Four Oaks recruits foster parents as more kids need the help

Iowa’s foster care system is facing challenges amid an increase in children being referred to it.

After a downturn of foster families from the system following the pandemic, the Cedar Rapids-based Four Oaks slowly has been rebuilding its safety net of families to care for children in need. But today, there’s still a substantial shortage.

The nonprofit contracted by the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services to train foster and adoptive parents in Iowa receives more referrals for children than the number of foster parents available to take them in.

“We have about 35 percent more children being referred to us statewide than families available for a match,” said Emily Easton, recruitment and retention coordinator for Four Oaks Foster Care and Adoption. “We’re really low on families.”

By its estimates, Four Oaks needs another 1,266 families to feel like it can adequately meet the needs of children in the foster care system. As of May, Four Oaks actively was seeking a foster family match for over 140 children.

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In years past, Easton said there were waiting lists for people wanting to get trained and licensed to be foster parents. But in more recent times, Four Oaks has had to cancel some classes due to a lack of demand.

As a foster parent herself, Easton knows that volunteering to help these kids is worth it, despite the sacrifices. Now, Four Oaks staffers like her are spreading the word in hopes of recruiting more families to bolster the system.

“Our biggest challenge is finding more foster families,” she said. “Foster care is absolutely worth it, even though it’s hard. I’m able to say that I’m willing to go through some loss, because it’s in the best interest of kids, and they need it.”

Foster parents receive a payment each month to assist with the cost of caring for a child placed in the home, according to the state.

One of their most faithful foster moms still is doing it after 50 years.

Fort Dodge foster mother Marge Flannery, 85, doesn’t know exactly how many children have been through her home’s door since she started fostering with her late husband, Larry, in 1975 — the state did not keep records like that until the 1990s. But she estimates that she has helped between 500 and 1,000 children of all ages.

“I can take care of any child who comes with just their clothes,” Flannery said. “Looking back, child care was in my life all my life.”

Marge and Larry had two adopted sons and two biological daughters by the time they started fostering, and knew the joy that adoption brought them. So when their daughter’s classmate needed a home after the death of her mother, it was second nature to them to help.

What started with teen girl placements later transitioned to babies, and then again to older children later in life. They would care for most of them anywhere from between 24 hours and nine months.

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The couple’s first foster baby, Mari, still lives with Marge today as an adopted daughter. Flannery still cares for Mari and another adult daughter adopted from foster care, Molly — both of whom have disabilities.

The Flannery family had one of the first subsidized foster adoptions in Iowa.

“(Marge) has been such a faithful presence. The system has changed dramatically since she got licensed,” Easton said. “She’d say even if kids are struggling, (she would) meet them where they are and provide consistency and honesty. From our perspective, there was a time where we really depended on Marge to care for those teenagers who are challenging to find homes for. She’s a great treasure, for sure.”

Meeting children where they are and being a constant source of care through tumultuous times is one quality that makes a great foster parent, Easton said. But one myth is that foster children always come with negative behaviors.

Easton has other myths to dispel in her job, too. For example, foster parents don’t need to be married or partnered, and they don’t need to own their homes.

While Flannery notes that virtually every child in foster care has trauma by virtue of the situation that put them there, Easton said most kids simply need a safe place to stay.

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When children lose their parents or are removed from unsafe homes, Four Oaks first attempts to place them with other suitable relatives, neighbors or mentors who know the children well or other suitable placements identified by relatives. Geographic proximity also is taken into consideration, to cause as little disruption to a child’s environment and routine as possible.

Flannery said that no matter the issue, every child taught her something new.

Through patience and care, she has helped break through the walls children put up after experiencing trauma.

“They were always work, but I never dreaded it. They’ve taught me everything,” she said. “It’s rewarding to figure out each child and their needs. They all come through the door with something different.”

When she started fostering in the ‘70s and ‘80s, Flannery said there was very little education and few resources to help new foster parents figure it out. With time, that has changed.

“Iowa is doing a good job of working together to fill in all the gaps and needs that could come up,” Easton said. “Our biggest challenge is finding foster families.”

Flannery still fosters today. This year, she’s helped five children.

The predominant reasons children go into foster care have evolved since she started.

“It used to be more (mothers) dying from cancer. Now, there’s really tough reasons kids get pulled from home,” she said.

But there’s nothing else she’d rather be doing. For those unsure about fostering, she recommends getting licensed and starting with respite care for defined periods of time.

“Go for it. Your rewards are there,” she said. “I’d rather do this than play bridge all day.”

Comments: Features reporter Elijah Decious can be reached at (319) 398-8340 or elijah.decious@thegazette.com.