Korey Cook teaches a class on foster parenting at Child Haven on Wednesday. Family Services has streamlined foster parent training. Photo by Craig L. Moran.

Clark County child welfare workers have organized a two-day foster parent recruitment fair in hopes of finding qualified, loving homes for some of the community's youngest victims of abuse or neglect, who are running out of places to live.

The county's Department of Family Services hopes that the fair, which begins Friday, will help reduce overcrowding at Child Haven, Clark County's short-term emergency shelter for children.

On Wednesday, 168 infants, toddlers, children and teens were in care at Child Haven, said Tom Morton, the new director of Family Services.

Some boys are sleeping on cots in the shelter's gymnasium because of overcrowding, he said. And some infants are being held indefinitely at hospitals because Child Haven already has nearly 50 in protective custody.

"In order to adequately deal with the need, we need 300 to 400 new foster homes," Morton said.

The county has about 900 foster homes, he said, with an average of two foster children in each home.

"I'd prefer not to have homes with five or six unrelated kids in them," he said. He said he wasn't sure how many homes had that number of foster children living in them.

Morton said hundreds of new homes would give Family Services a better ability to match children with compatible families.

Foster parents must undergo background checks and other screenings, but Morton said the most important qualification is a recognition that children are still emotionally attached to their birth families. That doesn't go away just because the children have been abused or neglected.

"Ideally, we want families who will support that attachment and be willing to work with the birth family in kind of a mentor role," he said. "We need families to work as team members."

He said many potential foster parents are willing to take in children but want to sever ties with the birth families.

"Birth families can be a challenge," Morton said. "Some have substance abuse or mental health issues. It's easy for them (foster parents) to say they don't want contact, but that is not usually in the best psychological interest of the child."

Many potential foster parents also don't realize how big a commitment fostering a child can be.

"You're going to be in court, in team meetings with professionals," Morton said. "You're going to have a social worker coming to visit your home. Most of us who are regular parents, that's not part of our experience."

In addition to undergoing criminal and background checks, qualified foster parents must be at least 21 years old, be financially responsible and must attend training before being licensed. Once licensed, they must attend four hours of additional annual training.

The most critically needed foster parents are those willing to take in children or infants on a short-term basis, as only a small percentage of foster children will become available for adoption.

But foster parents don't have to fit into any particular family mold, Morton said.

"Marital status and family composition is not a factor. Religious beliefs and practices aren't considered, as long as they are not imposed on the children nor limit their ability to participate in their own" religious activities, he said.

Foster parents are paid $19 to $21 per day per foster child, or more if the child needs extra care.

Family Services has streamlined the process for foster parent training, which can be completed in two full-time Saturday sessions instead of the regular nine-week program.

The fair, which runs from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday and Saturday at Palace Station, includes orientation, pre-screening and on-site training sessions for prospective foster parents. County representatives will be on hand to help with applications. No registration is required, and people are welcome to stop by at any time.

Those who would like more information about the fair or about becoming a foster parent can call 455-0181.