Lee Erwin reporting
lerwin@clarksvillenow.com
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – May is Foster Care Awareness Month and the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services is hosting a Foster Care Awareness Day, Saturday, May 17 from 12-4 p.m. The day features a free, family-oriented event at the L.E.A.P. Plaza, 1860 Wilma Rudolph Boulevard in Clarksville.
The event is being held to raise awareness for the need for foster parenting in and around Montgomery County, Tennessee. There will be lots of games, inflatables, face painting, refreshments and many more free activities. There will also be a live demonstration of the Clarksville Zombie Hunters paintball hayride trailer.
Local attorney Eric Yow is involved with Montgomery County Juvenile Court system and is one of the Community Partners involved with the Foster Care Awareness Day and he talked about the problem of foster care in Montgomery County.
“I see a substantial portion of both the negatives and positives of foster care. Some of the children being in disadvantaged, underprivileged, challenging homes, many of them coming from homes of abuse, neglect and abandonment. When I see them in juvenile court I see them on the delinquent side of things,” Yow said.
Yow added the big problem is and the reason is involved with foster cares is he wants to see the people stand up and support the kids in the area. Yow said over half the kids that go into foster care in Montgomery County are placed in homes outside the county or even sometimes outside the state.
The Department of Children’s Services in Montgomery County says as of March of this year, there were 297 children in custody. Just over 48 percent of the children are placed in the county while just over 50 percent of the youngsters are placed outside Montgomery County.
To find out more about the Foster Care Awareness Day, visit www.fostercarefamilies.org or call Anne Marie Cutting at 931-503-3201.