Christina, you are such an amazing human! Just in general, but I *always* see you supporting Jess everywhere...her channel, and when she's on other channels. Idk how you find the time for what you do. Im a SAHM of a 9yr old boy and a 14 yr old daughter, and *no* RUclips channel, and I can barely find time to take my daughter to HS soccer 5 days a week! 😆
Same here. I had that epoxy ad and then this badass tomboyx ad with this badass girl who is an amputee (right under her waist down was removed) and she's a skateboarder. She is Gorgeous.
Katie saying that foster parents and birth parents that are basically a blended family, I couldn’t agree more with that. My son is in foster care I am getting him back next month and I couldn’t be more grateful for my sons foster parents they will forever be apart of our family
Thank you all so so so much!! It means the absolute world to me, you have no idea I’ve worked my butt off to fix my screw up and it finally is paying off 💖💕
Marie Antoinette Paddelboot it’s always the initial goal, until the biological parent proves that reunification is not the best option for the child. It could be the goal for all of five minutes but the first goal is always to try for reunification.
@@melliek8787 my sister's mom is mentally challenged to the point that she can't take care of my sister, so she came into our home via fostering. There was never ever a moment when reunification was discussed or an option. She came to us when she was 6 weeks old and spent all of her life growing up with us. Her mom can't take care of her and we are her family. We see the birth mom from time to time and always have so there was never a secret or so. Reunification was never the goal but neither was adoption. Foster care was exactly what worked for us
Also, that story about Micah reacting to bringing the new baby home reminded me of a story of my own: I'm 2 and a half years younger than my sister, my cousin Mae is 3 months older than me. Apparently my sister thought that I was her baby cousin, because 2 weeks into my stay she goes "when is baby Mae Mae going back to Charlston?" Imagine her dismay when she realized that she was no longer an only child!
There should be more foster parents like Katie. I knew someone who was abused in foster care so it's kind of a touchy subject but knowing there's people like her out there makes me feel a little better.
Almost 3 years clean. DCPP held my hand the whole process. I thank them bc they saw my potential and didn’t give up on me. My kids are my life and they reminded me of that.💚💚💚💚
Going on 4 years since I last wrote this post. I can’t believe it’s been 4 years!! Feels like a lifetime ago... Thank you all so much for your kind words. It helps!! X-Blessings
Did you see the new law in Canada for laurention university where if a child is raised in foster care they’ll receive free education?! Making Small steps to big changes❤️
It's such a huge step towards helping break the cycle of poverty. It really is amazing. Most of these kids have been to hell and back, it's such a small gift towards a brighter future! 💜💜💜
This is huge. Many people leave or get kicked out at 18 with sometimes no where to go and no family and no monetary support. This would set them up for a great sustainable life ♥️
I'm on my work computer, not phone so ****1000 blue hearts**** Katie did amazing. She didn't come across nervous at all. Maybe there's a future foster mom life channel in her future? ;-). You look like sisters -- both gawgggeous!!
Fostering is my future! I’ve known since I was 12 that I didn’t want biological kids & am 25 now. I’m working on getting my home ready and my finances in order. Thank you both so much for this video!
I’m not even 10 minutes into this video and I’m already trying not to cry. I have such a special place in my heart for foster kids as a gymnastics coach and I think foster care is such an amazing and wonderful thing ❤️
I think it’s so smart that they’re going to contribute to increase the age they accept as they get older. She sounds like she did a lot of research which is so wonderful and refreshing! Great video thank you Jess 💞 Forever impressed and proud of your story and how far you’ve come.
I used to foster dogs and it was an AMAZING experience. I worked with a rescue that took dogs from death row & abuse situations. It was beautiful to see the transformation of their trust of humans, their behavior, & to genuinely see them happy for once! But god it’s so heartbreaking to let them go.
Katie is definitely a Angel sent from above. She was put here for what she does and it shows. Most definitely need more Katie's to help kids out. It was something I always wanted to do once my youngest got older but as my daughter got older my health took a huge turn and I wasn't able to dont see anything changes but so glad she talked about something that is so needed 😘
The fact that my brain can focus on all your longer videos without me being distracted is hugeeeeee for me probably due to all the fascinating lessons and stories I learn about from your personal experiences as you use this platform for good!!
My MIL owns a private daycare & the majority of the kids she watches is in Foster care. It's amazing to see the transformation made from their 1st day when they come in, malnourished half the time, sometimes bruises all over them, hanging their heads when you try to talk to them & then see them a few months later very healthy & happy❤. I get SO attached to them.
