DOTHAN, AL (WDNews)—A new collaboration with state agencies will provide a free book every month to children in Alabama’s foster care system through Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library.
This Monday, Governor Kay Ivey introduced the project, claiming it will assist foster children have a better start in life. Ivey said in a statement that reading is the first step toward laying a solid foundation for every child in Alabama. We are sowing the seeds for a lifetime of learning and achievement by giving our youngest Alabamans a new book every month.
All foster children ages 0–5 will be automatically enrolled in the program by the Alabama Department of Human Resources (DHR), in collaboration with the Department of Early Childhood Education. Foster parents will get a letter with program specifics in the mail, and enrollment will be free. Up to their fifth birthday, every child will get a premium, developmentally appropriate book every month.
According to DHR Commissioner Nancy Buckner, the program gives foster children stability. Foster children’s lives are always changing, and these books will be something they look forward to each month, according to Buckner. One way we want to secure their future success is by giving them these books as gifts.
In 2023, Alabama became a member of the Imagination Library, offering books to children ages 0 to 5 upon enrollment by their parents or legal guardians. That stage is eliminated by the new foster care collaboration, guaranteeing that all eligible children are included.
The Imagination Library was established in 1995 in Sevier County, Tennessee, Parton’s homeland, and has since expanded globally. Children in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and Ireland are currently served by the program. Approximately one in seven children under the age of five in the United States already receive a book every month from the organization, according to program organizers.
