GRANTS - The Comprehensive Community Health Council met at Future Families Foundation Thursday to hear presentations on foster parenting, adoption and youth mentoring as well as a new community resource directory.

Patricia Hale, a specialist in foster care and adoption for the New Mexico Children, Youth and Families Department, discussed the need for more foster parents in Cibola County.

“It is difficult to recruit foster parents in rural areas and sometimes we have to utilize resources outside the county,” she said. “We currently have 50 children in care in this county, but the number can go as high as 60, and if they need treatment, they have to go to Albuquerque or Las Cruces.”

Hale explained that New Mexico is considered a leader in foster care and adoption and is used as a model by other states, even though the state has scarce resources to address the problem.

“We prefer to keep the foster kids in their own communities, so that they keep their social connections,” Hale remarked. “We see lots of good potential foster families here in Grants and we need many more.”

The recruiter outlined how a family can get involved in the foster care system. “There is a 27-hour training program that explains how children come into foster care. “We're not in the business of separating families and we try to maintain the child's community ties,” she said.

If the foster child becomes eligible for adoption, CYF looks nationwide for an adoptive home.

Hale pointed out that one local family has fostered more than 150 children since beginning fostering. “This family takes in sibling groups and that is very helpful to us and the children,” she said.

She thanked Grants State Bank which sponsored an adoption event in the community.

Beverly Michael of Cibola Counseling Services gave a presentation on youth mentoring programs. “Studies show that even one year of mentoring a child can make a huge difference in that child's educational success,” she reported.

She cited the children of incarcerated parents as local kids who really need a mentoring program. “These are high needs, high risk kids,” she said.

Currently Michael is looking for volunteers for a committee to devise a new mentoring program in Grants. “Big Brothers and Big Sisters is the classic youth mentoring program, but we can expand on that model. Mentoring programs can be school based and or home based,” she explained.

She pointed out that mentoring can be an effective stepping stone for becoming a foster parent.

Michael said that volunteers will meet the first Thursday of each month at Roberta's Place.

Laura Malaj of FFFC told the group that her organization had received a grant to fund a pilot obesity prevention program.

“We'll train teachers to show their students how advertising effects their eating habits, particularly portion control. Nutrition classes are emphasizing portion control,” she said.

Malaj added that she would like to set up a community challenge to promote more exercise, especially with parents and kids exercising together.

“This is an action-based objective rather than a theory-based objective,” she remarked.

She also reported that a new community resource guide was being prepared which will include more information in each listing and new assets.

The directory will be available on-line at future-foundation.com.

By Diane Fowler

Beacon staff writer