thedrifter
06-16-07, 07:05 AM
Article published Jun 16, 2007
From master sergeant to master mentor
By Tom Steadman
Staff Writer
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REIDSVILLE — Nobody calls him Dad.
Everyone — his own two children, plus the foster sons who have passed through his home — refers to Kent Griffin simply as "Top."
That's been Griffin's moniker ever since his days as a master sergeant in the Marine Corps, and it's what he's still called at Reidsville High School, where he is an instructor in the JROTC program.
"I've always worked with kids, taking young troops and bringing them up," said Griffin, 49, whose 20-year hitch in the Marines included a five-year stint as a drill instructor.
"It's teaching," he said. "You teach them to survive in a combat situation and how to get out of complicated things. You leave a mark on a person."
Griffin says he uses some of the same skills in serving as a foster dad in the North Carolina Mentor program, a private, statewide human service agency that provides therapeutic foster care and mental health services to special-needs children and youth.
"You set your ground rules and tell them this is the way you're going to do it here," Griffin said. "You're going to have discipline, have respect for authority, respect for adult figures and learn the skills so you can be successful in life later on."
Since 2004, when he joined the mentor program, Griffin has served as foster dad to five teenagers who have lived in his home for an average of a year at a time.
Currently, two foster sons — Josh and Donovan, both 15 — share the home with Griffin and his 18-year-old birth son, Kent Jr., known to most people simply as "Bottom."
His is one of about 90 homes licensed for therapeutic foster care in the Triad, and Griffin, who is divorced, is one of the few single fathers in the program, said Joanna Mason, a foster parent recruiter.
"A lot of single women do it, but not a whole lot of just dads," Mason said.
People who qualify to become therapeutic foster care parents must undergo a six-week, 50-hour training course and agree to take into their homes children or youths with special needs who are either in Department of Social Services custody or still with their birth parents.
Unlike regular DSS foster care, in which foster families are reimbursed for the child's room and board, parents in therapeutic foster care are paid a fee of $30 to $50 daily for the special services they provide.
"I talked it over with my son," Griffin said. "I told him I was thinking about doing this, taking in kids who had been in trouble. He said it was OK with him."
Griffin's first foster son was a 13-year-old who stayed with him for 16 months. The ages and circumstances of the boys have varied, Griffin said. But they share one commonality: They all need help.
"Some have been in trouble with the court system and been placed in the home," he said. "A lot of them have had school problems. They need a structure where they can pick up the discipline they need."
Josh, one of the two foster sons living with Griffin, said he'd grown up in Madison with few rules or responsibilities.
"I was raised pretty much on my own," he said. "I never had any meals fixed for me. I was in trouble for fighting, being angry all the time."
Moving in with Griffin amounted to culture shock, he said.
"At first, I didn't want to be here," Josh said. "But I've gotten used to it."
He's especially gotten used to Griffin's penchant for cooking — baked spaghetti, pork chops, ribs, lasagna, etc.
"My specialty is chicken wings," Griffin said. "The kids always leave here heavier than when they came."
During their time with him, Griffin says, the youths become part of his family. At Christmas time, he makes sure that his foster sons each get a present, and he remembers their birthdays.
Many have kept in touch since moving on, he said.
"They're like your own sons."
Contact Tom Steadman at 373-7351 or tsteadman@news-record.com
Ellie
From master sergeant to master mentor
By Tom Steadman
Staff Writer
ADVERTISEMENT
REIDSVILLE — Nobody calls him Dad.
Everyone — his own two children, plus the foster sons who have passed through his home — refers to Kent Griffin simply as "Top."
That's been Griffin's moniker ever since his days as a master sergeant in the Marine Corps, and it's what he's still called at Reidsville High School, where he is an instructor in the JROTC program.
"I've always worked with kids, taking young troops and bringing them up," said Griffin, 49, whose 20-year hitch in the Marines included a five-year stint as a drill instructor.
"It's teaching," he said. "You teach them to survive in a combat situation and how to get out of complicated things. You leave a mark on a person."
Griffin says he uses some of the same skills in serving as a foster dad in the North Carolina Mentor program, a private, statewide human service agency that provides therapeutic foster care and mental health services to special-needs children and youth.
"You set your ground rules and tell them this is the way you're going to do it here," Griffin said. "You're going to have discipline, have respect for authority, respect for adult figures and learn the skills so you can be successful in life later on."
Since 2004, when he joined the mentor program, Griffin has served as foster dad to five teenagers who have lived in his home for an average of a year at a time.
Currently, two foster sons — Josh and Donovan, both 15 — share the home with Griffin and his 18-year-old birth son, Kent Jr., known to most people simply as "Bottom."
His is one of about 90 homes licensed for therapeutic foster care in the Triad, and Griffin, who is divorced, is one of the few single fathers in the program, said Joanna Mason, a foster parent recruiter.
"A lot of single women do it, but not a whole lot of just dads," Mason said.
People who qualify to become therapeutic foster care parents must undergo a six-week, 50-hour training course and agree to take into their homes children or youths with special needs who are either in Department of Social Services custody or still with their birth parents.
Unlike regular DSS foster care, in which foster families are reimbursed for the child's room and board, parents in therapeutic foster care are paid a fee of $30 to $50 daily for the special services they provide.
"I talked it over with my son," Griffin said. "I told him I was thinking about doing this, taking in kids who had been in trouble. He said it was OK with him."
Griffin's first foster son was a 13-year-old who stayed with him for 16 months. The ages and circumstances of the boys have varied, Griffin said. But they share one commonality: They all need help.
"Some have been in trouble with the court system and been placed in the home," he said. "A lot of them have had school problems. They need a structure where they can pick up the discipline they need."
Josh, one of the two foster sons living with Griffin, said he'd grown up in Madison with few rules or responsibilities.
"I was raised pretty much on my own," he said. "I never had any meals fixed for me. I was in trouble for fighting, being angry all the time."
Moving in with Griffin amounted to culture shock, he said.
"At first, I didn't want to be here," Josh said. "But I've gotten used to it."
He's especially gotten used to Griffin's penchant for cooking — baked spaghetti, pork chops, ribs, lasagna, etc.
"My specialty is chicken wings," Griffin said. "The kids always leave here heavier than when they came."
During their time with him, Griffin says, the youths become part of his family. At Christmas time, he makes sure that his foster sons each get a present, and he remembers their birthdays.
Many have kept in touch since moving on, he said.
"They're like your own sons."
Contact Tom Steadman at 373-7351 or tsteadman@news-record.com
Ellie