DENVER — Mount Saint Vincent is a part of Intermountain Healthcare and works with county departments of human services to provide training and certifications to people who wish to be a foster parent, as well as other services for families.
On average, in Colorado, 10 children enter the foster care system a day. Currently, Colorado has about 3,400 children in the foster care system and about 2,400 foster care homes and kinship homes caring for those children. Agencies like Mount Saint Vincent are trying to fill that gap.
In order to become a foster parent, an individual is required by law to complete specific training and certificates. If you cannot met all of the requirements, there are still ways you can support a foster child. Taking the foster parent training would allow you to provide respite care for a foster child you may know.
Denver resident and full-time lawyer Christopher Reeves wanted to be a father, but did not have a lot a success with IVF or adoption. He truly wanted to care for children and becoming a foster parent was the route he chose.
"I was open to kids who had, you know, issues and disabilities and things like that, and eventually I was matched with my son", said Reeves.
"I was his foster parent for two years, and then eventually the parental rights of the parents were terminated, and he was available for adoption, and I adopted him", Reeves said.
Reeves's says that it is important to remember that fostering a child is temporary. The ultimate goal in the process is to reunite the child with their parents.
If you missed Mount Saint Vincent's last webinar, you can request an individual information session by emailing fostercare@msvhome.org or by calling Mount Saint Vincent at 303-318-1825.
- Episode 26 of Denver7 and CPR News's joint social affairs show, Real Talk, took a deep dive into Colorado's foster care system. Watch the full episode in the video player below, and watch more Real Talk episodes here.