On Sept 21st, America’s Kids Belong hosted a free webinar panel called, “How to Thrive as a Foster Parent.” For many prospective and current foster parents, the idea of thriving sounds amazing but seems like a rarity or an unattainable…
As a former foster youth who grew up in culturally diverse homes, I want to share with you the importance of embracing diversity when becoming a foster or adoptive parent. I am half Black and half Japanese and grew up…
It’s astonishing to know more than 400,000 kids are currently in our country’s foster care system and yet only about half as many foster parents are available to care for them! We need many more caring foster parents to be…
We are excited to announce the successful launch on August 15th of our first ever online fostering panel series. People interested in exploring fostering have a new opportunity to gain the insights, inspiration and real-life perspectives as America’s Kids launches…
All fostering info panels are free and will offer people interested in exploring fostering an opportunity to learn more about: AKB’s fostering info panels were created for people who are interested in exploring fostering or supporting kids in foster care…
Laura Drevlow, a foster and adoptive mom from South Dakota, understands what it means as a child to want to belong, to be loved. When she was fourteen, a teacher took her in and eventually adopted her after she disclosed…
We all live our lives inside of a grand “life story.” Within this overarching story we have many stories that make up the days of our lives. Stories from the past and present and future stories unlived and unwritten. Many…
My mentor, director of the college ministry I was a part of, and one of the sweetest friends I have, is a foster mom. All I have ever understood about her journey is that she has the sweetest and funniest…
A sobering crisis. We all hear the figures and see the facts similar to the staggering news story that ran on Father’s Day weekend in 2022 entitled, “America’s crisis is a lack of fathers.” To summarize: there are nearly 18.5…
Lessons learned from a former foster dad 1. Know your limits Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “We boil at different degrees.” There’s no prize for fostering the longest, having the most kids, or saying “yes” every time your caseworker asks…
I didn’t know May was Foster Care Awareness Month. Before stepping into this role, May was notable for a host of other reasons: Cinco de Mayo, Mother’s Day, my wedding anniversary, the end of school… and apparently fun things like…
Being in foster care often means a child is living through a painful story, suspended in time; awaiting uncertain outcomes; dealing with layers of trauma; commonly facing separation from siblings; coping with other layers loss (even if temporarily) of extended…
