In the weeks before Christmas, if you get stressed out wondering if you have everything ready for the holiday, think of Tammy Woirhaye.
For the past two years in a row, Tammy has received a call to pick up a newborn baby who needed a foster home — on Christmas Eve.
Which, of course, she did.
“One was 4 days old and one was 11 days old,” she said. “I had to go to another county to get one of them.”
Tammy has fostered more than 100 children in the last 13 years, she said, and adopted five. She is part of a community of people in Clinton who form a safety net for children whose family are unable to care for them.
She and the foster family community are looking for more people and organizations to strengthen that net.
“There is alway a need for foster families,” said Jeremy Hicks, a social worker at the Children’s Division of Missouri Social Services.
The Children’s Division office in Clinton oversees 148 children in foster care in four counties, he said, Henry, Benton, Bates and St. Clair. There are seven case workers in Jeremey’s office to cover the kids in foster care or placed with kinship (relative’s) families, he said, plus work with children in the 40 to 50 intact families.
Many foster parents want to foster babies, he said, but aren’t as eager to take teenagers.
“The state has been in continuous crisis for the last few years,” he said, of finding foster homes for older children, whose lives often consist of a series of foster homes.
A strong link for foster families of young children is Moreland Day Care, which has a large population of foster children in its program. The daycare’s former owner, Vickie Moreland, was honored last July as Grand Marshal of the Olde Glory Days parade upon her retirement for her support of the foster family community.
Foster parents often accept children on short notice, which presents problems if the parent has to be at work the next day.
“You could call Vickie up at home at night,” Tammy said, “and she would tell you she’d make a space for your foster child.”
With Vickie’s retirement, her son-in-law, Steve Lebofski, has taken over Moreland Day Care, which is just off North Second, at 115 E. Elm. Like Vickie, Steve has a heart for the foster/adopt community, as does Vickie’s daughter, Melinda Moreland Lebofski, according to Moreland’s new director, Samantha Mothersbaugh.
“Steve asked what the Foster Closet needed for a year, and then donated $3,000 to meet those needs,” Samantha said.
Samantha was recommended for the job by Tammy Woirhaye and Dara Bigler of State Fair Community College. Originally from Springfield, Samantha has lived in Clinton for five years, and has a degree from Missouri State University in Early Childhood Education.
Located in the basement of State Fair Community College, the Foster Closet has a large selection of clothes for all ages, an infant room with baby supplies and a birthday shelf of gifts, available at no charge to foster families. The building is owned by Golden Valley Memorial Healthcare, which donates the space for the Foster Closet as well as the Teacher’s Warehouse.
Tammy Woirhaye said the Foster Closet started out in her basement.
“I’d have foster families show up at my house and say “We’re here for the Woirhaye Walmart,” she said.
Foster children arrive at their foster homes with literally nothing but the clothes on their backs, Samantha said. Sometimes babies are just in diapers. Jeremy said his office now provides bags with pajamas, a change of clothes, a toothpaste, toothbrush, and a blanket.
Another big need in the community that Moreland is addressing is for before- and after-school programs for children of working parents.
“We get lots of calls for before and after care,” Samantha said. “We’re exploring options to expand the number of slots offered to the community.”
Moreland Day Care got a boost earlier this year when Gov. Mike Parson approved $82 million to increase the number of badly-needed pre-kindergarten childcare slots in Missouri. Grants were awarded to both community-based child-care providers and public schools.
In October, Moreland Day Care used its grant to add a third preschool class for 4 and 5-year-olds, Samantha said. Hired to teach the class of 17 preschoolers were Sarah Taylor and Jessica Bailey, who have masters’ degrees in Early Childhood Education.
“We were filled the first week,” Samantha said of the class, which Moreland provides at no charge.
The Pediatric Place and First Steps provide in-house services to Moreland Day Care, she said, including physical, occupational (meaning daily tasks) and speech therapy. That makes fewer appointments for foster parents to have to take their children to, Samantha said.
Moreland has also implemented a new curriculum that is experience-based, Samantha said, with seasonal themes, the current one focused on winter — making snow-flakes and learning about ice and snow. The Moreland staff has also done a lot of training dealing with trauma and behavioral issues, Samantha said.
“We want to make sure we are taking care of children and families in the community to the best of our abilities,” she said. “It takes a village, and we have a good village going.”
Clinton used to have a coalition called “Mission Clinton” that is now dissolved. Clinton foster families do receive supplies from Sammy’s Window, a foster/adopt state-wide connection, through its southwest office in Springfield, which delivers socks and underwear, baby wipes and food items every month to the Foster Closet. Samantha picks up supplies and delivers them to foster families whose children attend Moreland Day Care, saving them a trip.
“We started with a few families,” Tammy said, “and now have 30.”
Jeremy said he would like to see a CarePortal started in Clinton, which is a network of volunteers who respond to immediate needs of families and children in the community.
“It takes seven churches and four community organizations to start one,” he said.
The Henry County Health Department provides safe cribs, car seats, CPR training, immunizations, and WIC (Women’s, infants and Children’s supplemental nutrition). The HCHD also has free or reduced-cost lab tests, said Tyler Pulcini, community outreach director.
Women at Trinity Lutheran Church, led by Hope Seider, make and donate age-appropriate Care Bags, each with a story book, hygiene items and a stuffed toy, to the Foster Closet.
Samantha and spouse Brooklyn Mothersbaugh also have a heart for children — they have six, 3 girls and 3 boys, ages 10 months to 13 years old. At dinnertime, the family sits around the dining table and plays “High-Low,” with each person describing the high and low of that day.
Helping children and teenagers deal with the ups and downs of life is especially important for foster parents, whose children may have experienced trauma and loss. It’s one of the most challenging parts of being a foster parent, Samantha said.
The goal — to give every child a safe, happy childhood, she said. Foster parents also try to preserve childhood memories of foster children who move on to another family for adoption.
Tammy said she saved the hospital bracelet and the first Christmas outfit one of her foster babies wore, and mailed it to the child’s adoptive family.
To make donations or volunteer to help foster/adopt parents, call Tammy Woirhaye, 660-889-1959.
