OWEGO -- Wanted: People to serve as foster parents and mentors for children in need. Must be patient and love kids.
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Glove House, on Taylor Road in Owego, is recruiting foster parents and mentors for Southern Tier children.
The agency provides services for children and families in need, including foster care and group homes,
Its ads, placed in the Press & Sun-Bulletin, Ithaca Journal and Elmira-Star Gazette, began running in June and will run through the end of the year, said Donna Corbin, director of specialized services for Glove House.
"Please help me," part of the ad reads. "If you can open your heart and home to a kid like me, please call Glove House at 1-877-687-1265."
A total of 60 people have answered the call and are enrolled in foster care classes in Binghamton, Owego and Elmira, Corbin said. Applicants have to be at least 21 and must have some source of income other than a stipend given to foster care families. The stipend amount varies, depending on the age and needs of a child. Mentor applicants, who are volunteers, must be at least 21 and have a steady address and source of income. Both mentors and foster care parents must be fingerprinted and undergo a criminal background check.
"It really takes a unique person to be a foster parent," said John Treahy, president and chief executive officer of Glove House.
But more foster homes are needed, Corbin said. Twenty-five children in Broome, Tioga and Chemung counties are now in foster care.
There also are 10 children in the Owego group home, 10 in the Ithaca group home, and 40 in four group homes in Elmira, Corbin said. Not all of these children will enter foster care, but many will.
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