Name
Theresa
How long have you been a foster parent?
I’ve been a foster parent for 13 years and I still welcome children into my home when emergency respite care is needed.
What is the most rewarding part of being a foster parent?
I can see the positive changes that happen when children have the support and services they need. I know I’m making a difference in someone’s life.
What made you decide to be a foster parent?
My husband and I really only wanted to adopt one child, but we added three kids to our family and then decided to keep fostering. There are so many kids who need our help and we couldn’t turn away from that. We welcome birth parents too, especially when they are trying to reunify with their babies.
Name
Colleen
How long have you been a foster parent?
Our family has been fostering for 14 years and have helped over 20 children.
What is the most rewarding part of being a foster parent?
We have helped brothers and sisters stay together, which they usually can’t do. We know that even if a child doesn’t stay with us forever, we have given them a foundation that will help them for their whole lives.
What made you decide to be a foster parent?
We never imagined doing this for 20 years but we had some kids in our family that we worried might have to enter care and we didn’t want them to leave our family. Once we started, we realized how much the kids in care needed us.
Name
Janalee
How long have you been a foster parent?
I got licensed about a year ago so that I could have a teenager placed in my home.
What is the most rewarding part of being a foster parent?
I love watching my son experience new things and finally get the chance he deserves to have a childhood. This is a “do-over for him”.
What made you decide to be a foster parent?
I have a heart for teenagers and honestly, everyone tells my son he is lucky to have me but truth is I’m the lucky one.
Name
Alana
How long have you been a foster parent?
I was a foster parent for six years and added two now-adult siblings to my family by adoption. When they first came to me they were 4 and 2. I had 40 kids placed in my home over time.
What is the most rewarding part of being a foster parent?
I didn’t expect the boys entering my home and family to have such a positive impact on my birth son. He really learned some important lessons about compassion and empathy that shaped him into the man he is today.
What made you decide to be a foster parent?
My son kept bringing home the schedule for local foster parent information sessions from school. After seeing several of these flyers over time, I decided to jump because I knew how great the need was.
Name
Karen
How long were you in foster care?
I don’t remember but mom told me her and dad took me home from the hospital after I was born and helped my birth mother try to learn what she needed to be a mom for a while. When she couldn’t do that, my parents decided to adopt me.
What is something you appreciate about your parents/family?
My parents help me have a relationship with my birth mother still. She even calls my mom “mom”, so I know a lot of people love me.
What would you tell someone who was thinking about being a foster parent?
I’d tell them to do it because there are kids out there that need love and every kid deserves to be loved.
Name
Sara
How long were you in foster care?
I was adopted by my family when I was four, and I went into foster care when I was a little younger than two.
What is something you appreciate about your parents/family?
In my family we talk about adoption and I can ask questions and get answers from them. My whole family is there to help me when I need it.
What would you tell someone who was thinking about being a foster parent?
I would tell them that there are a lot of kids who need parents out there so they should do it and that all kids need love and help.