Making the decision to become a foster parent is not taken lightly, nor without a lot of forethought, discussion, study and education.

Fortunately, it is not a decision an individual, or a couple, has to make alone.

Help is available, and trained professionals are waiting to assist those who have made the loving and thoughtful commitment to help children in need.

Care Development of Maine is a treatment foster care agency providing supportive services to special needs children, birth families and foster families, according to its brochure.

Those services may include case management, individualized rehabilitation, psychiatric services, counseling and family visitation.

Care Development recently opened its ninth office, on Patten Pond Road in Surry.

“The big thing for us is just getting the word out that we are here,” said Josh Mishou, foster care developer for Care Management in the Hancock-Washington county area.

Even though there is a Care Development of Maine sign on the Patten Pond Road facility, Patten Pond Road is not a major thoroughfare with heavy traffic, Mishou said.

“We came here because we know there is a big need for us here,” he said during a visit to my office this week.

“We are in Surry because we know there are a lot of children from that area who are taken [from their homes by the Department of Human Services] for various reasons, and are placed in other areas or regions, such as Aroostook County.

“What we really want to do,” he emphasized, “is try to keep the kids as close as possible to where they are from.”

The first step for anyone interested in becoming a foster parent, Mishou said, “is to just call me and arrange an appointment. We will guide them through the process, step by step,” he said.

That process will include such things as state license obtainment, a home study and formalized training.

“There are several steps, and we work on them one step at a time,” Mishou said.

And although the process can take six months or more, the results are worth the efforts for all involved.

However, Mishou reminds those considering foster parenting and the possibility of that leading to adoption that “our first goal is always reunification with the parents.”

“If that’s not possible, we work hard to establish long-term care for the child, or adoption, but that is a choice that every foster parent makes on their own.”

People living in the Washington-Hancock county area who want to learn more about the foster parent process can call Mishou at 669-6055.

According to Care Development, approximately 3,000 Maine children now are not able to live in the homes of their birth families.

People in the Hancock-Washington county area who want to learn more about the foster care process are urged to call Mishou.

Other Care Development facilities are located in Augusta, Bangor, Dexter, Fort Kent, Lincoln, Presque Isle, Houlton and Skowhegan.

To meet with a representative from one of those offices, call (888) 236-2273 and ask to be transferred to the office nearest you.

Care Development reminds you that foster parenting is “bringing open hearts and children together.”

Although the River City Cinema Society is not handling ticket sales, it is assisting the Maine Association of Independent Doulas in its presentation of “Singing the Bones,” a feature-length motion picture relating the story of three generations of women brought together by childbirth.

The critically acclaimed film is designed for anyone interested in alternatives to childbirth methods.

“Singing the Bones” will be shown at 7 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 10, at Union Street Brick Church, 126 Union St. in Bangor.

Tickets are $6 in advance or $8 at the door.

All proceeds benefit MAID, a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing community education regarding choice in childbirth and the value of doula-attended childbirth.

More information can be obtained by calling Evelyn Conrad at 945-9804.

More information about the film can be found at http://www.fatsalmon.ca/themovie/index.htm.

The next presentation by RCCS is “La Nuit Americaine: Day for Night,” to be performed at the Union Street Brick Church at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 14.

Admission is $5 for the Academy Award-winning, PG-rated movie.

RCCS was founded in 2002 with the goal of bringing art, foreign films and documentaries to the area.

More information about River City Cinema Society can be found at http://www.rivercitycinema.com.

Joni Averill, Bangor Daily News, P.O. Box 1329, Bangor 04402; 990-8288.