Star Staff Reports
MEMPHIS — Longstanding child and family service organization Porter-Leath is currently recruiting foster families to provide safe, loving, and temporary homes for children who have suffered from neglect, abuse, homelessness, or other unstable circumstances.
There are currently more than 1,000 children in foster care in Shelby County alone. Porter-Leath is seeking to add more than 50 foster homes during this recruitment effort to meet this pressing need. Foster families can help keep sibling groups together and give children much-needed stability during very difficult times in their lives. Currently, the greatest need is homes for teenagers.
Interested in becoming a foster parent? Learn more about fostering at PorterLeath.org/foster or call Lisa Arnold at (901) 577-2500 ext. 1179.
Incentives, Training, and Support
New foster parents receive assistance, training, mentoring, respite care, and ongoing, 24-7 support from Porter-Leath’s experienced, professional staff.
The organization is currently offering financial incentives to encourage families to become foster homes in addition to the tax-free financial allowance they receive to care for the child while in their home. But the greatest reward to most foster families is the opportunity to help a child or children during a time of crisis and need.
Porter-Leath Foster Care History
Since its inception in 1850, Porter-Leath has cared for children without stable families while continually broadening its programs to meet the community’s needs.
The primary goals of Porter-Leath’s foster care program are children’s health, safety, and permanency—achieved through either reunification with the biological family or adoption.
For more than 170 years, Porter-Leath has been a primary resource for Memphis children and families. By focusing on the essential building blocks of healthy development, Porter-Leath not only gives them access to the tools they need but also a sense of hope. Porter-Leath helps build stronger children, stronger families, and a stronger Memphis. For more information, visit porterleath.org or contact us at 901-577-2500.
