Central Florida in Need of Spanish-Speaking Foster Homes
There is a need for foster homes in Seminole, Orange and Osceola Counties that cater to Spanish-speaking children, representatives from Community Based Care of Central Florida said. This call for Spanish-speaking foster homes in Central Florida comes amid concerns for the welfare of these children the moment they are taken into foster care.
Danielle Abbey, a community impact manager for Community Based Care of Central Florida, told Fox News that there has been an increase in the number of multi-cultural children in Florida's foster care system. Of these children, there is a great chance that one has Spanish as the first language. This is supposedly why there is a need for Spanish-speaking foster homes, since they would help make the living transition of these Spanish-speaking children feel less uncomfortable.
"When these [children] are removed from their home they're already going through quite a transition so being able to go into a home with a family who is your same culture and speaks your same language makes it a little bit easier," foster parent recruiter Kyraneshia Coleman told Fox News.
German and Danae Fuentes know the importance of living in a family where culture is shared. The family, who is fostering an 18-month old boy, reiterated the need for Spanish-speaking foster homes in Central Florida during an interview with Fox News.
"We know that [his] family is also of Spanish heritage in this particular case so if and when he goes back to family we want him to be able to match, not to be isolated," German Fuentes said.
In the same interview, Fuentes also talked about his experience fostering the toddler. The 18-month old boy reportedly lived with the Fuentes family five months ago. He came to live with them the moment the family were granted their foster care license. German said it has been a "phenomenal experience" for his family to foster children. Aside from the toddler, they have also cared for a baby and have volunteered to foster up to four children until the age of seven years old.
According to the Community Based Care of Central Florida's official website, Osceola County has the most number of Spanish-speaking children in their foster care. That's because the county is mostly comprised of Hispanic or Latino communities. To address this need for Spanish-speaking foster homes in the area, a first Spanish-language course called "Parent Resource for Information, Development and Education" or PRIDE course was launched in February 2015.
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