She felt uncomfortable talking about the compensation. It is O.K. - if it would be charity, how many people would be able to afford it, while also having the willinness and ability to do it ?? - She was or is stay at home (when she got her first foster child), and even if she works she has to be flexible for the sake of the child that is lost. This not a well oiled machine with a well adjusted kid, that _can_ be handed over to a neighbour for sitting, if she would have a change of plans. The foster kids are already traumatized enough, so the environment has to be very steady and the circle of persons they have to deal with (while their world is upended) has to remain small. In other words: children before job, and that excludes demanding jobs or those who require some flexibility from employee. so if she _can_ work at all, she has to stick to predictable jobs, you show up, you go home and you can leve it all there at the workplace. That's not the kind of jobs, that offer a lot of career chances or good pay. So she foregoes to bring in money in another job, instead she cares for children. She would be paid as a nurse, childcare worker, teacher. I doubt the compensation is that much to compensate for the lost income of a job - but it is certainly O.K. to get more out of it than the extra expenditures.
This reminds me of how much I want to adopt one day. I want to adopt and Indigenous kid bc I’m Indigenous and so many indigenous children get placed in homes that don’t understand our culture. I’m not sure full time fostering would be for me but the idea of respisecare is very interesting. Once I have an established life i think I will look into it more.
@@jeffjavens1215 O yes i really believe so She met Jesus because no one alone can give up such an ADDICTIVE drug METH and Heroin and CRACK,shes an inspiration to all.
Dang Katie girl, hitting home with the concept, “If you’re doing it right...” Amen, Sister! I personally feel like there’s been societal hierarchies placed on people who adopt vs foster vs foster to adopt etc. and adoption can be often seen as “sainthood” and fostering can be often seen as a greedy and even neglecting field. Yet, there are people with negative motives, and bad intentions within EVERY area of life! Way to shine a BEAUTIFUL and honest light on the need to come together FOR OUR CHILDREN! 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽 THANK YOU for your vulnerability 💜 #KeepOnKeepinOnBabe 💪🏽👊🏽💥 👶🏼👧🏻🧒🏽👦🏾👱🏻♀️🧑🏻👩🏿🦱👩🏻🦰👱🏻♀️ 🙋🏿♂️🙋🏽♀️🙋🏾♂️🙋🏼♀️🙋🏻♂️🙋🏾♀️🙋🏼♂️🙋🏽♀️🙋🏻♀️
I was adopted by my older sister along with my 2 other siblings in 2009. (My mom relied on men and drugs and didn’t put her children first) But first before my sister adopted us we had to go through foster care systems to see if my mom could change her ways but she didnt so the courts let my sister adopted us.. She was only 23 years old when she started fostering us, she was pregnant with her first child but lost it in a car accident from a drunk driver (plus a fracture pelvis) but that didn’t stop her from taking care of us. My little sister was entering kindergarten and now she’s a senior in hs.. I’m so happy there’s fosters care/adoption. We also went to respite care once a month which is cool because I met someone pretty amazing people there. Everything your friend is saying in NY is basically the same way in AZ! Thank you for sharing her story with us💙
I love how you’re bringing awareness to the great need for good foster parents! It’s especially refreshing that as someone who has had a child go into care, you don’t view them as the enemy as so many parents do! I plan to be a foster parent & I will try to be as loving and supportive to birth parents as possible! It makes me feel so much better to know that there are some bio parents out there who will see it as a co-parenting relationship rather than a battle!
I am glad to see Katie again. In-person interviews are so great. Great topic. Amazing that you two are still friends. It's great when we can change, go through things, and return to our friends. She (and her parents) are inspiring! ALSO HER HAIR IS GORGEOUS!
Katie, you and Tim-Tom are beautiful souls! To give the gift of love and security at the risk of your own heartbreak is such a beautiful story in this ugly world. You are giving these kids a chance at life, success and knowing true love, yet still fully supporting their parent(s). Jessica, introducing us to Katie, someone who is so beautiful and kind-hearted screams what a true gem you are yourself! You attract like minded people and it’s a shame that with the personal lows and more importantly, the successes both you and Reece have had that you aren’t eligible to become Foster parents. With your life history, you’d have so much knowledge and hope to the Foster care system! Thanks again for another amazing story🥰🥰
Foster, Adopted, Blood if you're caring for a child under your roof you're a parent, I'm adopted and my mom will always be my mom no matter what. She watched me come out of the womb so there's literally no difference.💟💟💟 Love you so much jess💟💟💟 XOXO
This is so fascinating from my perspective. I spent most of my childhood in foster care because my mother was an addict. I am here in your comments to complete the foster care perspective trifecta 😂 Edit: oof. So hard to always hear about not taking teens. It makes sense but it’s so so hard to place teens. I would’ve loved having an adult closer to my age that remembered what being a teenager is like, and someone who could have guided me into adulthood.
Thank you so much for what you and your husband do! My daughter was put into foster care at birth and I got her back when she was 6 months old by working my butt off and staying clean. My foster mom was amazing! Her whole family was! After I got my baby back she said she was only doing respite for a long time because it hurt her so much when the babies went home. She loved my daughter like her own so I get it. It has to be hard! I moved out of the town where she was born almost a year ago and my baby will be 2 in 20 days but I still send her pics every once in a while.
