Their tagline says it all: ‘Love, Hope, Foster’

Intercept Health has recently opened an office in downtown Farmville, and with the increasing need for foster families, the organization is hoping to gain families and individuals who are looking to help children in need.

As of December 2018, there were 745 children in foster care in Central Virginia.

“We opened this Farmville location because of the need here,” said Intercept Foster Family Trainer and Recruiter, Lavater Walker. “We have some families who were driving to our Chester office.”

Linda and Valente Gray who live in the Green Bay area are one of those foster families that no longer have to make the long drive to Chester to be a part of Intercept Health’s Foster Care.

The Grays have been foster parents for 20 years, most recently working with Intercept for the last seven. “It is a great feeling knowing that you made a difference in the life of someone in need,” Valente said.

The Grays say that over the years they have fostered 15 children and adopted two of them. “We adopted two boys. One was 13, and the other was 12 at the time.” Linda said. “They are 27 and 21 now. You get so attached to these kids … It’s just a good feeling.”

According to Walker, there is a three to a four-month period before a family is approved to foster. “There is six-weeks of training to do and get all their documentation done.” she added. “We write up their home study. We get them approved, and once they are approved, they’re working with the staff ongoing, which is our family consultant, family service specialists, admissions coordinator, and on call staff.”

Walker continued to say that the amount of services is something that Intercept prides itself. “There are a lot of services. It is not that you are approved and then you are on your own,” she said.

Flexibility is something else that the company works to provide. Scheduling orientations, training and home visits can be done at times that are convenient for prospective foster parents.

“We do not wait for a certain class size or a certain month or time of the year; when we have a family that is ready to begin the approval process, we get started,” said Walker.

According to Intercept staff, some families want to meet twice a week to get approved quickly, and they can accommodate that however, some families need to take a break to deal with a new job, a vacation, or a family matter, and they can work with that as well.

Keeping the caseload small is another factor Intercept provides. “Some other places may have 50 or so cases where we have 6 to 8 cases per caseworker,” said Sherry Marker, Intercept Foster Family Trainer and Recruiter.

To be a qualified foster parent such as the Grays, one must be over the age of 20, own a vehicle, be financially stable, go through background checks, training, and orientation. Walker did point out that marital status was not significant. “Our foster parents can be married, divorced, or single. They just cannot be co-habiting,” she explained.

Intercept Health was established in 1996 to address the needs of youth who were in out-of-home placements. The owner, Mark Bogert, opened a group home with the goal that the youth he served would have their needs met, be able to heal from earlier experiences, and be prepared to take care of themselves and live successfully in the community.

Since that beginning, Intercept has added programs such as Treatment Foster Care, Day Treatment in the schools, Crisis Intervention, Outpatient Counseling, Psychiatric Service, Mental Health Skill Building, Mentoring, Assessment Services, Parenting Education, and Independent Living.

For the Grays being foster parents has been life-changing.

“Sometimes it gets tough,” said Linda. “But you have to carry on and know you are helping someone and when someone calls you mom it’s the best feeling.”

For more information on Intercept and how to become a foster parent call (844) 987-KIDS or (434) 989-8866.