“Fixing big problems begins with believing it’s possible, doing your part, and doing it together.” – Jason Weber (Until There’s More Than Enough: Working Together to Transform Foster Care Where You Live)
It is a common misconception that small towns don’t have a foster care crisis. However, in Weston County we have a very real and pressing need for foster providers and support, and I believe that there are more than enough people and resources to meet and surpass this need right in our own community.
When we look at the overall data for Weston County and really try to assess the need, we find that in 2024, over 23% of children in Weston County had 3 or more risk factors that make them susceptible to crisis. These risk factors include adverse experiences such as: frequent socioeconomic hardship, parental divorce or separation, parental death, parental incarceration, family violence, neighborhood violence, living with someone who was mentally ill or suicidal, living with someone who had a substance abuse problem or racial bias (https://datacenter.aecf.org/data/customreports/7135/any). These children are the next leaders of our community – they are the next parents, teachers, business owners, employees, and future of Weston County. And friends, it’s time we stepped up and addressed these risk factors in real and tangible ways.
As of April of 2026, Weston County does not have enough foster homes to place
children. Where do the children go when they cannot be in their homes?
When children come into care, the Department of Family Services will first look for
placement with a parent or relative. Then they will look for kinship care, which could be a family friend, teacher, the child’s friend’s family, or another adult who the child already knows. The best placement is with someone who the child knows, who resides in the community. Placing a child with a stranger or in a different community is the last option. This further disrupts the child’s life, adding additional adverse experiences during an already tumultuous time. Truly, the stability and familiarity of remaining in their own community, school, and surroundings gives children a better sense of safety and overall wellbeing.
It takes many hands-on-deck to provide more than enough for at-risk families. The first most pressing and identified need in our county is more foster and respite homes. According to Karen Weinhardt, Foster Care Coordinator for District 6, the number of foster families needed is unpredictable, however ideally we would like to see enough so that there is a waiting list of families rather than a waiting list of children.
Many people aren’t in a place where their home or life situation is conducive to taking a child or children into their homes. However, there are many ways we can each play a role in reducing the strain in the foster care community. WAM! is a Ministry of Church on the Hill in Newcastle that speaks into these needs. WAM! is short for “Wrap Around Ministry” and aims to wrap around all aspects of the foster care community, from biological parents to foster parents, social workers and the children they care for, and more.
One of the ways WAM! does this is by providing gently used and new clothing and
supplies to foster families when they have a placement. WAM! has also partnered with Foster Love with Beef and local area ranchers to bring beef to foster families as a way to lessen the load at Christmastime and anytime a new placement happens. Ways to support the foster care community in Weston County are varied and wide. Some examples include: providing free or reduced priced services such as oil changes and house cleaning, laundry services, or lawn maintenance. Others offer their practical skills in babysitting, transportation assistance, grocery shopping/delivery, mentorship, or as CASAs (Court Appointed Special Advocates).
The goal for WAM! is that we can successfully collaborate with churches, businesses, local government leaders, and community members so that there is always more than enough support for our foster care community.
Wrap-around teams support and retain foster parents (and social workers!) to help meet the needs of children in foster care. We would love to have you join us as we work to provide more than enough in Weston County. It is possible when we each do our part, and we do it together.
For more information on how to become involved with WAM! and wrap-around the foster care community, contact Kendra Paulton 605-891-9990 or [email protected]. For information on how to become certified as a foster or respite family, contact the Department of Family Services at (307) 687-5237 or [email protected].