What an amazing and mature young lady!! 💕 It kind of feels like they should require more to keep up your certification. I don’t say that to insult her but just to protect the kids in the bad foster homes. 🏚
I have the total opposite opinion. Yes, I do think that foster parents should have a yearly interview with an experienced social worker or psychologist who might sense if you are kind of straying away, but the four hours yearly course is, in my opinion, just a way for politicians to say that they did all that they could when something goes terribly wrong. You do not need a yearly reminder that you must cover the electric outlets, or that you must include some greens in the diet. Many of us birth parents have managed to do perfectly reasonable work without courses. On the other hand, you must ask yourself how active foster homes are being visited monthly by social workers and still there are bad foster homes. Whatever is wrong in the system, it will be better dealt with by improving the visits, not by requiring longer yearly courses.
Thank you. I got my son back weeks ago. Worked very hard and guys this was all over a one night lapse, I e actually been clean 5 years April, 1,2014 so never think for one second that because ur clean, that a slip, just one night it will be ok and your life won't change from that single mistake! Mine did, 💯 I never thought in a million years that the next day my life would change. I damaged my family relationships, friendships excetera. I love the foster family the took me and my son as new members to their family. We were very blessed.
💙💙💙💙 I love this relationship dynamic! Seeing 2 friends grow in separate ways & then make it back together. I can’t wait to be a foster mom! Greg & I are planning on doing that once we are in a position to be able to do it. I want to make sure that we can provide for Emerson first, and then I will spend the rest of my life supporting other littles & teenagers! Edit: PA allows felons to be foster parents as long as you pass the classes & home visits. As long as your record has been clean for X amount of years, you can do it!
Thank you for your videos! So awesome seeing people making a positive difference from their struggles and experiences. Addiction is something we MUST keep talking about. It’s affecting more of us than we likely realize. When I was deep in my addiction I was so afraid to get help. I was a Mormon mom who was living a life that wasn’t authentic to myself. I had been taking care of my stepmom and dad prior to their passing away. I was isolated, terrified and knew that if I didn’t get help soon...my children would end up finding me dead. I made the decision to go to rehab and it was the best decision I’ve ever made!!! Yet it would have been a better situation if we were having conversations about how it’s affecting EVERYONE!!! Even the stay at home mom who lived in a religious household. Since then my life has changed DRASTICALLY! I married my first middle school love, blended our family of 9 and are now running our own dog grooming shop in our hometown. Recovery is possible! We need to continue sharing our stories and getting the information out that there is hope! Thank you for being awesomely you!
I have been in foster care for 3 months when I was 4 or 5 years old. It's very interesting to see the parents side. I really hope that one day I will be able to either adopt or get foster children. I just want to give something back
I have 4 kids 1 girl who is 5 then 3 boys who are 4, 2 and 1. I would love to foster little beans eventually. I love kids and if my husband and I can make even a little difference for a child and their parents that would mean everything to me.
For all the people who want to foster in the future, there are lots of ways to serve other than being a foster parent. 1) Help existing foster parents with babysitting, breaks, taking meals with new placements/going to store etc. 2) Become a CASA (court appointed special advocate) Bio parents have their own lawyer, foster agency has a lawyer, kids have a lawyer (or should) but the CASA is supposed to watch out for the child's best interest. 3) Check if your area has a Citizen Review Board. The board reviews X number of cases/case files a year to make sure policy is being followed and that the child is getting everything they should. 4) Many areas have 'clothing closets' which offer clothes and supplies. Help gather stuff and organize clothes etc.
I absolutely love this video. I had a friend growing up who's parents were foster parents. I would see kids come and go and it broke my heart. Some kids had it so hard and it was tough to see. The world needs more people like Katie.
Katie is such a beautiful person. It takes a special person to be a foster parent. Great video! Thank you Katie and Tim for opening your home to the kids who need one.💞
Fourth year foster parent here, thanks for having someone discuss what we do in a positive light. We receive so much backlash at times and it’s great seeing another wonderful foster mom. I’m from Arkansas and when you said 17 calls I was floored. I would say I get an average of 5 calls a week. It’s the hardest job, but the most rewarding. Keep up good relationships with the bio families, it’s so worth it.
Wow your friend is amazing. It nice of her open her home for help a foster kid. I was foster kid since I was 6. My first home was abusive. They did it for the wrong reasons. Luckily my second foster home was good. I got adopted in their cared. 😀
💙What an awesome woman. Thank You for raising awareness to another important topic..Foster Care. It is such an unselfish gift to help families during hard times. I had a different experience with Foster Parents when I placed my daughter up for adoption when I was young. They took care of her while I made my final decision & chose a permanent home for the daughter I loved so dearly but was too young to care for on my own. YOU CAN NEVER HAVE TOO MUCH LOVE FOR A CHILD! 22 years later we ALL still meet yearly to celebrate our special bond. The foster parents, myself & my daughters adoptive parents...It’s a meaningful & awesome celebration of all the people who loved her when she was born until this very day! 💙
Jess, this is a nice thing that you've done highlighting this foster friend of yours for such a good reason...to increase awareness of foster families. Thanks for doing that...I've known 2 friends so far that are doing foster care...wonderful thing they are doing.
