ROBERTSON COUNTY, Texas (KRHD) — Did you know that Robertson County only has one active foster family? It's a situation that local CPS board members say critically impacts foster kids in the county.
- Robertson County faces an ongoing issue with foster family recruitment.
- Robertson County currently has more than 60 kids in foster care — and not having enough foster families means those children are having to relocate out of our county.
- Members of the Robertson County CPS Board believe the main issue comes from lack of awareness.
- If you're interested in becoming a foster parent, or want to learn more, reach out to the Robertson County CPS Board at robcocpsboard@yahoo.com.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
"Sometimes it's, you know, people are willing to give money, they're willing to give a little time, but when you really think about it, the greatest impact you can have on a child is yourself, to give of yourself," Robertson County CPS Board member, Warren Simmons said.
Robertson County faces an ongoing issue with foster family recruitment.
"Currently we only have one foster family, so a statistic that a lot of people are not aware of is that Robertson County has the third highest intake right now of all the 254 counties in the state of Texas," Robertson County CPS Board member, Brenda Harris said.
Robertson County currently has more than 60 kids in foster care — and not having enough foster families means those children are having to relocate out of our county.
"Being removed from every single thing that they know is huge and I don't think we can possibly quantify what that looks like on down the road for them," Harris said.
Members of the Robertson County CPS Board tell15ABC the main issue comes from lack of awareness.
"The numbers show that we have a big issue and getting the information out to people in the community about child abuse and child abuse awareness," Robertson County CPS Board member, Kimberley Booker said.
"Robertson County is a primarily rural county and so you just think everything's better in the country, and things like that just don't happen here, and they do," Harris said.
And they tell 15ABC being a foster parent not only saves kids, but offers them a chance at a better life.
"They are coming to a home where there's stability," Booker said.
"They see that this is what normal is and as a foster parent, you're able to share your normal with someone who's less fortunate or who hasn't experienced that normal," she added.