Childhelp foster family agency training to begin in May

Childhelp USA® Foster Family Agency of East Tennessee will offer its next training course for prospective foster parents beginning May 18. The PATH training (Parents As Tender Healers) is an instructional course designed to train therapeutic foster parents to care for children who have been removed from their homes due to abuse or neglect. The next PATH training course will begin with a 6 p.m. orientation meeting Tuesday, May 18 and will continue for the next ten weeks with three-hour sessions each Tuesday at 6:00 p.m. The classes will be held at FFA headquarters, which are located at 608 Old Brookhaven Farm Road, Seymour, Tennessee. Foster Family Agency Director Kay Blakney says the agency is looking for families who want to make a real difference in the life of a child. According to Blakney, foster parents can come from a variety of backgrounds. They can be single, married, or divorced. They can be as young as 21, or retired seniors. They can be employed in or outside the home. All good foster parents share the following attributes: patience, tenacity, attentiveness, empathy, the willingness to learn from the experience of fostering and the ability to provide guidance to children with diverse backgrounds and challenges. For additional information, please call the Childhelp Foster Family Agency at 579-5498.