Oakdale Couple Honored for 20 Years of Foster Care

Washington County last month honored its foster care providers with a recognition event at the Lake Elmo Event Center.

Oakdale's Barb and Mike Miller, who provide adult foster care for adults with disabilities, were recognized for providing care for 20 years.

The county has 46 adult family providers who provide emergency, respite, and on-going placements to vulnerable adults. There are 56 child foster care providers in Washington County.

In Washington County, there were 200 youth in placement during 2012, and of that number, 145 were in family foster care, Commissioner Lisa Weik said at the recognition event. Weik noted the different forms that foster care can take in the county.

While the event honors honor foster care providers throughout the county, it is important to remember that there are many aspects to foster care in Washington County, Weik said. They include:

• emergency child protection issues, while relative or kinship options are pursued by the Child Protection Worker or Law Enforcement Officer, many times resulting in contacting foster parents during the day or at night asking if they might drop everything and help out.
• youth who are coming from the court system, because of issues such as severe truancy, delinquent behavior, or a difficult family situation who need care.
• youth who have mental health or developmental disability issues whose parents need someone else to shepherd their children either for respite or a placement.
• sibling groups or individual children who start out in an emergency foster placement and remain there, or move from this home to a permanent foster family where they are adopted. 

Foster care providers also care for vulnerable adults, who may have mental health challenges, are homeless, have physical or developmental disabilities, or are elderly. That's the case for Barb and Mike Miller, of Oakdale.

Karen and Scott Elliot of Cottage Grove were honored for 35 years of non-kin child foster care.

Mary Jo and Ray Dick from Afton were honored for 30 years of foster care.

Those recognized for 20 years of foster care were:

• Karla Keller, Oak Park Heights, who does adult foster care for those with developmental disabilities; and
• Barb and Mike Miller, Oakdale, who provide adult foster care for adults with disabilities.

Ten-year honorees are:

• Roger Eliasen, Woodbury, who provides care for individuals with mental health issues;
• Cathy and Ernie Gillman, Cottage Grove, who have child foster placements, and do respite care for children and young adults ages 1 to 21;
• Carol and Robert LeMere, Forest Lake, who do adult foster care for those with developmental disabilities;
• Dawn and Richard Williams, Cottage Grove, non-kin child foster care providers who take emergency and non-emergency placements.

Those recognized for five years of foster care are:

• Edilene Friest, Cottage Grove, who provides care for physically disabled and elderly individuals;
• Karly and Pete LePage, Woodbury, who care for one adult who is developmentally disabled;
• Marion and Stephan Potyondy, Woodbury, who provide respite care for a child with autism;
• Amy and Richard Reeves, Cottage Grove, who provide foster care for children; and
• Sohair Youssef and Mounir Marzouk, Oakdale, who provide adult foster care.

Those who were licensed during the past year were:

• Jessica and Justin Bell, from Woodbury who do non-kin fostering;
• Vanessa and Daniel Bourgoin, from Mahtomedi who do kinship care;

• Charlene Dixon, a kinship provider from Oakdale;
• Kelly Erickson and Michael Moss, child non-kin providers from Forest Lake;
• Joy and Matt Gilson, from Woodbury  who do kinship foster care;
• Roberta and Steven Hill, from Woodbury who do kinship foster care;
• Pamela Johnson, an adult family provider from Hugo;
• David Leonard and Donna Johnson, from Stillwater who do kinship care;
• Carlene Pederson, an adult family provider from Forest Lake;
• Jennifer and Greg Sabin, a child kinship provider from Cottage Grove;
• Delores and James Schlagel, from Stillwater who do kinship care;
• Jennifer and Jason Skalicky, child non-kin providers from Forest Lake; and
• Teresa Warolin, child non-kin provider from Oakdale.