Leadership Livingston Group Raises Awareness for Foster Care

Livingston Parish has consistently had one of the highest numbers of children in foster care in the state and there has been a chronic shortage of families and resources to care for them all. Many must be removed from the parish to available families in surrounding areas, further disrupting their lives.
 
Awareness of the needs and organizations involved in the foster care system is necessary to tackle the issues. A group of Leadership Livingston students decided that would be the focus of their community service project and began brainstorming how to make that happen. As they met foster parents, DCFS representatives and CASA organizers, they realized a major issue surrounding foster care is a lack of awareness. The group decided to take on three projects, all with the goal of raising awareness about the foster system, and children in it.
 
Betty Boney, Patricia Kline, Cory Landry, James-Adam McCants, Jessica Soileau, Kacie Stewart and J. Shannon Womack educated themselves on the many facets of the foster care crisis and decided to help the Foster Village get up and running. The facility remains stocked with supplies that foster families, who could be called to care for children at a moment’s notice, may not already have in their home. Things like beds, diapers, school uniforms, backpacks and high chairs are donated to the Foster Village and stored there until needed by a family.
 
To assist current foster parents and make it easier for potential parents to be certified, the group helped secure a classroom for mandatory training. The former training facility in Livingston Parish flooded in 2016 and families had to drive to Covington or a further location to fulfill their class requirements. Leadership participant and police chief, J. Shannon Womack decided that the newly renovated Denham Springs Police Headquarters classroom should be open to DCFS to hold the mandatory classes. Starting fall of 2018 families will no longer have to leave the Parish to attend.
 
The challenges facing children aging out of the foster care system were very important to the Leadership group. Motivated to fill the need for guidance among foster children aging out, the group organized a mentoring meeting called Directions with business leaders. Pot and Paddle Jambalaya provided food for a casual roundtable discussion where people who had aged out of the foster care system could ask for advice.
 
The group was honored by the presence of Dr. Dana Hunter, Executive Director of the Children’s Cabinet from the Office of the Governor, at the Leadership Livingston Graduation. She said she was proud that the Chamber of Commerce and Leadership Livingston were involved in such an important issue, reminding attendees “all of us are one step, one natural disaster, one hospitalization away from poverty.”
 
Each of the group members said they plan to remain active in helping with foster care. Kacie Stewart said at graduation, “Not everyone can foster a child, everyone knows that, but there are so many ways you can help.”
 
About Leadership Livingston: Leadership Livingston is a community leadership program designed to teach and engage participants and increase their understanding of the inner workings of their parish community. Leadership Livingston is a program of the Livingston Parish Chamber of Commerce. For more information visit the Chamber’s website www.livingstonparishchamberofcommerce.org, also follow Leadership Livingston’s Facebook page and the Chamber’s Facebook page.