Portland, Tennessee Blog

Hundreds of Tennessee children enter the foster care system each year. Youth Villages, a private nonprofit organization, has been helping Tennessee’s foster children through a partnership with the state of Tennessee since 1992.

“Foster children have been through a lot in their young lives and need supportive families to provide loving, safe homes to them,” says Emily Moore, foster parent recruiter, Youth Villages. “Foster parents allow children from troubled backgrounds to experience the joys of childhood and to grow emotionally and academically. Foster parents’ service to the most vulnerable young people in Tennessee is critical and is why the month of May is set aside to honor these special people and to raise awareness of the need for additional foster families.”

Youth Villages is looking for additional families and single adults in and around Nashville who are interested in making a difference in the lives of children by becoming foster parents. Youth Villages is looking for foster parents like Eva Franklin.

“What I most enjoy about fostering children is helping them to see hope, the light at the end of the road” says Eva Franklin, foster parent with Youth Villages. She has been a foster parent for over 18 years and primarily cares for teenagers. “I believe you can instill drive and confidence, and the ability to live independently”.

Through its Foster Care Program, Youth Villages provides individualized help to children with a variety of emotional and behavioral problems they developed as a result of their chaotic family lives. Foster children and parents receive free counseling through trained Youth Villages staff who are available around the clock to assist foster families with any questions they may have.

Youth Villages’ foster parent training is free. Ongoing support groups provide foster parents with the chance to discuss their experiences with other foster families, give and receive advice and address any specific issues they may be dealing with.

“It doesn’t take a superhero to be a foster parent,” Moore says. “It takes a real person who feels love for children in state custody and who really wants to make a difference. Parenting is never easy, but it is the most rewarding thing anyone can do, especially when you begin to see the child change in positive ways.”

Youth Villages’ foster parents also receive a generous annual tax-free reimbursement to help offset the costs of adding a child to their household.

Youth Villages serves Sumner, Williamson, Wilson, Rutherford, Cheatham, Robertson, and Davidson counties from its Nashville office.

For more information on Youth Villages or about becoming a foster parent, please call Emily E. Moore at (615) 250-7270, send her an e-mail at emily.moore@youthvillages.org or go to www.youthvillages.org/foster