Connecting Families: Foster Parent Support Groups

All around the globe, peer support meetings are being held to help individuals through a variety of unique challenges and situations. Whether it’s recently bereaved parents talking through grief or veterans discussing their PTSD, peer groups can be found nearly everywhere because they’ve been proven to be emotionally and psychologically beneficial.

foster parent support groups

Foster parent support groups are no different.

Peer support is based on the principle that individuals who have faced and overcome adversity can offer useful information, encouragement and mentorship to others facing similar situations.  A veteran who has come back from a war and assimilated back to civilian life will, in most cases, have a better understanding of what a soldier who just returned home is going through than someone without that distinctive experience.

According to a May 2019 report from Mental Health America:

“Both quantitative and qualitative evidence indicate that peer support lowers the overall cost of mental health services by reducing re-hospitalization rates and days spent in inpatient services, increasing the use of outpatient services. Peer support improves quality of life, increases and improves engagement with services, and increases whole health and self-management.”

In the case of foster parents, who better to understand the complicated foster care system, the unique needs of the children and the emotional roller coaster of parenting them than those who have been through it themselves.

That’s why foster care agencies throughout the country hold meetings where former and current foster, adoptive and kinship parents can share their experiences and offer an understanding ear and comforting shoulder.

In St. Cloud, Minnesota, Family TIES (Training, Information, Encouragement and Support) held three separate meetings a month to help parents connect and support one another, according to the SC Times:

“It was kind of a dream of mine from the very beginning, that we would have a support system in place for people coming in, because of the challenges we found when we started and wanting to help those coming in to do foster care,” (veteran foster parent Deana) Hoeschen said.


At meetings, they visit, eat and sometimes get training on issues like fetal-alcohol syndrome and trauma-informed care.


They also discuss the practical: what to do about health insurance and how to navigate the paperwork.


“It can be a really big challenge … to be able to get questions answered in a timely manner,” Hoeschen said.

In New Jersey, embrella holds Connecting Families community based meetings for all open licensed resource homes in the state. These meetings, held in northern, central and southern locations, are opportunities for parents to not only share their stories but also to connect with others who have been through it before.

“There are many triumphs and challenges that come along with being a resource parent that may not always be understood by everyone, but a fellow resource parent understands,” embrella’s Director of Support Services Tara Rizzolo said.

The meetings are also a chance to take trainings, learn about essential services and build a support network.

“embrella’s Connecting Families activities provide a forum for resource families to share their experiences, form friendships and establish lifelong bonds,” Rizzolo continued. “The purpose of our meetings is to bring families together, so that they can connect with others and establish a network of support.  This helps to strengthen who they are as parents and the care they provide for our children.” 

If you’re a licensed resource parent with an open home in New Jersey, consider attending a nearby Connecting Families meeting.

If you’re outside of New Jersey, click here to find a support group near you.

US Vs. UK: International Differences in Fostering and Adoption

Foster care is not something that just happens in the United States. It is a global issue and each country handles the caring of children in need in different ways. We spoke with Collie Crisman, a Foster and Adoptive Family Services staff member, who grew up in the UK and has seen how the foster care system works on two continents.

International Differences in Fostering and Adoption
1. How is the foster care system (including adoption) different in the UK compared to NJ?

One of the biggest differences that I’ve noticed between the UK and the US adoptive processes is the presence of private adoption agencies in the US. In the UK, regardless of whether a child is removed by the state, or voluntarily placed for planned adoption at birth, the case will always be handled by either a local agency or a “Voluntary Adoption Agency” (a charity-run, independent agency that specializes in adoption and post-adoptive support).
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Individualized Foster Parent Support: FAFS’ Family Advocates

The number of children entering the foster care system across the country has steadily increased from 396,430 in 2012 to 427,137 in 2015. Most races, according to the Annie E. Casey Foundation, were victims of this surge, including children of Hispanic or Latin origin.
As of 2015, there were 91,101 Hispanic children in care, up from 83,637 in 2014. In fact, Hispanic children made up 21% of the children in the foster care system across the U.S.

individualized foster parent support
This influx, due in part the nation’s opioid epidemic, has put added stress on the foster care system, especially those foster parents who struggle with English and are not familiar with the system.

That’s why, now, more than ever, non-native English speaking foster parents are looking for support services to help them navigate a complicated system.

Most states have their own agencies to help Hispanic foster care families. In Washington, the nonprofit agency Friends of Youth specializes in helping Hispanic families become licensed. In California, the Latino Family Institute aims at preserving the integrity of Latin American cultures among adoptive families while promoting kinship adoptions. Continue reading

Foster Care Speakers Inspire and Motivate Across the U.S.

Businesses across the world have been bringing in motivational speakers for years in an effort to inspire and encourage their staff. Speakers, especially those with expertise, can often provide a much needed spark during stagnant times. It’s with this in mind that the foster care community has reached out to its experts – former foster parents and former foster children — to become foster care speakers and talk to those involved or interested in being involved in the foster care system.

Foster Care Speakers
The foster care community can seem pretty insular. For an outsider interested in becoming a foster parent, the world of fostering can seem both daunting and impenetrable.

That’s why foster care agencies, both national and statewide, have recruited former and current foster parents, as well as caseworkers, to work as foster care speakers that share their experiences and raise public awareness of the need for foster and adoptive families.
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Foster Parent Mentoring Programs Lead to Increased Stability for Foster Parents & Children

Pairing the new with the experienced in foster parent mentoring programs has many benefits.

Foster Parent Mentoring Programs
In the foster care community, mentors are commonly thought of as adult role models and companions for foster children and teens. However, other types of mentors are also in demand. Seasoned foster parents are increasingly being called upon to become mentors for their less experienced counterparts.

Foster parent mentoring programs are available throughout the United States. The purpose of these programs is twofold: to support and encourage new foster parents and to keep experienced foster parents engaged and active. Continue reading

Fostering a Family with Facebook

Facebook is everywhere and has been since it opened to everyone in 2006. You have an account, your mom probably has an account, and the local coffee shop you frequent has an account. It’s a place where people share opinions, pictures and stories with their friends and family. But for prospective and current foster, adoptive and kinship parents, Facebook is much more.

Fostering a Family with Facebook
Foster, adoptive and kinship parents across the country face a unique set of challenges that most of the general public wouldn’t understand. Whether it’s the complicated licensing process, the myriad of policy issues or the foster care placement procedure, foster parents are confronted with an intricate government system that often varies state by state.

While helpful resources are available, many prospective and current foster parents are turning to each other on Facebook for guidance, understanding and acceptance through their fostering journey. Nationally, foster parents turn to the Facebook pages of organizations like The National Foster Parent Association for information on foster care specific topics such as aging out and multigenerational care. This page, like many other organizational Facebook pages, is a place where previously published information is gathered from across the internet and published in one convenient place. Continue reading