families, all plays into their success.
SAFY also offers respite care for providers, and becoming a respite provider could be a good first step for someone wanting to get into foster care. SAFY offers complete training for all their programs, which is required.
Jennifer said their office is currently working with 32 families but can always benefit from having more, especially for serving the needs of sibling groups or medically fragile youth, who can be harder to place and require child-specific training.
Both Jennifer and Stephanie said SAFY has many partnerships with community organizations such as Be the Village. They are currently working on their annual Christmas gathering, which is December 12. Reach out to them on their social media (SAFY Somerset) to see what kinds of donations they are needing for that, in addition to hygiene products and new blankets.
SAFY hosts many events for their families throughout the year. It’s a great opportunity for more “seasoned” families to meet and interact with those newer to fostering.
The Griffin Family
One such seasoned family is the Griffins of Crab Orchard. Brandon and Cassandra Griffin have fostered more than 30 children over the course of seven years. And they’ve adopted seven. You read that right. The Griffins have opened their home to more than 30 children in need and have given permanent homes to seven of them. They also have five children between them (some of whom are grown) and five grandchildren.
Brandon said the back story is that he and his brother were both adopted. How fitting they would both open their homes to foster children when they became adults.
Dillon, who will be turning 18 soon, was the first foster child the Griffins adopted. He came into the family in 2017 and they adopted him two years later.
They are currently fostering three children in their large and welcoming family.
“Every time they [the agency]would call, I would basically say yes,” Cassandra said.
A passenger van helps
It can be a bit confusing to wrap one’s head around the incredible and constant evolving place that is the Griffin household.
Brandon and Cassandra said they’re not the only family with a 15-passenger van in Crab Orchard, as many other families also foster, including Brandon’s brother and sister in-law. It was a co-worker of Brandon’s who first introduced them to the idea to fostering.
Their daily lives require an incredible amount of structure and planning. Even trips to the grocery store require much forethought.
Meet the family
In order to understand just how big this family is, here’s a breakdown of everybody, and their ages of the children. Keep in mind, not all still live at home.
Brandon, dad
Cassandra, mom
Leah, passed away at age 19 in 2021
Madison, 21
Haylee, 20
Tommy, 19
Dillon, 17
Shay, 17,
Landon, 16
Alexus, 12
Ashlee, 12
Cameryn, 10
Brooklyn, 9
Hayden, 8
Siblings: Avery, 6; Aries, 3; and Autumn, 2
“You get attached and don’t want to let them go,” Cassandra said.
With more than 30 kids coming through their home Brandon and Cassandra said they’ve met a lot of different personalities and the kids all have had unique needs.
Between their family members and extended family, they took a trip in June — with 33 people — to Florida.
Outings, celebrations, birthdays — these are all very special to the Griffins.
Every child who comes into their home, whether for a few days of respite for another provider, or long term, is special.
The Griffins just seem to be in tune with what these young people need. They have a level of patience and understanding that puts them on another level.
Advice
As with anyone who has done something well for a long time, the Griffins offer some sage advice for anyone wishing to become foster parents.
“Keep an open mind,” Brandon said. “Be slow and steady.”
“Don’t give up,” Cassandra added.
“Don’t give up for one bad day,” Brandon adds. “One bad day can turn into a lifetime of good times.”
Brandon said through the ups and downs of their fostering journey, “it would have been so easy to just turn it off and be like, ‘we’re not going to do this.’ ”
The Griffins said they looked at a lot of different groups before choosing SAFY.
“They’ve always been good and helpful,” Brandon said of the organization. Foster parents are required to keep up with educational requirements, which can be done online for the most part.
“Anything you need, you get help,” Cassandra said.
Brandon said it’s remarkable to him how the staff can remember all the kids’ names. “SAFY is good about being involved.”
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