BaL is pleased to participate in Foster Manatee, brought about by the Manatee Community Foundation and a coalition of area partners and stakeholders who launched a new community outreach campaign to help meet Manatee County’s increasing need for foster parents. In 2017, they formed the Manatee Foster Care Initiative with funding support from the Charles and Margery Barancik Foundation. A new website, FosterManatee.org, launched in late May 2018 to serve as an information hub for prospective foster parents and to anchor the campaign. Manatee County, hit particularly hard by the opioid and heroin epidemic, has experienced an unprecedented number of child removals resulting in a shortage of foster homes. The Foster Manatee campaign seeks to inspire immediate action, increasing the number of local foster parents and equipping interested area residents with the information needed to begin their fostering journey.