An estimated 750 children enter the foster care system in Delaware each year. And continuing to support these children is crucial during the Coronavirus pandemic.
The nonprofit Kind to Kids Foundation is among those working to assist foster children in Delaware.
And the group’s founder and president Caroline Jones says, like most organizations, hers is trying to keep doing its work remotely
“We have advocates - they are on the phones, working daily to support the children," said Jones. "We’ve transitioned from seeing the children face-to-face to communicating through phones, video calls and emails and texts.”
And Jones says these children need those connections now more than ever.
“So that they feel supported," said Jones. "This is a very unsettling time for youth who face abuse and neglect; they’re dealing with trauma and these changes can be very disconcerting to them.”
Jones says teams from Kind to Kids UGrad Education Advocate Program are working to make sure all youth in the foster system are having their educational needs met. That includes supplying resources like books and connecting them to necessary technology.
“We are doing it primarily through a program called our UGrad Education Advocate Program," said Jones. "So the advocates connect with the youths in a consistent way. And the advocate is somebody who is there for them and we focus on their education and we give them both the emotional and academic support.”
Jones says in many case advocates also provide kids with resources like books or an iPad or a laptop to get their homework done.
Jones says Kind to Kids is also working with Amazon to get comfort items to foster children,such as teddy bears for younger kids and wall plaques with encouraging words for older kids.
