Helping Children And Families Live Successfully.
Jennifer White, BA. BS.
Foster Care Recruiter
(615) 250-7253
jennifer.white@youthvillages.org
Orientation and Training Dates
INFORMATION MEETING:
Are you thinking about becoming a foster parent but need more information to determine whether it is the right fit for you? Attend an Information Session to learn more about Youth Villages Foster Care. Please contact Jenny White at (615) 250-7253 or jennifer.white@youthvillages.org if interested in attending.
Foster parents receive free training, monthly reimbursements to help offset the costs of adding a child to their household andongoing support from trained counselors.
Want to know more about fostering or adopting? Our information sessions are scheduled indivdually to meet your needs. After hour times available. Contact Jenny White at (615) 250-7253 to schedule a private orientation.
Location: 1420 Neal Street, Suite 202 Cookeville, TN 38501; receptionist will show you to the room. Snacks available; children are welcome.
To become a certified foster parent, you must attend training classes.
PATH (Parents As Tender Healers) Training
Our next PATH Class will begin in January. Please call or email Recruiter Jenny White with any questions you have about the upcoming classes. If you would like more information or would like to join the class, please contact the recruiter above.
Classes begin Tuesday, January 19th!
Call (931) 525-6905 to Reserve Your Spot!
Held on Tuesday and Thursday evenings from 6-9 p.m.
*Last chance to join is January 26th
Located at 1420 Neal Street, Suite 202 Cookeville, TN 38501
No need to worry about dinner; it's provided!
If you are interested in a weekend or morning class immediately or in the near future, please contact Jenny White at 615-250-7253.
Be a foster parent, and help a child find the way home.
For Marcia Benson, being a foster parent is beyond rewarding -- it is a ministry.
Ms. Benson has been fostering for three years and has had three teenage foster children in her care in addition to taking in respites. Making the choice to bring needy children into her home was never a difficult one, she says, when she considered "all the kids that are out there and have really had their lives stolen and have not had a normal childhood. Children deserve to know that someone loves and cares for them."
With the help and support of Youth Villages' counselors, Ms. Benson works to correct past hurts and help children heal and grow from their experiences. She accomplishes this through listening to the children in her care and providing her time and encouragement. She always reminds the children that although their birth parents have made mistakes, their birth parents still love them in some way. She also supports the children by helping them find faith.
According to Ms. Benson, the most rewarding part of being a foster parent is "knowing that you are giving a child a chance -- giving them a safe home where they will not be hurt and the opportunity to heal and have a productive future."
Ms. Benson has fostered only teenagers, which she enjoys because they are independent and have their own interests. Even after her foster children leave her home, she continues to affirm the children through phone calls, letters, and an open invitation to visit her.
Ms. Benson is proud to be a Youth Villages foster parent, and strongly encourages other to do the same; however, she does caution not to make the choice lightly. "It is a commitment. You can't go in half-way and it's not a part-time job. You have to go in with a full commitment."
