For those looking to make a difference in the lives of children, becoming a foster parent provides a rewarding opportunity to help a child in need. Youth Villages is currently in need of caring adults in the Nashville-area to open their hearts and homes to children who have suffered abuse, neglect or abandonment. These children need families who will care for them until they can return to their birth families or an adoptive family is found for them.

Foster parents provide children with a safe, comfortable environment and monitor their emotional growth, school progress and physical health. They also serve as positive role models to children who may lack caring adults in their lives.

Youth Villages provides foster parents with 24-hour access to counselors, support groups and a monthly stipend to offset the cost of adding a child to the home. Foster parents also often have the first right to adopt if the child becomes available for adoption.

Foster parents should be over the age of 25 and living in the Davidson County-area. Foster parents should have viable income, reliable transportation and be able to pass a background check and home study.

Youth Villages offers free training classes for new foster parents to teach them how to address a child’s emotional and behavioral problems, as well as parenting and discipline techniques.
Free foster parent training classes will be held on Tuesdays and Thursdays, beginning Tuesday, Sept. 17, from 6-9 pm at the Youth Villages office, located at 3310 Perimeter Hill Drive, Nashville, Tenn. 37211.

For more information about the upcoming information session or how you can change the life of a child, contact Wendy Lunsford, foster parent recruiter, at 615-250-7282 or .