It doesn’t matter if you’re a child, a teen, or an adult. When we face obstacles, we need guidance and support. Below, Bree shares some words of wisdom with potential foster parents from her own journey as a foster parent with Chambliss Center for Children and an adoptive mom of three.
I work with children with mental health issues, many of whom are in the foster care system. Year after year, I saw the tremendous need for foster families, and year after year, I saw how problems in the system let these children down. As the years passed, my heart grew more committed to wanting to open my home to foster care. However, my relationship was unstable, and I couldn’t bring a child into an unstable environment.
Fast forward to 2013 when my husband and I met. From nearly the beginning, when I brought up the idea of foster care with my now husband, he was on board. In the Summer of 2014, we began the certification process to become foster parents with Chambliss Center for Children. In the fall of 2014 we married, and by January of 2015 we were a licensed foster home excitedly awaiting our first placement.
In December of 2016 we adopted our two sons; they were our 2nd placement, and they were 3- and 4-years old at the time. Those first couple of years were challenging but so rewarding. We struggled to adjust as a family. However, none of us gave up, and the rewards that have come have been worth every minute of every struggle. To see our children grow and overcome has been amazing! To see the growth in ourselves has been amazing!
In 2019, we accepted a respite placement of a 14-year-old girl. We had absolutely no intentions of adopting another child, but once she was with us and things settled, we decided to take the leap and make the commitment (if it was what she wanted as well). Her adoption was official December of 2020. She is our sunshine and has enriched our family so much.
“To see our children grow and overcome has been amazing! To see the growth in ourselves has been amazing!”
Here is my take-away from 20+ years of professional experience and 5 years of foster/adoptive experience:
There is no perfect time to become a foster family. There are times that aren’t right because of instability or change in a family, but there is no perfect time. If it is on your heart, jump! God has helped us overcome so many of the obstacles that we had before us to help make us all successful.
Chambliss Center for Children plays a significant role in the success of our children and our family. They have been available to us anytime – days, nights, and weekends. They help us overcome repeated obstacles and hurdles, helping logistically with the many appointments that come with a foster child, help with needed resources, help with behavioral interventions, and just listen as they help get this mama through a rough day!
Foster care isn’t easy. Your heart will be broken many times and in many different ways. Kids will come, and kids will go. They will cause you more headaches and stress than you think you can bear. But do it anyway. You will learn.
You will grow. Your life will be enriched despite the pain and struggle. The kids will learn. The kids will grow. Their lives will be enriched, despite the pain and struggle. The more it shapes all those involved, the more meaningful it is. Just like anything in life, the harder it is to achieve, acquire, and maintain, the more rewarding it is in the end.
-Bree
2021