I had a little boy for a year and he suddenly got placed with family. In the matter of a few hours he was gone and I fell apart. I have a piece of my heart with all of the foster littles that came and went.
This of all of your videos has resonated w me so much. We are now at our 2 year anniversary of fostering. All of the paperwork, appointments, falling in love with all of the children takes a toll but we would do it all over again to be a light in these kids lives
There is a other great foster family on you tube. The channel is called... BE THE VILLAGE. they are a wonderful family, and the mom is such a sweetheart
Thanks for sharing! I’ve been trying to find people that foster with channels! Do you know of any others besides Be The Village? (And not crazy middles/crazy pieces. although I watch them sometimes they aren’t an accurate representation of what it’s like being a foster parent at all. They have already closed their license and have 30 kids between 2 families who are adopted out of foster care. They more are a “adoption after foster care” channel.) Since reunification is the goal, and most people that foster don’t have 20 foster children, I would love to find more people who are a better representation of what foster care is ACTUALLY like! I’m sure it’s really hard though since you can’t show the kids or reveal a ton of details so people watching videos are left in the dark. I wouldn’t even know where to begin to vlog stuff. So it would be great to see anyone else that’s figured it out lol!
My sister has 8 foster kids in her home right now she has adopted 6 of them and also has 3 kids of her own!! Shes so amazing and helps these kids through alot of their problems!!! Her kids range from 3 yrs old to 17 yrs old!!
well now iam kinda pissed, i was a foster child / ward of the state. i was put in the worst foster n group homes. that abuse in everyway. to see a good one makes me feel cheated. but i love that there are good ones like you. so thank you!
Once my nest is empty....we've been thinking about fostering a child. We've only 2 bedroom house. So only one bedroom available for a child. Which is my daughters room now. It's a tiny house...i wonder if that's ok. As well as we've got 3 dogs! 3 cats.
Excellent topic. Foster Care children need good, trusting, qualified and loving homes. I salute those who step up when our fellow Americans/s are in need. Our social eco system is in trouble. The fact we need people to raise other people's children is a sign that our sociatal structure is coming apart at the glue. The positive aspect is that, the saying "it takes a village to raise a child", holds true. Great video! Much Respect to Katie and TimTom 😆 💙
I love her outlook on fostering. I've been working to get my daughter back home since i had her, she's placed with my boyfriend's dad and step mom who seemed to be so on board and supportive at first, but we've been a year clean and working towards a better life and getting her home since day one, we've now found they refer to us as just a couple of addicts who did this to ourselves, which may be, but no acknowledgment of all we've done this last year getting sober getting our lives together and supporting and being there every step of the way for our girl. It's such a hard situation but it's so good to see someone supporting both the children and the parents. I think it's often forgotten the goal is to hopefully stay reunification with safe and healthy parents who can raise healthy happy children. She and her husband are amazing people for doing this. You're videos give me so much hope and inspiration.
This taught me so much! I've always wanted to foster once I'm married and settled (many years in the future lol) and there's so much here that I hadn't thought about. Like the "the goal is not adoption" like as soon as you explained that I was like omg duh but I hadn't considered it before. Such a good video, thanks for spreading the word!
it’s so inspiring to see a mom who’s kid was in care, but is back home. My siblings and I have been in care for 3 years, and at times it feels like i’ll never get to go back to my mom.
I love this! I've always wanted to be a foster parent but I'm a single mom with a full time job so it's unfortunately not possible right now. It breaks my heart bc I'd do it in a minute if it was a possibility. Foster parents are amazing!!
Thank you for stepping up. You really are helpung to save lives. Even if it's just giving children a solid mental foundation to grow up healthy. 💕 There is such a MASSIVE need for foster parents who are willing/able to take teenagers. Children in their late teens are at that age where they have probably been in the system for years. They may have not gotten the proper guidance & taught life skills (how to sign up for college, apply for jobs, balance money, & just be an adult in general) I would love to be a foster mom to that age range but unfortunately I'm not able due to multiple reasons but maybe some day.
This is awesome!!! Jess I love all your videos but the last 2 weeks have been amazing💙💙💙 great job! I still talk to the foster mom that my daughter went to 12 years ago. Thankfully she was the best. She was so good to my daughter. Katie your job is very hard but so rewarding. Keep up the good work.
I love co parenting with our current bio family ♡ there are times we or any foster parents have to pull back depending on how they are working their plan etc .
I would love to be a foster parent when I'm finished with school and more financially stable. Because of my journey with addiction, I would love to foster or adopt children who have been affected by that in some way. There are so many kids out there who need a home, love, and support. I thought it was beautiful when she said that the goal is not adoption but reunification. You can tell that she has such a good heart 💙💙💙💙💙
My family has been a foster family for 7 years and it is so worth it! We have had over 20 kids and have loved each one so deeply! Love this video and all this information is so true! DO FOSTER CARE!!!
