I am writing in support of the Children Service Foster Placement Levy.

The old saying, “It takes a village to raise a child,” has never been more evident than 2018 in Washington County. Look around and you can see that Washington County has changed in the last 10 years. We have more blight, drug related crimes, medical emergencies from drug misuse.

As a substitute school nurse, I saw children coming to school hungry, neglected, and unprepared to learn.

Parents may no longer have neighbors, grandparents, and church family’s to help them. Judges may be reluctant to place older children in juvenile correction facilities, instead, opting to place them in foster care.

Some of the children being placed have mental illness, special needs, or need extra intervention. Consider it an investment in the future of Washington County.

The children need us, and they need us now.

It will take a village to vote May 8 for the Children’s Service Foster Placement Levy, so please follow your heart.

Then, while all of our children are being cared for, we, as a community, need to stop this drug epidemic.

Kathy Downer

Marietta