News Photo by Julie Goldberg Flags were displayed at Washington Park on Wednesday for Foster Care Awareness Month. There was a blue flag for every child in the area in foster care and a white flag for each foster home in the area.

ALPENA — There are approximately 13,500 children in foster care in Michigan.

Every May, Foster Care Awareness Month is celebrated to encourage people to consider becoming foster parents and to recognize those who are foster parents.

Marci Sample, with the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, said Foster Care Awareness Month is meant to thank families for being foster care families. She said it takes special people to be foster parents, like people who are caring and have patience.

The month is also used to get the word out that there is a need in the state for foster homes. There are 300 children who need a foster family in Michigan, according to DHHS.

Flags were displayed around the state Wednesday to represent the number of children who are in foster care and how many foster homes are in the state. At Washington Park in Alpena, 85 blue flags were raised, one for every foster child in Alpena and Montmorency counties, and 51 white flags, one for each foster home in the two counties.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer proclaimed May as Foster Care Awareness Month and stated that “every child deserves a safe, loving and stable home. This month and throughout the year, I hope Michiganders will consider opening up their homes to children in foster care.”

Alpena County residents Nancy and Bryan DeCare were nominated in March and then honored earlier this month with the 2019 Foster, Adoptive, and Kinship Family of Excellence Award for Michigan.

They received the award for their commitment to fostering and keeping siblings together. They have eight children, including five in foster care, all ranging from 1 to 16 years old.

To learn more about foster care, visit michigan.gov/hopeforahome.

Foster care navigators can also assist those who are interested at 855-MICHKIDS. Foster care navigators are experienced foster parents who can assist people in answering questions and guiding them through the foster home licensing process.

Julie Goldberg can be reached at 989-358-5688 or jgoldberg@thealpenanews.com. Follow her on Twitter @jkgoldberg12.