SAN ANTONIO - It takes a special person to be a foster parent, but it takes someone with even more patience and dedication to help children who have suffered severe neglect and trauma.
- Bair Foundation been around for 50 years
- Works to find homes for children in foster care
- Increasing focus on at-risk youth
For 50 years the Bair Foundation in San Antonio has helped children move from foster care into permanent homes. Now they're taking their efforts a step further in helping some of the most vulnerable children in the community transition.
"These are the kids that nobody wants," said Bair Foundation Clinical Director JD Jacobson.
Claudia and Kenneth Brown are foster parents.
"We still feel as parents we have something to do, something to put in and give back to our society. He's 7, and he's a very, very, sweet boy who was diagnosed with ADHD. He's very, very, smart and has a big heart," said Claudia Brown.
The Browns received intense training through a special program.
"So we call it the Professional Treatment Foster Care and it's a new program that was rolled out by the state of Texas at the beginning of September, and the focus is for kids who have been repeated foster children, who have been in repeated placements, hospitalizations, or residential treatment centers," said Jacobson.
The new program under the Bair Foundation accepts children up to 10 years old in short-term interventions of six to nine months.
Reimbursement runs up to $50,000 per placement per year. Families can only house one or two foster children at a time and one parent must always be home.
"We're actually the biggest program so far in Texas," said Jacobson.
The Browns introduced their son to karate and a lot of love, and in return they say he's getting better and opening up about his trauma.
"The fact that you can make a difference in someone else's life is just the best reward that I believe both of us could ever have," said Claudia Brown.
Eight kids are in the program right now, but there are a lot more needing help. Each month in Bexar County there are about 30 to 40 kids that qualify. For more information, visit the Bair Foundation website.