Lee Erwin Reporting
lerwin@clarksvillenow.com
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – Close to 45 ministers from local churches gathered at a breakfast at the Hilldale Baptist Church Student Center Monday morning to learn more about the problem facing Montgomery County when it comes to the need for support for children and foster care.
Montgomery County General Sessions and Juvenile Court Judge Ken Goble spoke to the group and said he was asking the church leaders to allow foster care officials and supporters from the county to make presentations to their congregations in the hope that there are people who are willing to help with foster care.
County officials say in a county where the population exceeds 180,000 there are only about 50 families qualified to be foster families. There is currently a need for a little over 100 families and that need is growing. Goble said abuse and negligence are just a couple of ways children can end up in the court system and foster care.
Along with foster families, the Montgomery County Foster Care Review Board is also in need of members. The board is a group of local citizens who are trained volunteers who review foster cases while working with the Department of Children Services in Montgomery County.
One former foster care parent who is now serving as a review board member, Catherine Wilson, shared her story with the ministers at the breakfast. Wilson said she has a passion for children and said she has fostered 57 young people in Montgomery County in just over a ten year period.
Also at Monday’s meeting was Jim Henry, Commissioner for the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services who talked about foster care. “It’s particularly across Tennessee and more important here in Montgomery County. The reason is because these kids need a future and they need a good home to grow up in,” said Henry.
Click here for more information about becoming a foster parent.