At the start of her presentation to approximately 150 attendees at the Rotary Club of Toledo, Sylvia Roop — lead foster parent recruiter for Specialized Alternatives for Family and Youth — posed a question to the room:

“How many people here are foster parents? Raise your hand if you have ever been a foster parent,” she said.

One hand went up.

“I’m not here to say, ‘Oh, my goodness, everyone should be a foster parent,’ but here’s all the things to get started. I’m here to say it’s actually really hard. I’m here to say that it is life-changing for those who actually commit to become a foster parent,” Ms. Roop said Monday at Glass City Center’s ballroom.

While not everyone can take on the responsibility, she highlighted the urgent need for foster parents in northwest Ohio and encouraged t

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