Foster Care & Adoption

You’re scrolling social media and see yet another 20-something telling you how to get fit, be disciplined, and live your healthiest life. What they don’t know is that you’ve just cleaned up a broken dish that was thrown by one of your kids during a fit of rage. And that the tension had been building …

When I became a foster parent, I had some grandiose mission statements about what I would do, how I would help, and the way in which I would serve vulnerable youth… but I look back now, seven years later, and see I had it all wrong. Well-intentioned, but wrong. It wasn’t about what I would do, …

As a foster parent, I know people often look at a foster youth and think “those poor kids.” That thought, although maybe well-intentioned, breeds contempt for loved ones who are fighting things like poverty, trafficking, abuse, neglect, incarceration, generational trauma – the list goes on and …

It was Christmas Eve, 2016. The snow was coming down outside the Social Services office where my foster kiddo and I sat. A big storm was on its way, and I was nervously sitting in a dim meeting room, waiting for this sweet angel’s birth mother to join us for the first time. My foster youth was …

Giving back to her community has always been a major factor in Gale’s life, but the question was how could she make the most meaningful impact? After experiencing a personal loss, her question was answered as she felt called to open her heart and home to foster care. It can be a big decision to …

As a foster parent, I’m often perplexed by the behavior of the child in my home. I struggle to understand how their trauma and gut-wrenching fear can come out over chocolate milk. Or, when my spouse yells for me across the house, the volume of his voice makes our child assume we are fighting even …

Parenting children with mental health challenges is hard – and for those who have done this, you know the word “hard” is an understatement. I am a foster parent. I was given all the training and tools my brain could absorb about development, trauma, how to build relationships, how to repair …

If you have a family of your own and are inquiring to be a foster family, conversations with your partner and children are crucial. Below are some of the topics our foster parents discussed with their families and children before deciding to start their foster care journey.   Questions to …

What Is Foster Care? Foster care is a term many families use with pride, providing support and guidance for many children and teens in our communities. The word “foster” is defined as “promoting the growth or development of; encouraging.” Fostering is the opportunity to encourage growth, healing, …