So you think you want to become a foster parent? Feeling called to foster care can be a profoundly fulfilling and joyous experience. You may have been inspired by a sermon, moved by statistics, or felt confident raising your biological children. Why not extend your love to a few more? The question may be, ‘Am …
Supporting Foster Families
When we think of a precious child, we should first start with a definition of the word. Precious translates from a Hebrew word that can mean dear, expensive, costly, heavy, or grievous. We were all created in the image of God, which on its own makes us precious. The reality is that sometimes children with …
When I think of how to support adoptive and foster kids, I remember working with a 9-year-old boy named Nathan in counseling. Nathan was in foster care. He had bounced around a few different foster care homes over the years but had been in a mostly stable and supportive situation for the past year. His …
I take care of the child, but there’s not much I can do for their parents. I’m not against reunification, but that depends on the family, and there’s nothing I can do about that. I have no control over the way this case plays out. I’ve thought it all before. If you’re a foster parent, …
I am a firm believer that one of the most challenging things in life is to feel alone in your pain. This has certainly been true in my own life. There were times I desperately wanted to hear someone say, “Same here.” I needed that level of emotional support. About 15 years ago, I got …
I stared at an email from our social worker stating that my husband, Gerritt, and I would not be approved as foster parents in the province of Nova Scotia. Our case would instead be deferred until we sought professional counseling. That was in 2013. Later we learned that we required further scrutiny, but it wasn’t …
Setting up for an evening training, I looked forward to sharing the impact of foster care and adoption on the biological children in the family. As the participants entered the classroom, I was stunned at who they were. Yet, the group looked like a room full of empty nesters. Overall, I was expecting young couples …
It’s so exciting! “Gotcha Day” is finally here. We are finally a family that is undisrupted by caseworkers and court dates. For most adoptive parents, this is a day they have looked forward to for a long time. It can be a celebration for family and friends who have known about the adoption journey. Some …
Trust-Based Relational Intervention®, more commonly known as TBRI®, is a model developed to address the challenges inherent in caring for children impacted by trauma, often including those impacted by adoption and/or foster care. The creators of TBRI, Drs. Karyn Purvis and David Cross, aptly share that trauma impacts the “5 B’s: Brain, Body, Biology, Beliefs, …
We fell in love with “L” right away. Placed with us at 17 days old, he had the sweetest disposition and the biggest brown eyes. Though his biological mother was struggling, the dependency court gave her a case plan with the goal of family reunification. What is Family Reunification? If you’re even somewhat familiar with the …
Social workers are often misunderstood. Some people would say they take children; some might describe their role as do-gooders. As a licensed clinical social worker for over thirty years, I am delighted to be part of the social work profession and want others to understand social workers and what we do. Let me tell you …
Wherever we are in the adoption triad, we can experience fulfilling lives and success at foster care and adoption through God’s abundance.
God is calling us to be a trusted voice like Joseph and to bring wisdom and solutions to a government searching for answers and reaching out to the church and faith partners for answers in unprecedented ways.
Being an adoptive mom is a unique journey that no one can prepare for. No one generally sees what the adoptive mom experiences.
Gen Z doesn’t need to be left out when it comes to helping families in Foster Care. There are 5 great ways to be involved.
While children from foster care should never be treated differently than biological children, thoughtful gift choices can mean the world to a child and their parents. There are no one-size-fits-all foster family gift ideas. However, gifts that give a sense of normalcy, safety or ownership are generally more beneficial for foster families than other toys. …
The Christmas season is about giving. There’s a tug on our heartstrings when the pastor asks us to buy a gift for a child that is less fortunate or adopt a family for Christmas. Maybe the child in that family is in an out-of-home placement, and their world looks different than last year. Walking the …
Simple gestures can go a long way to help a foster family.
Foster and adoptive families need help in order to thrive. This is how you can support foster and adoptive families.
The Reel Hope Project’s goal is to present children to potential families for who they are as a person. By creating unique, two-minute video reels, The Reel Hope Project gives children for adoption from foster care a chance to say, “This is the real me.”
