August 26, 2024
Rather than competing, kinship care and foster care often complement each other, giving children the safe care they need.
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August 26, 2024
As kinship care becomes the preferred first placement option for children entering foster care, with family members and close family friends serving as caregivers, foster parents may wonder, “Do you still need me?” Absolutely, we do.
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June 17, 2024
The process of becoming an adoptive family takes time, like it would for any blended family. So don’t panic if the bonding between siblings is less than ideal.
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June 13, 2024
Adoptive parents may experience anxiety when unusual behavior appears in their adopted adolescent child. But it’s common. As long as the journey is more forward than backward, you’re moving in the right direction.
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June 13, 2024
There are no guarantees when raising children, and I've learned to let go of some of my expectations and love my children no matter what.
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June 13, 2024
While you may be drawn to fostering to love a child, please realize some kids aren’t ready to be loved—not by a stranger.
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June 12, 2024
Just because I work in foster care didn’t make it easier when strangers made comments to or about my family, but I found it helpful to have a ready response. Here are five I often used to diffuse an awkward or insensitive comment.
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June 11, 2024
Our kids saw foster care as exciting—Yay! A new brother or sister!—but they soon realized there was more to it than that. Our life as a family flipped upside down with each new placement, so we followed these guidelines to make sure our kids were not overwhelmed.
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June 11, 2024
Talk honestly with your children about what foster care is and how having another child in your home will affect them.
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May 15, 2024
As a first-time adoptive parent, Dr. Kimberly Offutt had an idealistic vision of what “happily ever after” would look like. As a foster care worker, she knew the need was great for teens with trauma history, and she thought she was ready. But love, it turns out, does not undo a child’s deep wounds.
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