Each year thousands of children are taken out of their home and put into foster care. The need for foster parents in Indiana is greater than ever.

It is estimated there are about 20,000 Hoosier children who are in the foster care system. The need has grown by several thousand since 2011.

Villages of Indiana in Elkhart is responding to the demand and will hold an information session Wednesday evening. The free session will be from 6:30-7:30 p.m. and will aim to answer questions potential future foster parents may have.

The group claims to be the largest private therapeutic foster care provider in the state. They help potential foster parents with initial thoughts of adoption and throughout the steps it takes to adopt.

More than 400,000 children are in the foster care system nationwide. Most children are placed temporarily in foster care due to parental abuse or neglect, according to Children's Action Network.

In Indiana, most of the children who need a loving family come from the age group of one to five years of age, followed by the six to 10 years old age group. That information is from National Kid Count data.

To learn what it takes to be a foster caregiver, click here. In 2016, 1,509 children have been adopted in Indiana.
The Wednesday information session at the Villages of Indiana is the second of three sessions that will be held. The third one will be on November 16 from 6:30-7:30 p.m.

For those interested in adoption, the Indiana Adoption Program has a database where future parents can learn more about the children who need a loving home.