The Arkansas Department of Human Services (DHS) Division of Children and Family Services (DCFS) is accepting nominations for its annual Foster Parents of the Year award. The deadline is April 15.
DCFS will select one winner for each of its 10 service areas across the state, according to a news release.
Last year’s awards ceremony was held virtually due to covid-19, though the statewide winners, Marilyn and Hiller Suber of Monticello, were notified in-person in a surprise reveal streamed on the DHS Facebook page.
This year, the winning foster parents will be honored at a gala at the Governor’s Mansion where one foster family will be named the statewide Foster Parents of the Year for 2022.
The awards, which have been given annually since 2017, are designed to recognize and celebrate outstanding foster parents around the state and the role they play in furthering the mission of DCFS, which is to keep children safe and strengthen families, according to the release.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
“The last two years have certainly been challenging, but we’ve still seen examples of compassion, mercy, and selflessness from foster parents who work tirelessly to provide outstanding care and support for children and families who need them,” DCFS Director Mischa Martin said. “We hold this event in their honor as a way to say thank you and convey our appreciation for their valuable partnership. We absolutely could not do the work we do without them.”
To nominate foster parents for an Arkansas Foster Parent of the Year, visit ar.gov/FPOY.
Last year’s winners, the Subers, have spent more than 20 years as foster parents, and they were recognized for their unwavering support of teens in foster care in Drew County. Video profiles of the Subers and all of the area winners from 2021 are available on the DHS website.