PIERRE – Foster families of every culture are needed to keep sibling groups together, to keep children and youth in their own communities and to support the well-being of children in need of a home while their birth family heals.

Prospective foster families are encouraged to attend the upcoming Parent’s Resource for Information, Development and Education (PRIDE) training in Huron for families in Beadle, Sanborn, Hand, Faulk, Jerauld and Spink counties beginning Tuesday, March 6, from 6 to 9 p.m. (CST).

Blended PRIDE training is now available and consists of a combination of classroom training and online training. The training is free and participants must complete 30 hours of training by attending four classroom sessions and six online sessions. Class sizes are limited and an initial inquiry process must be completed prior to registration.

Participants must be 21 years of age, financially stable and have no convictions of crimes involving harm to children, sex crimes or crimes of violence.

If you are interested in opening your home to children in foster care, please contact Jessica Tribble, Inquiry Coordinator with Children’s Home Society, at 605-965-3189. To learn more about becoming a foster parent, please visit dss.sd.gov/childprotection/fostercare/ or www.fosteronesd.org/.