Stark County Job & Family Services to host foster parenting meeting

CANTON − Stark County Job & Family Services will hold an information meeting from 6 to 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Division of Children Services, 402 Second St. SE, for people interested in becoming foster parents.

For those unable to attend in person, a virtual meeting will be held from 6 to 7 p.m. Aug. 6 via Zoom.

Attendees can talk with a licensing specialist, ask questions about the foster care and adoption process, and meet other families. Meetings are free and open to the public. To register, contact Jennifer Loomis at 330-451-8789 or Jennifer.Loomis@jfs.ohio.gov.

The process to become a foster and adoptive parent requires training and licensing through Stark County Job & Family Services and the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services. Potential parents must be at least 18 years old, provide proof of income to meet the needs of the household, and successfully passrequired background checks.

In Stark County, about 500 children are living in the foster care system, with nearly aquarter in permanent custody and eligible for adoption. One in five children waiting to be adopted are in their teens and risk aging out of the system without finding a permanent family.To learn more about foster care and adoption in Stark County, visit StarkJFS.org.