Imagine being two months into your first year of middle school, you are on the soccer team, and your older brother is the big shot eighth grader on the football team. Things are rough at home, so school, activities, and your siblings are the only things that make you happy. One day, your world changes when you are removed from your family, school, and team and placed in a foster home three hours away in a completely new community. This is the reality for thousands of children in the foster care system, specifically in our more rural communities like Region 3 in northwest Georgia. When children are removed from their home counties, they often have to switch schools, leave their afterschool activities and are separated from their siblings.
During the 2024 fiscal year, the Division of Family and Children Services Region 3, which covers Bartow, Douglas, Floyd, Haralson, Paulding, and Polk counties, served about 8,477 children through the foster care system. The vast majority of children removed from these areas are placed hours away from their home communities.
Bloom is not only dedicated to finding homes for children in this area through our new Rome office but also to finding the right home for each child. We are focused on identifying and developing quality caregivers who not only understand the level of trauma that our kids in foster care have experienced but are also committed to learning new ways to support children. At Bloom, we not only meet state practices of implementing evidence-based preservice training but also provide our cornerstone program of crisis training along with relationship-based interventions for our families to implement in their homes. Bloom continues to be rated as an A+ provider through the Office of Provider Management.
If you foster a child through Bloom, you gain an entire village dedicated to supporting you on this journey. Bloom University offers evidence-based training to all of our homes based on the needs of the children currently placed. Bloom offers 24/7 on-call, in-person response as needed, which helps our families work through any medical, behavioral, or mental health issues a child in their home may be experiencing. The Rome office opened in May 2024, and we are already keeping children in this area in their home county. This helps ensure that they do not experience disruption at their school of origin so that they can continue with their dreams of going to college.
If you are interested in becoming a foster parent, please contact Meagan Bella, Recruitment and Licensing Manager, at m.bella@bloomfosters.org.
Not ready to foster but want to support those who do? Please consider making a monetary donation or donating items to our Bloom Closet in Restoration Rome through our Amazon wish list at https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/OJ328YYWGWIY/ref=hz_ls_biz_ex.
To volunteer at our Rome location, please contact Devon Smyth, Program Coordinator, at d.smyth@bloomfosters.org.
Written by Meagan Bella, Bloom Recruitment and Licensing Manager