How many families are registered to foster in Charlotte? 67. With more than 400 children in need of a safe home, Mecklenburg County is calling for the community’s help to house them.
“Ever since COVID, the number of foster parents has decreased,” said Liz Graham, the Marketing Coordinator at Mecklenburg County Government. “In the past, our application process was very cumbersome. It was all handwritten paperwork.”
Thus, the county launched a new application system making the process more efficient — providing a full list of requirements, FAQs, an application tracker, and more.
“There’s assistance with child care, classes to take to help through the process, there’s a lot of support that we offer,” said Graham.
The primary goal with fostering is short term: reunite children with their biological family. While the list of requirements may seem daunting, it’s very possible for someone to become a foster parent.
“Anyone can foster. You can be single, young, old, it doesn’t matter,” said Graham. “It takes the right person. It’s got to be in your heart.”
