Racine Police Officer Gabrielle Hood has been a foster parent for the past three years. She said she first recognized the need to get involved as a high school basketball coach in Racine.
“Some of the things that they said about their lives were just sad,” Hood recalled.
Hearing their stories she felt compelled to do something about it. Together with her fiancé, the 28-year-old has taken in anyone from teenagers to newborns.
“Watching them flourish, from the time they enter your home to whenever they leave or if they do stay with you, you just see an incredible difference,” she said. “It’s really rewarding.”
Jessica Moreno is the Foster Care Recruitment and Retention trainer for Racine County Human Services. She said people like Hood have helped put the county in a good place but that wasn’t always the case.
"When we don't have homes. We have to send those kids outside to other counties,” she said. “We don't want that."
Moreno said, in 2018 of the 400 kids they had in foster care 100 were placed out of county. She said they don’t want to go back there so they are remaining proactive and are constantly looking for more people to get involved.
She said they’ve worked hard to sign people up through outreach initiatives, especially focusing on those with a “service mentality”: teachers, medical providers, and first responders.
As a result, the county is down to about 140 kids, with an average stay of about 8 months, one of the best reunification rates in the state, Moreno said.
According to Moreno Kenosha County foster care has an average stay of 12 months and Milwaukee 19 months.
“What we do with our foster parents is not just working with kids but you're working with those parents and family as a whole,” Moreno said. “We do a phenomenal job of getting kids back home, one, and then, two, keeping them home.”
It’s an experience hood said can be a challenge, as the county’s campaign slogan “This Won’t Be Easy Do it Anyway” acknowledges.
“I understand the reluctance. I one hundred percent do,” Hood said. "There’s definitely points where I question certain things but at the end of the day there is a huge need.”
If you’re interested in fostering or learning about other ways you can support parents, Racine County Human Services holds monthly information sessions every third Wednesday both in-person and virtually.
May marks Foster Care Appreciation Month in Racine.
It’s about time to watch on your time. Stream local news and weather 24/7 by searching for “TMJ4” on your device.
Available for download on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and more.
