Therapeutic foster families needed in Iredell County

By: Bethany Fuller | Mooresville Tribune
Published: August 28, 2010

After some prayer and a lot of talking, Jamar and Robin Cowan made up their minds.
In January, they finalized their license to be a therapeutic home for teenage foster children.
Robin used to work at the children's home, and spent a lot of time working with teenagers. She saw them go to bed every night with their hopes and dreams, but had to leave them to the care of the next shift.
Now, as foster parents, the Cowans have opened their home to two teenage girls, who can't be identified while in Iredell County Department of Social Services custody.
They are with them 24 hours a day, seven days a week, she said, and are able to have a greater influence as a guide in their lives.
The Cowans received their license from Barium Springs Home for Children. Barium Springs Foster Care Director Marc Murphy said more teenagers in DSS custody need a mentor or a beacon to guide them into adulthood. Iredell DSS currently has more than 220 children in custody. “There is a growing need with a shortage of foster homes,” Murphy said. “In North Carolina, there are approximately 11,000 children in foster care.”
The children's home is holding a meeting on Monday at Little Joe's Chapel, next to the Barium Springs YMCA, from 6-8 p.m. There are two kinds of foster families – traditional and therapeutic. Murphy said there is a growing need for people to take on these roles.
The children's home has had to turn children of all ages away because it didn't have a family prepared to take them on.Traditional foster care means the child needs placement immediately, he said, and is often used with younger children. Teenagers are usually placed in therapeutic homes because they've been in the system longer, and usually need someone to teach them skills to make it to the next step.
The oldest in the Cowans' care, who is now 18, is already making strides and is attending Mitchell Community College with the hopes of becoming a social worker.
“We did it slowly to make sure we are okay with each other,” Robin said.
She said they go with the children to therapy, and work with the therapists on the issues the family is facing. The staff at Barium Springs offers a great support system, she said.They have tried to provide the girls with different opportunities, while teaching them life skills, such as cooking and money management.
More importantly, the Cowans want the girls to realize there is an alternative to what they went through.
“The smallest thing makes them smile,” Robin said.
The Cowans first started thinking about becoming a foster parent two years ago when one of the teenagers at the children's home where Robin worked told her that if he lived with her, he would never run away.Robin said she knows about what could happen to teenagers in the system. When Murphy described bow they became homeless or turned to prostitution or drug dealing, she kept nodding her head.
“Teens are in crisis,” he said. “It really is a last chance.”
To Robin, the decision, she and Jamar made earlier this year will make a world of difference. Even if, for now, it is only in two girls' lives.
INFO BOX:How to Become a Foster Parent: Questions and AnswersWhen Monday, 6 p.m. To 8 p.m.Where: Little Joe's Chapel at 107 Barium Springs Drive

Therapeutic foster families needed in Iredell County

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