May is National Foster Care Month, a time designed to raise awareness about what foster parents do and why they’re needed. According to statistics from the Florida Department of Children and Families, there are just under 19,000 children in out-of-home care in Florida. The 2010 Annual Report on the status of  children in out-of-home care that was issued by DCF on May 1, 2011, can be found here. Back to the issue at hand, foster care – who needs it, who should be a foster parent, what training is required and where to get it are all addressed in an interesting article in the Jacksonville News. You can read that article here.