You Can Help a Child Keep Their Community

Back to School Shouldn’t Mean Starting Over

Kids across South Carolina are settling into new routines, meeting new teachers and getting back into the rhythm of another school year. For many, back-to-school looks like first day pictures, reuniting with friends, and returning to schools they know and love.

But for children entering foster care, this season can mean something much harder: starting over.

As children return to school, teachers and school professionals are often the first to notice signs that a child may be experiencing maltreatment. Because they are mandated reporters, concerns that may have gone unnoticed during the summer can lead to reports to child welfare agencies and, in some cases, a child entering foster care. In fact, in 2023, 21.1% of children referred to foster care were referred by education professionals.

Unfortunately, this means many children are removed from their homes during the back-to-school season. And due to a lack of licensed foster homes, children may have to say goodbye not only to their home, but to their school, friends, and often their siblings too.

Kristie, a Thornwell Foster Parent, knows this all too well. As a principal at an elementary school in Myrtle Beach, watching children from her school enter foster care and not knowing what happened to them inspired her to become licensed to foster. Today, she has two school-aged children in her home through foster care.

You Can Help a Child Keep Their Community

When there aren’t enough foster families, children may be placed far away from their community. For a child already experiencing the trauma of separation from their family, another major change can feel beyond overwhelming.

What if we could change that?

What if there were enough foster families in every community across South Carolina so children could stay connected to the people and places that matter most?

What if a child who must enter foster care could still wake up in the same community, attend the same school and see familiar faces in the hallway?

What if they didn’t have to lose everything simply because they had to leave home?

Becoming a foster parent doesn’t mean you can fix everything a child has experienced. It means you can provide something incredibly important: a safe place to land.

You can be the person who makes room at the table. The person who helps with homework. The person who shows up for the first day of school. This back-to-school season at Thornwell, we are celebrating some BIG wins for our foster families and the kids in their homes.

• Julian is 7, and thanks to a foster family willing to foster siblings, he gets to attend school with his older brother this year!
• Sofia is 4, and with support from a loving foster family, she’s starting 4K at “big girl school!”
• Jordan is 13, and thanks to support from his foster mom, he is thrilled to start playing on his school’s football team!
• Carter and Isaiah are 12, and thanks to a foster family from their community, they get to stay in the schools they already attended.

Foster parenting is not about being perfect. It’s about being willing to learn, grow and show up for a child during a difficult season of their life. To cheer them on – and cheer their family on too!

And you don’t have to do it alone. Thornwell provides support, training and a community alongside you as you navigate the foster care journey.

There are children across South Carolina who need safe, caring foster families. You could be the family who helps a child stay connected to their community when everything else is changing.

Learn more about becoming a foster parent with Thornwell today.

Call Thornwell Foster Care to talk with our team today!