PROGRAMS

Joseph's House of Russellville hosts numerous programs to help and support foster families.

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  Parent's Shop

  Foster parents can shop for their foster kids for FREE 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. We rely on donations of new to gently used clothing from our community and donation drives for new socks, underwear, diapers, and toiletries. This supplements our foster parents’ very limited clothing budget they receive from the state. We also rely on volunteers for our donation drives and keeping our facility in order and clean. This shop is also accessed by our local DHS, so they are able to place a child in a foster home with a few changes of clean clothes.
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  The Library

  We keep a small library available for our foster and adoptive parents to borrow from at any time. These books are trauma-informed and approved by one of the top developmental trauma therapists in the nation. They are also approved by DHS for book reports if a foster parent is needing to complete some of their yearly education hours to stay licensed. There are children’s books that help with healing and processing complicated emotions, educational books about specific trauma related topics, and books that focus on foster care and/or adoption.
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  Monthly Support Meetings

  Once a month we have a two hour support meeting open to all of our foster and adoption families, sponsored by local groups like churches and businesses. Those meetings always include a free meal and childcare, and we invite speakers to come in and talk to our parents about topics that will help them with their foster care or adoption journey. Parents earn two continuing education hours per meeting to go towards the 15 hours they need yearly to stay open. Every fourth meeting is a date night! Childcare is provided and the children enjoy pizza while their parents are able to go out and enjoy two hours of kid-free time.
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  Family Events

  In addition to the support meetings, we also want to just have fun events that the whole family can enjoy! Each quarter we do an event like renting out the movie theatre, aquatic center, Bacchus Family Farm, or an arcade so that our families can enjoy a time of fellowship and fun.
• 
  Gift Closet

  We love partnering with local businesses, churches, and our nonprofit partners to collect Christmas gifts to help supplement those wishlists during the holidays. These gifts are especially crucial when a child is placed with a family right before or after Christmas and our families are able to go down to the gift closet and get what they need right away, and always completely for free. Whatever isn’t collected at the holidays is stored in our gift closet for those emergency birthday needs!
• 
  Lending Room

  The Lending Room is the second of our two most utilized programs. It allows foster parents to borrow items (baby/toddler/preschool equipment) that they do not have the budget to purchase, or space to store, themselves. This enables foster families to widen the age range they accept, or to have more than one baby, toddler, or preschooler at a time. This program rquires a budget that halps maintain and add items each year. This program's budget comes from moms and dads like you that get how much stuff it really takes to raise a kid!

DONATIONS

Donate to support our cause, our children, and the families that foster them.

Donate Now

We need donations of brand new underwear, socks, and toiletries. We also accept gently used clothes and shoes. You can contact us to schedule a dropoff time. See our contact info at the bottom of the page.

Financial donations help us fill in any gaps in our Parents' Shop. To donate financially, simply click the "Donate Now" button at the top of this page.

To see specific item that we need, please visit our wishlist . Any purchased items will be sent directly to Joseph's House of Russellville. Click here: WISHLIST.

THE BASICS

What is foster care, why does it matter, and how can you help?

Foster care is a temporary arrangement where kids live with relatives, foster parents for a short or long period of time. This occurs when their biological parents cannot meet their basic needs. The children are removed from the biological parent(s) and placed with relatives, an individual they have a positive relationship with, or with a foster family. In the U.S. there are nearly 400,000 children in the foster care system. As of January 2024, there were 3,698 children in foster care in Arkansas.

When a child is taken into foster care, they are assigned a case worker who is responsible for the child's needs while he or she remains in state custody.

A probable cause hearing is held to determine if the state had the evidence necessary to remove the child from the care of his or her parents. Biological parents are assigned an attorney, and the child is appointed a separate attorney to represent them, known as the Attorney Ad Litem.

If the court determines that the state indeed had probable cause to remove the child, an adjudication hearing will be set to determine whether the state's case is true and correct, and whether the child has experienced abuse or neglect by a parent or caregiver. The court will also decide whether the child can safely return home or if they will remain in state custody.

At the start of every case, reunification is the goal. Biological parents have 12 months to correct the conditions that caused their child's removal. However, the court may extend this period if it seems the parents are making progress and are invested in correcting the conditions that caused removal. In some cases, if parents can show the safety risk that caused the removal is no longer an issue, the judge may decide to send the children back home immediately.

During the case, or after the 12 month period, the court may determine that reunification is not feasible or in the best interest of the child. At this point, a new goal is created. This could include custody with a relative, custody with another fit parent, adoption with termination of parental rights, guardianship, or another planned permanency option. In any case, the court will determine the best course of action to achieve permanency for the child.

If a goal of Adoption with Termination of Parental Rights has been set, a termination of parental rights hearing will be set within 90 days. Once parental rights are terminated, the child is then eligible for adoption.

A traditional foster parent needs to complete a background check, training, and home study requirements to be eligible for fostering. A relatives of the child will work directly with DHS to complete training within six months after the child is placed with them. If you’re considering becoming a foster parent, please visit everychildarkansas.org to find a recruitment agency

Traditional Foster Home: Parents who sign up to do foster care, go through training, and then care for children who are in the state’s custody.

Therapeutic Foster Home: Foster parents who go through extended training to provide therapeutic foster care to children with mental health needs.

Provisional Foster Home: A relative or individual who has a positive relationship with the child in foster care who opens their home for that specific child or sibling group.

Volunteer time with us at Joseph’s House! We need assistance sorting through donations and keeping our closets stocked and organized.

Become a Court Appointed Special Advocate - visit arcasa5.org to get started!

Sponsor a support group meeting - we need volunteers to help with food and childcare for our monthly meetings

Help DHS with transportation to appointments for children, youth or biological parents

Help with events for children in foster care by funding birthday celebrations, hosting fun activities throughout the year for children in foster care, or assisting with holiday projects such as collecting wish lists for children and youth

Donate financially to help support the families who are taking care of these children

Share our Facebook posts to help community awareness

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• Grand Opening

  9/19/2024
  
    The new facilities for Joseph's House of Russellville are now officially open! With these new facilities, we hope to better supply help to foster families in the River Valley. Along with the new building comes a new and improved website. Through this website, people can better understand our cause and donate to support us!
  
  - READ POST -