Wrangell short of foster homes for kids in need

Wrangell needs more foster homes for children.

“A lot of people are afraid to even take that first step,” said Vena Talea Stough, a tribal family and youth services case worker in Wrangell with the Central Council Tlingit & Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska.

Providing a safe home could be temporary, such as in an emergency, or a long-term relationship.

“If something happens in the middle of the night, that kid would have someplace to go,” Stough said.

“The need is great,” for more foster homes in town, she said. Children with family ties to Wrangell are in foster care in Washington, Arizona and Nevada.

As of last week, there were five licensed foster homes in Wrangell, but only one was accepting kids, she said.

Without enough foster homes, children may have to move multiple times, adding to their trauma, said Cindy Mills, field staff supervisor for Wrangell, Saxman, Craig, Kasaan, Klawock and Haines. “If we have someplace, that means they don’t have to move two or three times.”

Tlingit & Haida and the state Office of Children’s Services (OCS) work together to provide support for foster families, Mills said. “We want somebody who cares about these children.”

Getting an OCS case worker back in Wrangell will help, Stough said. “We definitely need one.”

The community lost its state case worker several years ago, but legislators were successful in restoring funding to the state budget for the year that started July 1. The borough is helping to cover the costs.

It’s uncertain how soon the state can hire, train and place the new worker in Wrangell.

OCS works closely with Tlingit & Haida under the Indian Child Welfare Act, a 1978 federal law that sets requirements for child custody proceedings and foster care for American Indian or Alaska Native children who are a member of or eligible for membership in a federally recognized tribe.

“They need to be tribally tied to Wrangell,” Stough said of Tlingit & Haida’s case work.

“We work with OCS. … They need to listen to the tribe,” Mills said. In placing a youth in foster care, Mills said they look first to the immediate family, then the extended family, next to members of the child’s tribe, and then to other Native households.

“Keeping their cultural connections is huge, keeping their community connections is huge,” Stough said.

Mills called the teamwork of Tlingit & Haida, OCS and others, “a big support network in small communities.”

For more information, contact Stough at vstough@ccthita-nsn.gov, or call 907-874-3482.

Wrangell is not alone in a shortage of foster care. In May, the state reported about 1,390 foster homes in Alaska — almost 300 fewer than February 2020.