I love love love this perspective. I was a foster parent for 3 years. We had 12 placements (2 at a time, all under 2 years old). Our goal was always reunification, but was so hard to let them go too! We had some for 1 night and some for 13 months....and you are so right, if you don't grieve it, then you aren't giving the kids what they need! LOVE
Need more ppl in this world like Katie to help & break the cycle! Thank you so much Katie & "Tim Tom" for doing what you do! You both are truly amazing ppl! 🙏🏻💙💙💙🙌🏻
💙💙 wow Jess your friend is soo amazing to do what she does , my Husband and I also had to take these classes to keep our grandson out of the system per DHS . We've now had him for approximately 9 years now. GOD truly blessed 🙌 us with him he's our blessing from above. Thanks for giving us these videos that are so real , and so you !! You are truly an amazing person ❤ ♥
It’s amazing that this whole video is out there on the internet now for people considering foster care to see. I also LOVE seeing so many comments from people whose children were in foster care that were reunified with their children. And people saying how much the support of the foster parents was so helpful and how it’s one big family. When we started looking into becoming foster parents and started doing research a lot of what we found made it seem like we could just easily foster to adopt. Even DFS didn’t fully try to make sure people understood that reunification is the goal, NOT adoption. I think it’s REALLY important for anyone considering becoming a foster parent to understand this before they go into it. I see so many people who aren’t supportive of the birth parent and get frustrated wanting to adopt their foster “child”(I don’t really love that word bc it’s NOT their child. I normally use placement but that doesn’t fit here. But want to make it clear what I mean!) I think understanding and coming to terms first BEFORE even going into training to have foster children in our home was SO SO important for us and changed everything. We went into it wanting to support the birth parent as much as possible no matter what happened. It just makes it so much harder when people start fostering thinking they are going to adopt and that a child should stay with them. I hope that anyone who stumbles across this video at any point in the future and is considering becoming a foster parent sees all of the comments from people who worked their butts off and were reunified with their children. And if someone sees this and is considering becoming a foster parent, know that although it’s hard it’s SO rewarding. It’s also truly amazing to see a parents progression and working their program to be reunited with their child. It’s hard to love and get attached to a child and have to say goodbye, but it’s SO much easier when you can see the happy ending with them being reunited with their parent. Remember reunification is the goal, but you can change both the child AND the parents life by supporting the birth parent as they work to get their child back! Seeing Jess’ perspective motivates me even more to support parents for reunification to happen! I work with babies born with neonatal abstinence syndrome and I’m so glad their is someone out their showing birth parents IT IS possible to get your life together, to stay sober and to be reunified with your child! I can’t believe it too this long for a video showing the different perspectives of both the foster parent and the birth parent. It’s SO necessary. Thank you for making it. You are going to help so many people from this video! I am definitely sharing this with EVERYONE I know who is involved in foster care! ❤️
This was a fantastic video Jess !! Thank you so much for sharing your friend’s experience with us. Hopefully this was a little push that was needed for some ppl thinking about fostering children. Thanks again ❤️
What a great video Jess and Katie!!! Shame on the 7 ppl who disliked this video. What is there to dislike about this awesome thing these women are doing to help so many? Bless you two women for all you do!!❤❤❤
I learned a lot from this video. I’ve decided I don’t want to have any children biologically but I’ve always thought about adoption/foster care. This video was very informative. Thank you for making it! Katie is amazing and I find her story just as inspiring as yours. You two have such a varied experience it’s really great hearing your perspectives. 💙💙💙
In my area, foster care agencies are starting to expect foster families not to give a race preference and to be willing to serve children of any race. It is really upsetting that a foster family would give a race preference. There is no good reason for it. Thank you for stating that foster care is about reunification! Reunification is always the first goal. :)
Chelsie Cotten...I was just thinking, shouldn’t it be a red flag that someone isn’t really fit for foster parenting if they have a race preference? There’s literally no reason other than prejudice to be unwilling to give a child a *temporary* home just because of their ethnicity 😒
@@vanessaf7259 Yes, i agree. I think it would be a red flag. I've seen it in the past with people from more than one race wanting kids of the race that matched them. It may not always be prejudice. It could be laziness (not wanting to learn how to do hair you're not familiar with), not wanting to deal with West other people think and wanting to match because of that, or maybe having family who are prejudice. But regardless of the reason, i don't think it should be something foster parents are allowed to choose a preference about. My agency had us agree to serve kids of any race, which we would do anyway, even if it wasn't required.
