POINT PLEASANT — In order to grow, children need a stable environment.

However, many children do not have families to provide a nurturing environment, which can cause emotional strain. According to Susan Logsdon, foster care coordinator for KVC Behavioral Health Care, many children in Mason County do not have homes or families.

“My purpose is to raise awareness that there are no foster homes in Mason County and that kids are going out of county and out of the state,” Logsdon said. “I am promoting Mason County taking care of Mason County — taking care of your own in the community.”

KVC, located on Sixth St. across from the Mason County Courthouse, provides a variety of family-related services, including foster parenting. KVC Family Resource Foster Parent Services provides support, service coordination and a 24-hour crisis response to foster and pre-adoptive families as well as free training. According to Logsdon, to be a foster parent you must be between the ages of 21 and 65 as well has a have a home with a bedroom, window and a dresser. The only income requirements of foster parents are that they are able to pay their bills. Potential foster parents also must fill out an application and undergo a background check.

“The main thing you need to be a foster parent is lots of love and patience,” she said.

There are two types of foster care: specialized foster care and respite care. Specialized foster parents provide services to children that have been abused or neglected, including those that are mentally, physically or emotionally challenged. This includes children who are part of a sibling group, pregnant teenagers or children who have had multiple foster care placements. Respite care includes children that are currently placed in another KVC foster home, but need a temporary placement.

Foster parents receive monthly re-imbursements and the children are covered under Medicaid for any medical expenses. However, Logsdon described the real benefit of foster parenting as knowing that you are making a difference in the life of a child.

“I am personally a foster parent, and there are 400 kids at any given time that are in shelters or facilities that need families,” she said. “Sometimes situations lead to the adoption by foster parents and the re-unification with biological families.”

Logsdon described the foster parent system as the least restrictive form of child services.

“Having a family situation that is stable is beneficial — stability is definitely an issue. People that can provide a positive influence and lead by example make good foster parents,” she said. “For me, I have a huge sense of satisfaction knowing that I made a huge difference in the life of a child.”

Logsdon emphasized the KVC message of “Changing the World One Child at a Time,” to also describe the importance of foster care in society. According to Logsdon, the biggest misconception people have about foster care is that all of the kids are mean.

“You don’t get kids that don’t have baggage, but most kids tend to thrive when given a positive environment,” she said.

She added that she has seen many success stories come from foster parenting.

“About half of the cases go to adoption and half of the cases return home to their biological families,” Logsdon said. “Re-unification with biological families is always exciting to see and so is adoption — it is very happy for everyone.”

KVC Behavioral HealthCare has 13 offices that serve 26 counties and is the largest foster care provider in West Virginia. KVC also supports approximately 200 Resource Foster Families and maintains more than 270 children in foster care.

For more information on KVC or foster care, call Logsdon at 304-675-1324 or 304-545-7761.