Wanted: More foster parents

Wanted: More foster parents
By Dorothy Y. Lewis, Rocky Mount Telegram MACCLESFIELD
Foster children have brought joy to the lives of Lori and Todd Geis.
Nearly 100 children in the Twin Counties are foster children, said
social services officials in Edgecombe and Nash counties.
Additional children constantly become involved in the foster care
system when their parents are charged with abuse or neglect, they
said.
For this reason, social services officials say they are always trying
to recruit foster parents like the Geises to care for abused or
neglected children.
The Geis family said they agreed to tell their story because they want
to give support and encourage other couples in Edgecombe and Nash
counties who are thinking about fostering children.
The Macclesfield couple said they thought about becoming foster
parents after their minister approached them about possibly fostering
an abandoned child.
"My husband and I have been married for 15 years, and we wanted to
have children, but we couldn't," said Lori Geis, 42. "Todd and I
always knew we wanted to nurture children, and after our minister
approached us, we seriously considered becoming foster parents."
Todd Geis, 39, said the moments with their two foster children, Marcus
and Shannon, are special.
"It is so nice when you put them to bed and to hear them say, 'I love
you, Daddy, and I love you, Mommy,'" Todd Geis said.
The couple said Marcus, 4, and Shannon, 6, who are biological
siblings, have been with them since October. For a long time Shannon
was a mother figure to her younger brother, Marcus, the Geises said.
"In the beginning, it was kind of scary because you really don't know
what to expect," Lori Geis said. "We have definitely fallen in love
with these children, and are in the process of adopting the children,
but in the beginning, we didn't want to get our hopes up about the
adoption because foster families can be temporary."
Children in other counties also can become part of foster families in
the area, said Bernard Norfleet, Edgecombe County social work
supervisor.
Before Marcus and Shannon were placed with the Geises, the children
would make weekend visits from a group home where they were living
near Fayetteville to the Geises' home in Edgecombe County.
"It could be gut wrenching for all us to take them back to the group
home because we had all bonded," she said. "The children would be
crying, and it hurt my husband and me so much. Marcus would hold on to
the car seat in our car so he wouldn't have to leave us."
The Geises, who both work at Barton College in Wilson, said anyone
considering becoming a foster parent should be committed to caring for
a child.
"The biggest challenge for us is juggling work with doctors
appointments and school activities – caring for children is a 24-hour
job, and I love doing it," said Lori Geis as her husband reminded her
that Marcus needed to be registered for school.
The Geises said they plan to join the new foster parent support group
in Edgecombe County so they can help support others who are fostering
children.
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