Traci Lawrence from Sunrise Children’s Services shared how the organization provides resources for children in the foster care system and how she hopes to expand their services at Thursday’s Hopkinsville Kiwanis Club meeting.
Lawrence shared that the service began its operations in Louisville in 1869 after many children became orphans following the Civil War and a group of women opened an orphanage. Today the service has expanded to offer adoption, foster parenting, family counseling and independent living services across the state.
As of June, Lawrence says around 8,000 children in Kentucky do not have a permanent home. Many of those children are teenagers and Lawrence shared that children 12 years or older who are in the foster system have a 7% chance of being adopted.
Children in the foster system are often recommended to the service by social workers or judges and Lawrence says they work with children who may have mental and behavioral issues. For those children, the service has a psychiatric residential treatment facility, a therapy center, an adolescent addiction treatment center and other resources.
To help children who age out of the foster care system, Lawrence says the service has an independent living facility where those who age out can stay until they are 21 years old as long as they get a job or go to school and remain drug free. Lawrence says they offer independent living options because many times when children in the system turn 18 years old, they are behind in school and do not have a job or a driver’s license.
Lawrence shared that the organization serves around 230 children from western Kentucky, however most of their facilities are located in central or eastern Kentucky. Lawrence says the distance can make family reunification difficult and hopes to establish more facilities in the western portion of the state.
More information about Sunrise Children’s Services can be found at sunrise.org.