FERRIDAY — The Louisiana Department of Social Services is looking for a few good men — or women — to open up their homes for local children who have been temporarily removed from their home.

The Concordia Parish Office of Community Services will have an orientation class at 6 p.m. Thursday for those who want to be considered for foster or adoptive parenting.

There are currently 651 children in foster care for the Alexandria region, which includes, Concordia, Catahoula, LaSalle, Winn, Grant, Avoyelles, Rapides and Grant Parishes. In that same region, there are approximately 200 foster parents.

In Concordia Parish, there are only 10 foster parents, but there are 30 foster children in the system.

“We are lacking foster parents in that area,” Regional Foster and Adoptive Home Recruiter Mary Jane Barrett said. “It is one of those areas where every time somebody goes back home we fill up that space again. We don’t have enough foster parents for the children in our care so the children get placed out of parish.”

Placing children out of parish can hinder the goal of the foster parenting program, which is eventual reunification of the child with their family.

“If the child is placed out of parish, it is difficult to do reunification because it is hard to do (family) visits if the child is in one parish and the parents are in another,” Barrett said. “We like to keep them closer to family and friends, and to keep them at their same schools.”

The number of children in the foster system has grown in recent years, but the number of foster parents has not been increasing at the same time.

To be certified as a foster parent, those who participate have to attend seven classes and then the department of social services does a home study to ensure they have a safe and stable home environment.

They also have to be financially stable, in good physical, emotional and mental health and pass a criminal background check.

Those who adopt through the state also have to complete the certification.

The Office of Community Services is located at 100 Serio Blvd., in Ferriday.