COVID-19 crisis increasing the need for foster parents in Michigan

(FOX 2) - For some children who are living with abusive family members, the stay-home mandate during COVID-19 can be dangerous.

That’s why social service agencies are asking for people who are able to, to consider becoming a foster parent. We spoke with the director of Bethany Christian Services of Detroit about the need.

“Generally we'll see a lot of times when kids are going to school or they’re involved in community activity, there are more people have access to kids to be able to determine if there are instances of abuse or neglect that would prompt intervention of social workers.

“Right now with the current stay-at-home order, we don't have those touchpoints to determine or know when there are instances of abuse or neglect that may be happening.

 “What we know about kids that are affected by foster care, is that many of them are coming into the system because of situations where their parents have extensive mental health histories, substance abuse or crisis where they're not employed or don't have the necessary income or resources to support their families.

“So knowing what we know now, where people are losing their jobs, they don't have the supports that they need from a mental health perspective we're expecting that we're going to see increased cases of children coming into foster care, which then intensifies the need for us to identify more foster parents, to support kids that are coming into care.”

If you’d like more information on becoming a foster parent, visit Bethany.org/Detroit.