Shows like “Parenthood” and “The Fosters” have publicized and helped normalize the idea of foster homes in recent years by giving a somewhat idealized look into the world of foster care.
Less romantic, however, are the real-life statistics that define the foster care community: In the United States alone, the number of children in foster care has far surpassed the 400,000 mark and according to Child Trends, a research organization serving vulnerable children and youth, as of 2019 there were 426,749 children in foster care – about 24,500 of which are located in our home state of Florida.
The two most likely reasons for the entrance of a child into this system are neglect and parental substance abuse. Living through such experiences can leave a young person traumatized, confused and in need of serious, therapeutic foster care. For those young people that age out of foster care, the facts are even direr. Rates of unexpected pregnancies, criminal convictions and development of substance dependences are all higher for those that age out of foster care versus those coming from a traditional family setting. Additionally, those that age out are significantly less likely to earn a college, and even high school, degree than their non-foster-care counterparts.
To help bridge this gap in our south Florida community is Place of Hope. “What we’ve really done is professionalize, if you will, the world of therapeutic foster care,” says Charles Bender III, founding CEO of the faith-based Place of Hope. “We are trying to emulate, not replace, but emulate, a healthy family environment for young people as long as they’re here.”
For 20 years, they have worked tirelessly towards providing a stable, loving environment for disadvantaged youth coming from lives riddled with abuse, neglect, homelessness and human trafficking. Launched in 1998, the residential children and families organization now lays claim to being the largest in Palm Beach County and the Treasure Coast and has served over 12,000 children, youth and families - having found 296 forever families for foster children through adoption since inception.
As impressive as these facts are, Place of Hope goes far beyond traditional foster care and also offers care at various levels. “What we do here on this campus,” Bender says of the Palm Beach Gardens campus, “is a very specialized model for what they call ‘hard to place’ foster youth. They’re typically kids that are part of a large sibling group or have been subject to multiple placement disruptions.” He says that it wouldn’t be abnormal to receive a child who had been in 30-40 different foster homes prior to their arrival.
“Most people would agree that a very high percentage of kids in foster care, if they have bounced around the system multiple times, probably have seen additional traumas such as sexual abuse and so forth,” Bender says. “By the time they land here they really need a higher level of foster care.” By making a specific, unique plan for each and every young person, Bender and his team are able to provide exactly what an individual might need.
He says that while they obviously must focus on the present, they also really keep the future of the individual in mind as well – something that makes them unique. Through their Enrichment and Wellness Overlay, he says, “our onsite case managers are involved with our house parents and support staff to help develop the young person to the next level as opposed to what often happens in the system in America, which is that everybody thinks you’re going to get the kid in and out of the system so fast that it’s rushed and often times the details are forgotten – which is why on the back end you see miserable statistics for kids who age out of foster care and don’t make it.” Given that the average length of time a child in the system spends in foster care, in America, is almost 20 months, it’s easy to understand how having a unique plan for an individual can actually have a lasting impact on their future.
By looking at every day as an opportunity, Place of Hope has provided education, mentoring, future planning and independent skills training to those that pass through their campus – and the results have been astounding. In 2019 alone they helped find 21 forever families for their youth and had 17 students graduate from high school and college.
Additionally, since its inception, Place of Hope has kept an astronomical amount of siblings together – about 585 to be exact. A remarkable story is that of two brothers that lived on campus for many years – Nate and Trenard. They both did really well in school, becoming sports stars and attending a private school on scholarship. As they excelled in the community, the families at the school grew to know and love them and, eventually, one of those families stepped up and adopted them. “Typically, what you see is that the older a young person gets in care, there are all of these different things that work against the possibility of them being adopted into forever families,” Bender explains. “So, when we see, for instance, two teenage boys get adopted by a family, it shatters statistics. It’s pretty amazing stuff, we love it.”
In addition to foster care, Place of Hope offers many other services as well – including human trafficking prevention, education, and recovery. Recently, they came out with an original documentary about human trafficking titled “Invisible” which is streaming on their YouTube channel.
If you’re interested, there are plenty of opportunities to get involved at Place of Hope. “Primarily, what we see in Boca the most that is really helpful are corporate groups that come out and do a day of support for helping with maintenance and upkeep,” Bender says. Once COVID passes, mentoring opportunities and chances to participate in the meals program will be available as well.
For more information, visit placeofhope.com.