From Foster Care Film to Family Preservation

What started several years ago as a documentary about former foster youth grows into a mission to strengthen families After working in foster care for more than a decade, there’s one question that’s never far from Matt Anderson’s mind: How do we strengthen families to prevent kids from entering foster care? As a vice president […]

Caring for Kids Who Don’t Look Like Me

Two weeks after becoming a licensed foster family, we sat at dinner with a 4-year-old boy who had joined us a few days before. He glanced around the table, then said, “How come you all are white?” What followed was not a proud parenting moment. I explained that my ancestors had light skin because they […]

I Thought You’d Never Ask

How coaching questions can lead to meaningful conversations with youth in foster care This was not the first time Luke sat in this chair in the principal’s office, nor the first time Erin had gone to the school to address a corrective plan for the misconduct of the youth living in her foster home. That […]

3 Reasons to Give Someone Else Credit

People often associate professional athletes with ego and self-interest. However, one of the things I’ve noticed over the years is how good many of them are at sharing credit with their teammates at press conferences. When an athlete gets asked by a reporter about a spectacular play they made, they will often deflect the praise […]

Hello, My Name Is… June in April

More Than a Name: Understanding the Complexities in Adoption It never fails. Every time I meet someone for the first time and we exchange names, what comes next from the other person is something like, “I was born in April,” or “My sister/mother/best friend was born in April,” or “Is your middle name May?” The […]

Making a Difference

How to help the children in your care improve their lives. My 22- year-old adopted son was home for Christmas from the army for 10 days. We don’t know when we will see each other again. His presence here over the holidays triggered much reflection of my younger days of housing 35+ teen boys from […]

Father Figures

Former foster youth Kodi Baughman shares how the various men in his life impacted him Some of the earliest childhood memories I have involving my father include talking to him — a stranger — through a phone call. I did not truly understand the value or importance behind those calls, and it was awkward being […]

Instead of a Hot Dog

It was a hot summer day when Phil Sallaway met his future son at an adoption event. He shares what it was like meeting Aaron for the first time. It was a hot summer day at Farnsworth Park in Pasadena, California. The city is on the back side of Los Angeles, up against the mountains, […]

Dad Times Two

Thomas and PJ McKay, 29 and 34, had long wanted to be parents. They watched “Instant Family” and “The Fosters” and envisioned themselves offering a loving home to foster youth. But living in Tennessee, they worried about how they would be treated by judges, court professionals and caseworkers. Would they be accepted? Two years later, […]

How to Prepare College-Bound Young People

What is the experience for youth in foster care wanting to attend college? And what resources do they have? I remember sitting on the edge of my bed while staring blankly at the ridges in the carpet; I had just moved to my fourth foster home and realized I knew absolutely nothing about myself. I […]