Original (en)

Precious children should not be warehoused in sterile offices and motel rooms. We can all agree they should live with caring adults who love them. May is National Foster Care Month. We have a dire shortage of foster homes in Alaska. Unlike many issues in a divided country, this is one we can solve. Sadly, state officials in charge of our foster care system at the Office of Children’s Services, or OCS, won’t treat this as the emergency it is. They have lost 500 foster homes since 2018 but won’t advertise that kids are sleeping in office bunk beds and motel rooms, eating instant dinners. Maybe admitting this is bad PR for OCS, or for the governor’s office if they are keeping OCS quiet. I can’t tell you who in the government chain of command has kept this problem unconscionably invisible. I can only tell you the silence is unconscionable, and that the state, which spends millions on agency PR, knows how to reach you when it wants. If it’s the right time in your life, you are desperately needed as foster parents. To find out about becoming a foster family, contact the Alaska Center for Resource Families at 907-290-7186 or <a href="http://www.acrf.org/" target="_blank" rel="">acrf.org</a>. If you know foster children as family friends and relatives, and OCS hasn’t reached out to you as the law requires, you can foster a child you already love. You should also know that OCS is required to help you obtain a foster care license so you can be reimbursed as a foster family. Money should never be an obstacle to giving a child love. Thank you! <i><b>— Les Gara</b></i><i>, Anchorage</i> <i>Have something on your mind? Send to </i><a href="mailto:letters@adn.com"><i>letters@adn.com</i></a><i> or click </i><a href="https://www.adn.com/submit-letter/"><i>here</i></a><i> to submit via any web browser. Please include your contact info. Letters under 200 words