Earlier this morning, Riverside County and Faith In Motion teamed up to help recruit more foster families here in the Coachella Valley.

The two organizations, along with some others, hosted the free community gathering at Indio’s Assembly of God, to help attendees learn more about foster care and adoption.

“There’s thousands of children in Riverside County that need placement, they need a safe home in a safe environment even for short term.” says Chris Frederick, a foster parent.

The need here in the Coachella Valley is so great, an informational session Saturday, for people interested in foster care.

“This is more of an orientation event where people can learn more about foster care, learn more about how to adopt through foster care, and for those that are interested in becoming foster parents, we’re here to help them through that process.” says Katherine Hernandez, the Director of Foster Care Programs for FosterAll.

This is the first time FosterAll and Faith In Motion have hosted an event here in the Coachella Valley.

“We talk about the requirements, we talk about the guidelines, we tell them what to expect, the whole process.” Hernandez says.

What exactly does it mean to foster a child?

“A child is removed from their home due to abuse and neglect, and they need to be placed in a safe and loving home for the time being until they can find a relative or they’re reunited back with their bio parent, whatever it may be, at times those children cannot be reunified with family or the parent, so they’re up for adoption.”

What FosterAll does is walk through the process for those interested in becoming a foster parent.

“We guide them through that, in Riverside County there are over 40 different agencies that all have the ability to approve someone to foster. We help match them to an agency or we suggest an agency for that family.” Hernandez adds.

The process can take anywhere from three to eight months, but for one family that has fostered almost 20 kids, it’s building lifelong connections that they find to be most special.

“It’s been great for our family. We have young daughters, and they’ve grown they get to see the love of these kids and they get to see them grow and they don’t always have the best backgrounds and so what better way to teach your kids and your community to love others.” says Chris and Robi Frederick, who are foster parents.

This event will continue on in the Coachella Valley for years to come, but for more information on foster care or adoption, visit faithinmotionrivco.org.

Faith In Motion And FosterAll Educate About Foster Care And Adoption