The Children's Aid Society Windsor and Essex building is located on Riverside
Drive. This building houses programs to assist foster parents and children in
their everyday lives. Services include after school tutoring, cooking classes,
volunteer drivers, therapy services and more.
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something they are interested in, they might make a
cold call to me and I might just have a conversation
with them over the phone...Part of what we strive to do
is get the information out there...through posters,
flyers, word of mouth or through foster families out in
the community because they are good at that.”
Foster families are not limited to young, dual
parent homes. Foster families can come from a variety
of backgrounds and walks of life. Young and old, single
parents, dual parent families, same sex couples,
parents with biological children and individuals with
training in child care - CAS looks for a variety of
potential parents to help with different circumstances.
Sometimes being creative works best, whether it’s
placing a nine-year-old boy with a single 25-year-old
woman or placing kids with older couples.
“It's important for us to get the message out that
foster families come in different shapes and sizes it's
not a one size fits all program,” said Rocheleau. “Some
kids are going to do better in a single parent home,
others are going to do well in a two parent family, and
others are going to do well with someone that's older.”
There are also outside private fostering agencies
that work with CAS to find homes that may be more
suitable for children who are harder to place. These
agencies do not compete with CAS - they all work
together. Some of these organizations include Nairn
Family Homes, Five/Fourteen, which is an LQBTQ
fostering agency, Connor Homes and Milestone Foster
Homes.
Martha Smith* has fostered for both CAS and
private treatment and foster organizations for the past
27 years. She said these agencies are resources for CAS,
and they work together to ensure the child is placed in
a home suited to their needs.
When Smith and her husband were younger they
had discussed adopting children that would otherwise
be overlooked.They started the process to become an
adoptable home, and after being approved they were
approached by CAS to become a fostering home due to
a shortages at the time.
“The biggest thing we can do is to let them know
that we are there for them no matter what.” She said
that the support given to these kids benefits them, in
the family environment and long after they have left.
“I believe that kids flourish when they know that
somebody's in their corner and rooting for them to be
the best, to be a star,” said Smith. “If the child really
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