She did great! 💙 ive always wanted to foster. My neice and nephews went into foster care a couple years ago. We occasionally run into the foster family and theyre so so great. I was so scared for them while they were away because i just didnt know what type of family they were with. But im so grateful that they took in 3 kids under 3! Now the kids are with my mother in law full time and she just took in their 3month old sister that's not even her grandchild! She didnt want her to be adopted out and be lost from her sister and brothers. Shes a warrior! If my mother in law didnt step up for them they'd be adopted out by now and we would never see them again. Their parents never tried to get them back and are still on the wrong path. I could never give up on my child.
💙💙💙💙💙💙💙 We need more Katies... You are just so genuinely loving and such a sweetheart!! Thanks so much for this interview, I'm SURE you are making a difference!!
I didnt have an ideal childhood but no foster care but i had friends who were but their experiences were really awful. Thank God for people like Katie! I wanted to do foster care but my husband is a permanent resident not a citizen and they wont let us apply until he gets his citizenship which is !$1000ish. But Katie...u ROCK!!
💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙 That was so Heartwarming Katie & Tim-Tom are such wonderful people! To make this choice is not an easy undertaking & honestly my misconceptions have always been on the other side...hearing what “horrible people” have my friend’s son but obviously I don’t think she’s emotionally capable of seeing it through the other side cuz they’re always going to be her enemy when she actually should look inward. Would love another video geared towards your experience with the Foster system that obviously went seemingly well since Micah is clearly amazing!! But this was an incredibly moving interview to hear it from the other side when there’s typically such a negative stigma...
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Watching all the ads to help my girl out 🙏🏼💙
Me too girl!! All the way through.
Same! With both of y’all! 💙💯💙
Christina, you are such an amazing human! Just in general, but I *always* see you supporting Jess everywhere...her channel, and when she's on other channels. Idk how you find the time for what you do. Im a SAHM of a 9yr old boy and a 14 yr old daughter, and *no* RUclips channel, and I can barely find time to take my daughter to HS soccer 5 days a week! 😆
Same here. I had that epoxy ad and then this badass tomboyx ad with this badass girl who is an amputee (right under her waist down was removed) and she's a skateboarder. She is Gorgeous.
Same!! I watch all ur ads also Grandma Christina! 😘
Katie saying that foster parents and birth parents that are basically a blended family, I couldn’t agree more with that. My son is in foster care I am getting him back next month and I couldn’t be more grateful for my sons foster parents they will forever be apart of our family
Congrats!! Thats amazing!!
Congratulations Shannon That’s Amazing!!!
Shannon McCarthy congratulations on getting your son back 💞
Thank you all so so so much!! It means the absolute world to me, you have no idea I’ve worked my butt off to fix my screw up and it finally is paying off 💖💕
Shannon McCarthy: why is your son in foster care???
Your friend is an angel 😇
Isn't she!? Love her
Amen 🙏 not religious
Thank god you said the goal isn't adoption. And thank you for letting the birth parents play an important part.
YES! Coming from a foster parent, reunification with their birth parent is ALWAYS the goal!
@@kellyyoung7117 that's awesome. People always ask me why I'm against adoption.. I'm not against adoption, im against unnecessary adoption.
@@kellyyoung7117 it's not always the goal.
Marie Antoinette Paddelboot it’s always the initial goal, until the biological parent proves that reunification is not the best option for the child. It could be the goal for all of five minutes but the first goal is always to try for reunification.
@@melliek8787 my sister's mom is mentally challenged to the point that she can't take care of my sister, so she came into our home via fostering. There was never ever a moment when reunification was discussed or an option. She came to us when she was 6 weeks old and spent all of her life growing up with us. Her mom can't take care of her and we are her family. We see the birth mom from time to time and always have so there was never a secret or so.
Reunification was never the goal but neither was adoption. Foster care was exactly what worked for us
Also, that story about Micah reacting to bringing the new baby home reminded me of a story of my own: I'm 2 and a half years younger than my sister, my cousin Mae is 3 months older than me. Apparently my sister thought that I was her baby cousin, because 2 weeks into my stay she goes "when is baby Mae Mae going back to Charlston?" Imagine her dismay when she realized that she was no longer an only child!
There should be more foster parents like Katie. I knew someone who was abused in foster care so it's kind of a touchy subject but knowing there's people like her out there makes me feel a little better.
stillpril Check out Be the Village, they’re amazing!
Almost 3 years clean. DCPP held my hand the whole process. I thank them bc they saw my potential and didn’t give up on me. My kids are my life and they reminded me of that.💚💚💚💚
so proud of you! keep going!
