Foster parents are superheroes, providing stability and loving care for children in need. May is Foster Care Awareness Month, and The Barry Robinson Center (BRC) salutes the foster parents in its program.
Since 1995, BRC has provided treatment foster care, also known as therapeutic foster care. With treatment foster care, foster parents receive specialized training to care for children and teens. Usually, these children have significant emotional, behavioral or medical needs.
“We’re always looking for foster parents who are invested both in children and in their own growth as foster parents,” said CEO Rob McCartney.
Learn more about being a foster parent.
Meet some of BRC’s foster parents and hear about their passion for helping children.
Providing a Safe and Loving Home
Dorine Malfitano is one of BRC’s longest-serving foster parents, working with the program for about 20 years. She has fostered children of all ages through the years, from infants to teens. She appreciates knowing she’s making a difference in children’s lives, whether it’s big or small.
“I have been fostering children for many years and every time I take a break I find myself missing it and wanting to come back into it,” Malfitano said. “I enjoy providing a loving and safe home for children in need. I also enjoy seeing them grow throughout the time they are in our home while knowing that I am making an impact whether I see it immediately or not.”
While Malfitano said foster parenting is rewarding, she finds it challenging when she cannot connect with a child going through a “dark moment.”
She offers this advice to people who are thinking about becoming foster parents:
“I would advise them to be sure to create balance in their lives to avoid becoming overwhelmed and also make sure they have a strong support system. I would also advise them to start as a respite parent if possible.”
Always Do Your Best
As both a foster parent and an adoptive parent, Queen Taylor brings a different perspective to foster parenting. She’s been with the BRC program for about 17 years, fostering mostly boys ranging in age from 2-15 years old. Taylor fostered for about five years, then adopted a child and took some time off before returning to fostering.
“I want to help children in foster care have a better life,” she said. “I enjoy being a positive influence in a child’s life and providing them with a stable home and family dynamic.”
For Taylor, a challenging aspect of foster parent can be helping children cope with disappointment.
“Sometimes you have to explain to children when the parents aren’t consistent,” she said. Foster parents often play a key role to support children in keeping connections with their birth families.
Taylor offers this advice to prospective foster parents:
“I would advise them to not be hard on themselves because sometimes things are out of their control, but to always do their best and give it all they’ve got.”
Learning to Foster Successfully
Crystal Ward is new to foster parenting, with only a few months of experience. As a business owner with availability to help children, she’s provided respite care for foster families and fostered a few children for short-term placements.
Her motivation to be a foster parent has deeper roots.
“I also have friends who were in foster care and adopted who shared with me how much they appreciated their resources, so I wanted to be able to provide that same support to other foster children,” Ward explained. “I enjoy being available to help out as needed although it has only been for short-term so far.”
In her limited experience to date, Ward said her biggest challenge has been considering how a child she’s being asked to take in would get along with her biological son.
Ward is enthusiastic about her future as a foster parent and shares that with others:
“I would encourage them to go for it! Becoming a foster parent is a great learning experience, and the agency ensures that we have all of the training and support we need to be successful.”
Modeling Healthy Relationships
Delia Henry has been a foster parent for about eight years. Besides short-term placements and respite care, she has fostered several girls, ages 1-12, and a toddler boy.
“I wanted to provide a temporary home for children who are less fortunate and at the same time become a role model for healthy relationships.” She said. “I most enjoy being a caregiver.”
Henry notes that separating from children when they leave her home is the most challenging aspect of foster parenting. “You’ve formed a bond with them, but it helps when you know they are going into a good situation when they leave you.”
She shares excellent advice for anyone who’s thinking about becoming a foster parent:
“I would advise them to become a foster parent if they are patient and nurturing and kind because there are a lot of children who need good homes,” she said. Henry also advises prospective foster parents to decide if adoption is an option for their family. She encourages them to remain open to the possibility if a foster child is unable to return to their birth family.
Helping Children With Mental Health Needs
Shenell Cummings is another new foster parent, with a little over a year’s experience. She’s had two children, ages 9 and 17, and has also provided some short-term and respite care.
“I enjoy helping people and wanted to be able to give children an opportunity for a better future,” she said. “I also enjoy working with children and have experience through my career of helping children with mental health needs.”
Being a positive influence in a child’s life is what Cummings enjoys most about foster parenting. On the flip side, she finds building relationships and some children’s resistance to connect most challenging.
She offers this advice to people who are thinking about becoming foster parents:
“If someone enjoys children, I highly advise them to be a foster parent because it is very rewarding in the end.”