Madison residents have recently been exposed to billboards with the message “Teens Need Foster Parents Too” as part of a new initiative put forward by Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk. The billboard series calls attention to the rising number of teenagers without foster care in Dane County.

County Representative Sharyn Wisniewski said this is a new phenomenon. While there was once a general need for foster homes, there is now a “critical need [specifically] for teenagers,” Wisniewski said.

The purpose of Falk’s recent initiative is to both raise awareness of the growing number of Madison-area teenagers currently without foster care and inform the public that the foster-care program has greatly evolved. Working parents now have the option of enrolling their foster children in after-school care, and the Department of Human Services offers a monthly stipend for clothing, food and medical care. Additionally, the process of becoming a foster parent is available to married, single and gay adults who are at least 21 years of age.

“The teenage years are a time where kids learn so much about responsibility and set goals for their lives,” Falk said.

She stressed the importance of teens being moved from group homes and into foster care. Falk also mentioned the general importance of these years. She said because the teenage years are so critical in establishing a youth’s identity and developing life skills, Dane County has a “Fostering Independence” program, which affects teens once they reach 15 years of age. Working with their foster parents, this program teaches teenagers skills necessary to live on their own once they leave their foster homes after high school.

Teresa Stevenson, a Dane County foster parent to four teenagers, spoke at the Feb. 10 press conference to encourage those eligible to get involved.

“Once [the foster children] are in your home, they’re like your own kids,” Stevenson said.

She emphasized the emotional rewards that accompany the foster-parent role.

Dane County currently has 271 children and young adults in its foster-care program. Of this number, 145 are teenagers; 20 of those are presently without foster care. The Dane County Department of Human Services will spend approximately $3,000 of its $4.8 million budget in order to advocate the need for foster homes to be made available to these teens.

“If the community responds [to the initiative], it will make a real difference, and we would be most grateful,” Falk said.

By erecting new billboards, Falk hopes to place the 20 Dane County teenagers who are presently in group homes into foster families so they can be granted the stability and affection lacking in institutionalized care.

“It is tough enough to be a teenager today. Imagine what it is like without a home or with a home in crisis,” Falk said.