That’s wonderful!! Congratulations on such a huge accomplishment!! I’m always so happy and proud to see posts like this. You’re doing amazing. ❤️
Proud of your sobriety 🙏❤ much love! xoxoxo
Going on 4 years since I last wrote this post. I can’t believe it’s been 4 years!! Feels like a lifetime ago... Thank you all so much for your kind words. It helps!! X-Blessings
Did you see the new law in Canada for laurention university where if a child is raised in foster care they’ll receive free education?! Making Small steps to big changes❤️
It's such a huge step towards helping break the cycle of poverty. It really is amazing. Most of these kids have been to hell and back, it's such a small gift towards a brighter future! 💜💜💜
That is incredible
Washington State does this already
This is huge. Many people leave or get kicked out at 18 with sometimes no where to go and no family and no monetary support. This would set them up for a great sustainable life ♥️
Only for university and most kids are moved so much that's not possible
"you're essentially a blended family" what a beautiful way of putting it. The families in Katie's care are so blessed
I'm on my work computer, not phone so ****1000 blue hearts**** Katie did amazing. She didn't come across nervous at all. Maybe there's a future foster mom life channel in her future? ;-). You look like sisters -- both gawgggeous!!
Ro Clausen right! There’s a great flow between them. Totally agree. More videos in the future I hope! Katie seems so genuine and kind.
Fostering is my future! I’ve known since I was 12 that I didn’t want biological kids & am 25 now. I’m working on getting my home ready and my finances in order. Thank you both so much for this video!
Me too!!!
I’m not even 10 minutes into this video and I’m already trying not to cry. I have such a special place in my heart for foster kids as a gymnastics coach and I think foster care is such an amazing and wonderful thing ❤️
I think it’s so smart that they’re going to contribute to increase the age they accept as they get older. She sounds like she did a lot of research which is so wonderful and refreshing! Great video thank you Jess 💞 Forever impressed and proud of your story and how far you’ve come.
Anyone willing to help a kid in need; is a god send!
I used to foster dogs and it was an AMAZING experience. I worked with a rescue that took dogs from death row & abuse situations. It was beautiful to see the transformation of their trust of humans, their behavior, & to genuinely see them happy for once! But god it’s so heartbreaking to let them go.
Love the way y’all interact with each other , you can see how close you are. She’s an amazing human, and TimTom for what they do ❤️
Katie is definitely a Angel sent from above. She was put here for what she does and it shows. Most definitely need more Katie's to help kids out. It was something I always wanted to do once my youngest got older but as my daughter got older my health took a huge turn and I wasn't able to dont see anything changes but so glad she talked about something that is so needed 😘
*You should have her make an amazon wish list for us to help her! ! She deserves it so much!!*
Jessica -aka JessaNae Great Idea!
#jeskent
Great idea!
fellow foster mom here. you did a great job representing and explaining the misconceptions! 💙💙💙
"Let her walk around!" 😅 Oh sweet little Micah. 😍
The fact that my brain can focus on all your longer videos without me being distracted is hugeeeeee for me probably due to all the fascinating lessons and stories I learn about from your personal experiences as you use this platform for good!!
My MIL owns a private daycare & the majority of the kids she watches is in Foster care. It's amazing to see the transformation made from their 1st day when they come in, malnourished half the time, sometimes bruises all over them, hanging their heads when you try to talk to them & then see them a few months later very healthy & happy❤. I get SO attached to them.
It's so, so reasurring to hear that you have to take classes regarding sexual abuse. This was a really awesome video. Very interesting 💜
Also, Katie, you and Tom have big, beautiful hearts! 💙💜💙
No way that's your friend! she looks like your sister
Y'all are literally twins! 👌🏻🖤
Dalicia Puente I just paused the video and did a double take and thought the same thing 🤣
I was thinking the same! "Wow, they could be sisters!" Lol
thought they looked like sisters.
She felt uncomfortable talking about the compensation. It is O.K. - if it would be charity, how many people would be able to afford it, while also having the willinness and ability to do it ?? - She was or is stay at home (when she got her first foster child), and even if she works she has to be flexible for the sake of the child that is lost.
This not a well oiled machine with a well adjusted kid, that _can_ be handed over to a neighbour for sitting, if she would have a change of plans. The foster kids are already traumatized enough, so the environment has to be very steady and the circle of persons they have to deal with (while their world is upended) has to remain small.
In other words: children before job, and that excludes demanding jobs or those who require some flexibility from employee.
so if she _can_ work at all, she has to stick to predictable jobs, you show up, you go home and you can leve it all there at the workplace. That's not the kind of jobs, that offer a lot of career chances or good pay.
So she foregoes to bring in money in another job, instead she cares for children. She would be paid as a nurse, childcare worker, teacher. I doubt the compensation is that much to compensate for the lost income of a job - but it is certainly O.K. to get more out of it than the extra expenditures.
This reminds me of how much I want to adopt one day. I want to adopt and Indigenous kid bc I’m Indigenous and so many indigenous children get placed in homes that don’t understand our culture. I’m not sure full time fostering would be for me but the idea of respisecare is very interesting. Once I have an established life i think I will look into it more.
Jess you have helped so many people out with addiction that you don't even know about,keep doing what your doing girl,love your videos.
She really does! 💖
@@jeffjavens1215 O yes i really believe so She met Jesus because no one alone can give up such an ADDICTIVE drug METH and Heroin and CRACK,shes an inspiration to all.
