There’s a huge need for foster homes in the Savannah area. There are ways you can help – whether it’s taking the huge step and becoming trained to become a foster parent or simply by volunteering to help support foster kids in our area.
Here are some resources to help foster kids:
Lutheran Services of Georgia
Lutheran Services of Georgia is one of the largest non-profit providers of specialized foster care services in Georgia. Lutheran Services of Georgia works in partnership with the Division of Family and Children Services (DFCS) to ensure the safety, permanency, and well-being of children. LSG provides Specialized Foster Care services for children in the custody of the DFCS and the Department of Juvenile Justice.
Specialized Foster Care Services are offered in Savannah among other Georgian cities.
Learn about becoming a foster parent & upcoming trainings here.
Georgia MENTOR
Georgia MENTOR is an agency that partners with the Department of Family and Children Services to place foster children with emotional, behavioral or medical challenges in care.
Georgia MENTOR also provides training and support to foster parents to care for children who have been through many difficult challenges. That’s in addition to what foster parents receive from DFACS.
The Georgia MENTOR program in Savannah, which serves several counties in the surrounding area, has a huge need for therapeutic foster homes.
CONTACT: Complete a foster application with Georgia MENTOR online at makeadifferenceathome.com or call 912-234-6853.
Read our newspaper column about the need for foster care homes in Savannah here.
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Volunteer or donate to help foster children in the Savannah area
Savannah/Chatham County CASA program
Savannah/Chatham County’s nonprofit CASA program, part of a national program which stands for Court Appointed Special Advocates, is in need of more volunteers to represent the best interests of abused or neglected children in the court system.
CASA trains volunteers to serve as the eyes and ears of judges in child abuse and neglect cases. A newly trained volunteer is appointed one case at first to research in depth. This involves talking to the children, relatives, teachers and others, attending court hearings, completing court reports and more. The volunteer then reports back to the judge with information gathered about what would be in the best interest of the child.
Abused or neglected children in the court system who have a CASA volunteer are more likely to find a safe, permanent home, more likely to get more help while in the system, and more likely to do better in school.
CONTACT: Donations to the Savannah/Chatham program are accepted online. Volunteer applications are also available online. Find out about both here.
For more information, contact Samantha Oughtred, one of four advocacy coordinators at Savannah/Chatham County CASA Inc: samantha@savannahcasa.org or 912-663-9728
Read our newspaper article about the need for CASA volunteers in Savannah here.
Read our newspaper article about two CASA volunteers helping abused and neglected children in Savannah here.
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More Savannah resources for foster care families, children
Foster Care Closet in Savannah
When a child enters foster care, they often have little or no personal belongings. At the Foster Care Closet in Savannah, they can get a duffel bag, toiletries and a clothes bag with two new outfits, a pair of pajamas and socks and underwear.
The P.A.C.K. closet at the Department of Family and Children’s Services Building in Savannah is accessible only to social workers. They are able to bring children with them into this happy space and allow them to choose a duffle bag, a bag of clothes (2 outfits, PJs, socks, underwear), a toiletry bag, a stuffed animal, a blanket, and other necessities. When the children cannot be present, the items are selected by their case worker.
Volunteer or donate with P.A.C.K (People of Action Caring for Kids) in Savannah to help with the Foster Care Closet. Find more information at packsavannah.com or email packsavannahga@gmail.com
Read our newspaper column about P.A.C.K. here.
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To have additional Savannah foster care children resources listed here, please email the information to anne@southernmamas.com
