TYLER – “Currently, there is a serious shortage of foster homes for children and teens with special needs in the East Texas cities of Tyler, Longview, Athens, Canton, Nacogdoches, and surrounding areas,” according to Shelley Reese, Area Director for Lutheran Social Services in Tyler. Reese says that many teens, large sibling groups, and children with medical and behavioral problems are in immediate need of foster and adoptive placements.

If new foster families in the area are not identified soon, the children will have to be placed outside the region, which means further disruption during an already traumatic time for the kids.

Basic requirements for fostering a child include having a background check, no history of child abuse and to be 21 years of age or older. Foster parents receive ongoing training and are provided with various levels of medical and financial support, depending on an individual child’s needs.

“While foster parents come from all walks of life and circumstances, one thing they have in common is a dedication to the well-being of a child,” Reese said. “Lutheran Social Services has an extensive support system for foster parents who are willing to care for children in their teens and those with extra medical demands,” she said.

For more information about fostering in the East Texas area, please contact Lutheran Social Services Foster Care & Adoption at 903-939-3400; www.fosterintexas.org.