The Home Page Network

There is an increased need for foster families here in Tioga County. Currently, there are are 407,000 children in foster care in the United States, 20,858 in Pennsylvania, and 43 locally. The average age of children placed is 1 to 3 years, with the average length of placement being 14.6 months, after which the child is either returned to their home or adopted.

Tara Gorden, Foster Care Coordinator for Tioga County, sat down with Wellsboro Home Page to discuss the need and the process for becoming a foster parent. An individual must be 21 years old, a resident of the county, and necessary background checks will be conducted. It is important to keep the foster child in their current school district, which provides the child with a sense of normalcy in their lives. Training and support groups are available monthly for the foster family, with telephone support available 24 hours a day. If you would like to learn more about becoming a foster parent, call 570-724-5766.

You can hear about Tara’s personal foster care experience in today’s video feature posted above.