By Kirk Kern
Katie Krikorian has been fostering children through Clark County Family Services for about five years, checking off a goal she had set when she got married and had three biological kids.
“I came from a huge family and we were very inclusive,” she said. “So it’s just the kind of family that I wanted to have for myself as well.”
So once her three children got a little older, she went through the process of getting licensed. She said the process took eight weeks with a checklist of things to accomplish.
“They encourage you to do it a few things at a time,” she said. “It’s not really that difficult of a process.”
Her first placement was a set of young twin girls and lasted only five days before they were reunited with their father.
“That was a nice, easy start,” Krikorian said.
Since then, she’s fostered about 12 kids, and has gone through the process of adopting three of them.
The Krikorian family is a great example of what fostering is all about, but being a foster parent doesn’t have to follow a cookie cutter pattern of a dual parent household in a single-family home.
There is an ongoing need for foster families in Clark County, and Family Services is out in the community recruiting for new foster families.
“The only thing is that you care about the kids,” said Frank Prado, director of Family Services for Clark County. “The main question that’s always in the back of someone’s mind is, ‘Can I really have an impact in a child’s life?’ The answer is going to be, Yes.”
To that end, Family Services always has a core group of recruiters out in the community to share the need to support, babies, children and teens in foster care. May is National Foster Care Month.
The main requirement is that foster parents be age 21 and older, and complete the foster parent training and home study They can be military; renters or homeowners; working or stay-at-home; single, married or divorced. There is an eight-week process that helps vet potential foster parents.
“There is no real textbook,” Prado said. “There’s no right or wrong way to be foster parent. If you care for children and want to do right for children, then you are the right person to be a foster parent.”
Foster parents play a vital role in supporting the community’s most vulnerable youth between newborns to age 18.
Children in foster care need a safe home and supportive caregiver while they are in temporary foster care.
When Family Services receives a report through the Child Abuse Hotline, and it is determined that the child is not in a safe situation, Family Services has a responsibility to get the child to safety.
Children enter foster care at no fault of their own.
They first try to place the child with relatives, family friends or someone they know and trust.
If that’s not possible, then the child is placed in a licensed foster home. Unfortunately, if there isn’t an appropriate placement, then the child will live in the Child Haven emergency shelter.
About half of the 3,000 children in the system in Clark County are placed with relatives, Prado said. That number can fluctuate during specific times of year, such as a big increase during school spring break.
As a foster parent, you can also set parameters on what age groups of children and length of time in your custody. Krikorian said she wanted infant children as her biological children were about five to 10 years older than her foster children.
Many Skye Canyon residents are new movers not just into this community, but also the state. It’s a very family-oriented community, which is an attractive area for Family Services to recruit foster families.
An added benefit to fostering, for new Clark County residents in particular, is the opportunity to get involved in this community and get exposure to many different groups.
“If you get a child who is school-aged, hopefully you can get involved in the PTA,” Prado said. “You can participate in some other activities as well. If your child likes sports, you can engage in those activities or other extra curricular activities that can help with their growth.
“That can help build their confidence and at the same time expand your network. So it’s a win-win when you look at it from that perspective.”
There is also a network and support between the various foster families in town.
“From the outside, it looks like, ‘I can’t do that.’” Krikorian said. “But you can. And it’s not gonna feel the way you think it’s gonna feel. And the timing works out even if you think it’s not working out.”
The Clark County Family Services department has information sessions scheduled throughout the Las Vegas Valley every month for those looking to learn more about the process.
Those interested can visit the website www.clarkcountyfostercare.com.
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