Foster Homes Wanted for Youth in Greater Waterbury
November, as National Adoption Month, Highlights Urgent Need for Placement, Stability
WATERBURY, Conn. – (October 31, 2025) – National Adoption Month is a November observance designed to raise awareness about the critical need for adoptive families for children and youth in foster care. It’s also a time to consider the equally critical need for foster homes for hundreds of children and youth in need.
A Wheeler program serving youth and families in nine cities and towns in Greater Waterbury is actively and urgently recruiting foster families who can provide stable, safe, caring environments for youth for shorter durations. Funded by the Connecticut Department of Children and Families, the program serves children and youth ages 6 to 17 right in their own communities.
“Our foster care program is a family treatment model designed to stabilize youth within the foster family,” said Sharon Pendleton-Ponzani, LCSW, director, Wheeler Foster Care. “The goal of the program is to get children and youth in care either back to their family, or when this is not possible, to an adoptive family.
“We want to keep youth in their communities so that they have as little disruption as possible and can stay connected with their families, when we can. We work with all family members involved in this process, including the child/ren in care, the foster family, and family to whom the child/youth is returning.”
Wheeler’s program includes a dedicated team of multidisciplinary professionals who provide weekly in-home sessions with youth and families as well as 24/7 on-call coverage support for the foster family. Support groups, ongoing training, and coordination of services for youth also are provided. Families are trained in trauma-informed care as well as an evidence-based Functional Family Therapy Foster Care model.
Wheeler’s Foster Care program serves youth and families in: Beacon Falls, Middlebury, Naugatuck, Oxford, Prospect, Southbury, Waterbury, Wolcott, and Woodbury. There is a great need for new foster homes in this region to help local children, particularly teenagers.
For more information, call 860.793.7277 or email: Fostercareprograms@wheelerclinic.org.
About Wheeler’s Foster Care Programs
Wheeler’s Foster Care programs, funded by the Connecticut Department of Children and Families, provide 24-hour support to families and youth in Greater Waterbury. Wheeler’s programs provide a higher level of care and resources, including support to meet the needs of children and youth and help them heal from abuse, neglect, trauma, and more.
Wheeler’s foster families come from all walks of life. They provide a safe, supportive home environment for children in need. Foster parents may be married or single and rent or own their own home. They must have a stable income and transportation, although a stipend is provided to cover the costs of caring for the child. Many foster parents have children, or have raised children, or others may work with children. For others, it is the discovery that there are children in need of supportive and nurturing caregivers, and a willingness to be trained as foster parents to provide stability for youth while the birth parents are getting the help they need.
For information about Wheeler Foster Care opportunities, call 860.793.7277, email Fostercareprograms@wheelerclinic.org or visit WheelerHealth.org/Foster.
About Wheeler
Wheeler provides comprehensive solutions that address complex health issues, providing individuals, families, and communities with accessible, innovative care that encourages health, recovery, and growth at all stages of life. Wheeler’s integrated approach to primary and behavioral health, education, and recovery creates measurable results, positive outcomes, and hopeful tomorrows for more than 70,000 individuals across Connecticut each year. Learn more: WheelerHealth.org.