'Tremendous need.' Local organization celebrates National Foster Care month

DECATUR, Ill. (WAND) — May is National Foster Care month and one local organization is celebrating by trying to find more foster families.

"There is a tremendous need," Shannon Norris, the Lead Licensing Representative for Lutheran Child and Family Services, said. "Foster parents can always have a capacity of up to six in their home when we license them depending on the space that they have available."

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L.C.F.S. cared for more than 2,100 children throughout the state of Illinois in 2023.

"It was stressful at first," said Mara Warner, a foster parent through L.C.F.S. "Lots of kids in the beginning, but you learn, you adapt, and you create a family."

Warner has been a foster parent, alongside her husband, for about four years.

"I was actually adopted out of foster care, so I grew up in foster care." Warner continued, saying, "I wanted to give back to our community and I thought that there was no better way than to be a foster parent. It was already in my blood. I literally grew up in it."

L.C.F.S. isn't looking for just anybody. They want to find the people who want to care for children that don't have a home.

"At the end of the day, if you love children, always remember it was not their fault to begin with," Norris said. "Just look at the fact that someone is willing to step up, love them, give them a personal space to grow, and every place to say this is home because they've been removed from theirs."

If you're interested in becoming a foster parent or helping Lutheran Child and Family Services in another way, you can reach out to their offices in Decatur, Springfield, or Quincy.

"It's scary in the beginning but there are people that help you along the way," Warner said. "It's not like you're gonna just be thrown to the wolves. There are people who walk alongside you."