Georgia Magazine - April 2020 - 22

COURTESY KAREN HOLLOWAY

Above: Foster parent Karen
Holloway comforts a child currently
placed in her home. Right: Stephen
and Karen Holloway have cared for
more than 150 foster children.

in preparation for child placement.
"Every state utilizes a pre-service training," Pierce says. "In Georgia,
that training is IMPACT. It is typically around six sessions, so most classes
will meet once a week for six weeks."
Pierce recommends attending an informational meeting to learn more
about foster parenting.
"Every county in the state of Georgia holds informational meetings
for community members. You don't have to commit to anything. You don't
even have to RSVP to come to those meetings," he says. "They're held at
least once a month in the [DFCS] offices. It's just a way for people to learn
who can foster, who are our children and what does the process look like to
become a foster parent."
The most rewarding part of foster
parenting comes when the children
achieve permanency, says foster mother
Karen Holloway of Calhoun. "It's great to
see them go home, and if that's not possible, then seeing them achieve permanency in an adoptive home. Every child
deserves a forever home. When we can
see that happen, it's a great thing."

OWAY
KAREN HOLL

Beyond fostering

COURTESY

'It's great to see
them go home, and
if that's not possible,
then seeing them achieve
permanency in an adoptive
home. Every child deserves
a forever home.'
-Karen Holloway

Become a CASA volunteer

Georgia CASA (Court Appointed Special
Advocates Inc.) is a nonprofit dedicated to
improving the lives of children in foster care.
A CASA volunteer advocates for children who
have experienced abuse or neglect. To learn more,
visit gacasa.org.

22

Georgia Magazine

For those who decide foster
parenting is not a good fit for them,
there are other avenues of support,
such as becoming a Court Appointed
Special Advocates (CASA) volunteer.
"We are the unwavering constant for the child's best interests,"
says CASA volunteer Vicki Hellums
of Winder. "At every court hearing, the CASA volunteer provides an
updated, written report to the judge with the unbiased facts of what brought
the child into care. We identify the problems and advocate for the child's
specific needs. The judge is then able to make better decisions in addressing
the child's best interests."
Other ways to get involved include providing child care for fosterparent training sessions, helping out with the DFCS Secret Santa program,
bit.ly/ssprogr, and participating in events tied to National Foster Care
Month in May.
"Many counties have their local government officials make declarations during that month, and we try and have each county hold appreciation
events to celebrate," Pierce explains. His office holds an appreciation dinner
for foster parents in May, many of whom consider caring for foster children
to be their greatest role in life.
"One of the comments we hear is that people want to foster so they can
adopt," Holloway says. "They're really doing themselves and the kids a disservice if they don't go into it just thinking, 'I want to help these children and
their families,' because there's so much satisfaction in that. Even if you're not
able to adopt, you've missed a huge blessing if you don't foster."
Victoria Scharf DeCastro is a freelance writer based in Suwanee.

April 2020

20-23_Foster_Parenting_B_0420.indd 22

3/11/20 1:00 PM


http://www.bit.ly/ssprogr http://www.gacasa.org

Georgia Magazine - April 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Georgia Magazine - April 2020

Contents
Georgia Magazine - April 2020 - Intro
Georgia Magazine - April 2020 - Cover1
Georgia Magazine - April 2020 - Cover2
Georgia Magazine - April 2020 - Contents
Georgia Magazine - April 2020 - 4
Georgia Magazine - April 2020 - 5
Georgia Magazine - April 2020 - 6
Georgia Magazine - April 2020 - 7
Georgia Magazine - April 2020 - 8
Georgia Magazine - April 2020 - 9
Georgia Magazine - April 2020 - 10
Georgia Magazine - April 2020 - 11
Georgia Magazine - April 2020 - 12
Georgia Magazine - April 2020 - 13
Georgia Magazine - April 2020 - 14
Georgia Magazine - April 2020 - 15
Georgia Magazine - April 2020 - 16
Georgia Magazine - April 2020 - 17
Georgia Magazine - April 2020 - 18
Georgia Magazine - April 2020 - 19
Georgia Magazine - April 2020 - 20
Georgia Magazine - April 2020 - 21
Georgia Magazine - April 2020 - 22
Georgia Magazine - April 2020 - 23
Georgia Magazine - April 2020 - 24
Georgia Magazine - April 2020 - 25
Georgia Magazine - April 2020 - 26
Georgia Magazine - April 2020 - 27
Georgia Magazine - April 2020 - 28
Georgia Magazine - April 2020 - 29
Georgia Magazine - April 2020 - 30
Georgia Magazine - April 2020 - 31
Georgia Magazine - April 2020 - 32
Georgia Magazine - April 2020 - 33
Georgia Magazine - April 2020 - 34
Georgia Magazine - April 2020 - 35
Georgia Magazine - April 2020 - 36
Georgia Magazine - April 2020 - 37
Georgia Magazine - April 2020 - 38
Georgia Magazine - April 2020 - 39
Georgia Magazine - April 2020 - 40
Georgia Magazine - April 2020 - 41
Georgia Magazine - April 2020 - 42
Georgia Magazine - April 2020 - 43
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Georgia Magazine - April 2020 - 45
Georgia Magazine - April 2020 - 46
Georgia Magazine - April 2020 - Cover3
Georgia Magazine - April 2020 - Cover4
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