As the number of kinship families grows, the need for more support services for grandparents raising grandchildren and other relatives taking children into their home increases. The greatest difference in foster care that I’ve observed from when I started fostering over twenty years ago until today is the focus on placing children with relatives or […]
Children who age out of foster care at 21 instead of 18 have better outcomes and lead happier, more productive adult lives. Here’s why. Remember when you turned eighteen? You were probably thrilled to be an “official” adult and happy to (finally!) be in control of your life. Whether you were starting college or learning […]
“Why become a foster parent?” is a question that is often asked of people who are fostering. It’s also a question that people thinking of becoming foster parents often ask themselves. Foster parents’ stories are very different, yet very much the same, in that we want to make a positive difference in the life of […]
Today, children entering foster care are often placed in the homes of family members or family friends instead of traditional foster families. Is kinship foster care better than sending abused and neglected children to live with strangers? Up until a few years ago, children who could not live safely with their birth parents mainly went […]
Some myths about foster care are more shocking than others. The ones that amaze us the most? Misconceptions about foster kids and the reasons they’re in care. Too often society loves to “blame the victim” for their plight. Foster kids enter care as victims of parental abuse or neglect; the kids themselves have nothing to […]
Why do people become foster parents? There are many foster parenting stories – this is mine. We fostered for 11 years; during that time, we fostered approximately 17 children and adopted 2. We became foster parents to “test the waters” to see if we would make good parents. When we trained, we were signed up […]
Surprising Foster Care Myths Debunked Foster Care Myths[/caption]Foster care organizations like ours have heard it all about foster parents – the good, the bad and the ugly. But even we’re surprised at some of what’s being said these days. Have you ever heard these common (and sometimes crazy) foster care myths? Foster Parents Are “In […]
We recently asked our Facebook Fans who are foster parents to share their Top 3 Tips for caring for foster children and making them happy and comfortable in their new home. Here’s what they told us: Give them love, encouragement and time – When caring for foster children, it’s important to understand that it will take […]
Without foster care organizations, life would be very different for foster children and foster parents. 40 years ago, New Jersey foster parents Hattie Talley and Sue and Bernie Dondiego came together in Hattie’s kitchen with a purpose and a question. “Someone needs to stand up for the foster children. If not the foster parents, then […]