In North Carolina, there are more than 15,000 children in foster care and 463,000 nationwide. Easterseals PORT Health helps more than 200 foster kids find nurturing temporary homes each year until a more permanent solution can be achieved. We recruit, train and support foster families in North Carolina to provide the best out-of-home care for children from birth until they turn 21.
Funded by a generous donation from Trillium Health Resources, the Foster Care team has launched a “Foster Love, Foster Hope” campaign to build awareness and recruit foster families in Beaufort, Carteret, Craven, Jones, New Hanover, Onslow, Pender and Pitt county. Look for ads in these counties that feature real foster families on billboards, movie theater ads, restaurant ads, digital web ads, paid social media and local media interviews. Learn more about our foster care program.
Celebrating Foster Care
Every day, our foster care team is working hard to support kids. After recruiting foster families, the team trains them and provides the necessary support to create successful outcomes for the entire family. We have so many examples of how families lovingly bring kids (who have often experienced trauma) into their homes temporarily or permanently. Here a few examples of foster parents making a difference in the lives of kids.
The Browns
The Brown family has fostered several children at all ages over many years. They recently fostered and adopted a child who is visually impaired and requires a feeding tube. In addition, they also foster and will soon take guardianship over two additional non-verbal kids who have mental and other challenges.
The Grohs
These two moms first fostered their son at 2-weeks old and have since adopted him through our foster care program.
The Hansens
The Hansen family have fostered more than 40 kids in the past 14 years. “As long as kids need our home, we will be here to provide it to them!” says the parents, who have also adopted two children through ESPH.
The Hoggards
The Hoggard family fostered two brothers for 3½ years before they officially adopted them into their loving family.
ABOUT EASTERSEALS UCP
Easterseals PORT Health is a trusted, compassionate partner providing exceptional disability and behavioral health services to help our neighbors live their best lives. Purpose, dedication and empathy drive our service delivery. Its diverse and inclusive 2,300-member team provides more than 9 million hours of meaningful support to 22,000 kids, adults and families in 11,000 home and community locations. Learn more at eastersealsport.com.