SAN ANTONIO – The South Texas Alliance for Orphans (STAO) is on a mission to find homes for all the children currently in the foster care system.
STAO was founded in 2016 and officially became a nonprofit organization in 2018. Jennifer Smith, the organization’s founder and executive director, said our community should be outraged by the number of children in the foster system.
“It made me angry. I just didn’t even know that [the foster system] existed, and I was like, ‘God, you should do something!’ And He was like, ‘Yeah, you should,’” Smith said.
Smith quit her job and founded STAO. During its beginnings, she fostered four kids and adopted two of them.
What is Foster Care?
Foster care is a temporary, court-monitored service provided by states to promote the safety, permanency and well-being of children, according to Child Welfare Information Gateway.
When abuse or neglect is suspected inside a home, Child Protective Services investigates, determines if the child is in potential danger, relays the situation to a judge, and the judge makes a ruling on whether the child should be removed.
After a child is removed from a home, they can be placed with relatives or in foster care.
If a child cannot be returned to their original home, based on the situation they’re in, a judge can terminate parental rights, and the child can be placed for adoption.
Smith said thousands of children need help, and our community needs to come together to help.
Breaking down the numbers
- Approximately 3,318* total children are in foster care throughout Bexar County and the counties that surround it.
- 1,153 are in kinship (grandparents, aunts, family friends)
- 1,136 are waiting for adoption
- 656 are in other placements
- 257 are in residential treatment
- 116 are in emergency shelters
*These numbers are continuously updated on STAO’s website and may be different than what is seen above.
“When you look at the stats, you’re like, ‘This is our city. These are our kids. How can we be letting this happen? How can we be OK with this?’” said Kathy Osborne, community engagement specialist at STAO.
There are two ways you can help lower these numbers — become a foster parent or get involved.
Becoming a foster parent
There are regulation requirements you must meet and follow before getting a child if you are interested in becoming a foster parent.
A full description of what is required can be found on the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services website.
A quick break down looks like this:
- 40 hours of classes
- FBI finger printing
- CPR, first-aid training
- Home study
- Fire and health inspections
“You’re going into this to give your family to a child. This is not a space where you’re getting a kid for your family,” Smith said.
Other ways to help
Bringing a child into the home is not for every family, but there are other ways you can get involved.
- Become a Verified Babysitter: Not just anyone can babysit a child in foster care. You have to go through specific training to be deemed safe to babysit.
- Become a CASA Advocate: This court-appointed special advocate helps follow a child’s CPS case through the courts.
- You can become a tutor and mentor for foster children in schools.
- You can also donate money and needed goods to churches in our area.
“The key to keeping a foster family in the game is having support because it is really, really hard to foster,” said Smith.
Prevention and preparation are essential when it comes to helping these children in the foster system.
Children who age out of the system tend to have significant negative outcomes:
- 76% of sex trafficking victims spent time in foster care
- 45% of the homeless population spent time in foster care
- 40% of aged-out youth will be incarcerated by 19 years old
- 3% of aged-out youth will attend tuition-free college
The chances of this happening to a child increase by 80% once they turn 11. That is because not many people are willing to foster older kids.
“A lot of people are scared. It’s a lot easier to take in a 9-month-old than it is to take in a 9-year-old,” Smith said.
STAO hosts various events throughout the year to help foster families and those looking to get involved. You can see a full calendar of events for the year by clicking here.
To keep update to date with the latest information from STAO, click on any of the following links: