Nancy Placencia
El Paso Woman Has Given Kids a 'Safe Place to Land' for 12 Years
By Victor R. Martinez / El Paso Times
Nancy Placencia loves children.
There is no doubt about that.
For the past 12 years, she has welcomed children with emotional and trust issues into her East Side home.
Some of them only stayed a few days while others for more than a year.
Placencia is a foster parent who is currently fostering two girls — Loreanne Rojas, 11, and Victoryanne Carreon, 7.
She adopted 7-year-old Nicole Placencia two years ago after fostering her for four years.
"I came in to foster to find my adopted child," Placencia said. "It took me a long time but I found one. Nicole is the one who stayed. Most of these children go back to their biological parents or to other family members which is called kinship."
Placencia, who does not have biological children, started fostering in 2002.
"I had a neighbor and she was a foster parent," she said. "I would help her out by taking the kids to school and doing whatever needed to be done."
Her neighbor eventually left El Paso.
"Her case worker said since I've taken classes and I went through the training, why not just be a foster parent myself," she said. "I've fostered about 12 children from four to 16 years old for several years at a time. There have also been plenty who have stayed only for a few months."
As of March this year, there were 381 children (0 to 17 years old) in foster care and — as of March 2013 — 165 foster homes (39 Texas Department of Family and Protective Services homes and 137 private child placing agency foster homes).
Foster care is in the news in May as it is National Foster Care Month.
"We've averaged 300-plus children a year in foster care in El Paso over five years," said Paul Zimmerman, spokesman for the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services. "We do have a foster home shortage and are always actively looking for more qualified, loving foster homes to help care for children, whether temporary or long term, who have entered the foster system due to abuse or neglect."
In order to become a licensed foster parent, parents must attend an informational meeting that educates potential parents about the required criteria.
The next step is to fill out a parenting application where background checks are run on everyone in the home.
Parents must then go through "Pride Training," which consists of 30 hours through a 5-week training course. It's through this training that parents become familiar with common situations they will face as foster parents.
All this is followed by a home visit where everybody in the home is interviewed. Also, CPR, first aid and trauma training are required. Potential foster parents also enlist in Star training, which informs them about the specifics of the health care their foster children will need.
"Quality foster homes provide structure, safety and peace for kids who just need a safe place to land for a little bit," Zimmerman said.
He said when considering the best foster parent placement for any child, CPS first looks for a placement that matches the individual needs of each child.
"Generally, the best foster parents are caring, financially stable adults who understand the unique needs of children who have experienced abuse or neglect at the hands of their parents or caregivers and its unsafe for them to remain in their homes," he said. "The best (foster parents) understand it's not just about providing room and board, it's about nurturing."
Last month, the Department of Family and Protective Services Council approved a set of new safety-related rules designed to more thoroughly screen potential foster parents and other caregivers and more adequately protect foster children by closely monitoring foster homes for major changes in the household, including job losses, marriages, divorces, or the addition of any household members or frequent visitors.
"These rules significantly strengthen protections for our foster children," said Judge John Specia, DFPS Commissioner. "Our focus is ensuring that we know who is in these homes and who may be around these children that could pose an unacceptable risk. These children deserve complete protection and safety."
The rules, which are expected to take effect Sept. 1, apply to new and existing foster homes in Texas. It's the first substantive revision of CPA rules since 2007.
The new rules are the result of a collaboration between DFPS and foster care providers following eight foster children deaths in 2013. There were two deaths in foster homes due to abuse or neglect in 2012. So far in fiscal year 2014 (which began on Sept. 1, 2013) one child has died from abuse/neglect foster care.
"Fortunately, we do have a very strong kinship program (placing children with appropriate relatives instead of foster care) in the El Paso area which helps us make up for any lack of available foster home placements we might experience at any given time," Zimmerman said. "But again, we're always recruiting more qualified, loving foster parents in El Paso."
Victor R. Martinez may be reached at 915-546-6128.
If you're interested in becoming a foster parent, you can attend the following informational meetings:
•May 14: 6 p.m., Texas Department of Family and Protective Services Office, 501 Hawkins.
•June 11: 6 p.m. Texas Department of Family and Protective Services Office, 501 Hawkins.
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