Farmer please don’t tell someone that they can’t recover just because they don’t believe in a higher power.
Dang Katie girl, hitting home with the concept, “If you’re doing it right...” Amen, Sister! I personally feel like there’s been societal hierarchies placed on people who adopt vs foster vs foster to adopt etc. and adoption can be often seen as “sainthood” and fostering can be often seen as a greedy and even neglecting field. Yet, there are people with negative motives, and bad intentions within EVERY area of life!
Way to shine a BEAUTIFUL and honest light on the need to come together FOR OUR CHILDREN!
👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽
THANK YOU for your vulnerability 💜
#KeepOnKeepinOnBabe 💪🏽👊🏽💥
👶🏼👧🏻🧒🏽👦🏾👱🏻♀️🧑🏻👩🏿🦱👩🏻🦰👱🏻♀️
🙋🏿♂️🙋🏽♀️🙋🏾♂️🙋🏼♀️🙋🏻♂️🙋🏾♀️🙋🏼♂️🙋🏽♀️🙋🏻♀️
I was adopted by my older sister along with my 2 other siblings in 2009. (My mom relied on men and drugs and didn’t put her children first) But first before my sister adopted us we had to go through foster care systems to see if my mom could change her ways but she didnt so the courts let my sister adopted us.. She was only 23 years old when she started fostering us, she was pregnant with her first child but lost it in a car accident from a drunk driver (plus a fracture pelvis) but that didn’t stop her from taking care of us. My little sister was entering kindergarten and now she’s a senior in hs.. I’m so happy there’s fosters care/adoption. We also went to respite care once a month which is cool because I met someone pretty amazing people there. Everything your friend is saying in NY is basically the same way in AZ! Thank you for sharing her story with us💙
I love how you’re bringing awareness to the great need for good foster parents! It’s especially refreshing that as someone who has had a child go into care, you don’t view them as the enemy as so many parents do! I plan to be a foster parent & I will try to be as loving and supportive to birth parents as possible! It makes me feel so much better to know that there are some bio parents out there who will see it as a co-parenting relationship rather than a battle!
I am glad to see Katie again. In-person interviews are so great. Great topic. Amazing that you two are still friends. It's great when we can change, go through things, and return to our friends. She (and her parents) are inspiring! ALSO HER HAIR IS GORGEOUS!
Katie, you and Tim-Tom are beautiful souls! To give the gift of love and security at the risk of your own heartbreak is such a beautiful story in this ugly world. You are giving these kids a chance at life, success and knowing true love, yet still fully supporting their parent(s).
Jessica, introducing us to Katie, someone who is so beautiful and kind-hearted screams what a true gem you are yourself! You attract like minded people and it’s a shame that with the personal lows and more importantly, the successes both you and Reece have had that you aren’t eligible to become Foster parents. With your life history, you’d have so much knowledge and hope to the Foster care system!
Thanks again for another amazing story🥰🥰
Foster, Adopted, Blood if you're caring for a child under your roof you're a parent, I'm adopted and my mom will always be my mom no matter what. She watched me come out of the womb so there's literally no difference.💟💟💟 Love you so much jess💟💟💟 XOXO
Props for doing a video on this topic! 👏
My sister is a foster mom ❤️
💙💙💙 People like Katie renew my faith in the world
Foster parents are some amazing humans!! You can genuinely see how much y’all care about each other 🥰
Awwwww like I think she’s amazing❤️ We need more people like her!
This is so fascinating from my perspective. I spent most of my childhood in foster care because my mother was an addict. I am here in your comments to complete the foster care perspective trifecta 😂
Edit: oof. So hard to always hear about not taking teens. It makes sense but it’s so so hard to place teens. I would’ve loved having an adult closer to my age that remembered what being a teenager is like, and someone who could have guided me into adulthood.
Thank you so much for what you and your husband do! My daughter was put into foster care at birth and I got her back when she was 6 months old by working my butt off and staying clean. My foster mom was amazing! Her whole family was! After I got my baby back she said she was only doing respite for a long time because it hurt her so much when the babies went home. She loved my daughter like her own so I get it. It has to be hard! I moved out of the town where she was born almost a year ago and my baby will be 2 in 20 days but I still send her pics every once in a while.
What an amazing and mature young lady!! 💕
It kind of feels like they should require more to keep up your certification. I don’t say that to insult her but just to protect the kids in the bad foster homes. 🏚
I have the total opposite opinion. Yes, I do think that foster parents should have a yearly interview with an experienced social worker or psychologist who might sense if you are kind of straying away, but the four hours yearly course is, in my opinion, just a way for politicians to say that they did all that they could when something goes terribly wrong.
You do not need a yearly reminder that you must cover the electric outlets, or that you must include some greens in the diet. Many of us birth parents have managed to do perfectly reasonable work without courses.
On the other hand, you must ask yourself how active foster homes are being visited monthly by social workers and still there are bad foster homes. Whatever is wrong in the system, it will be better dealt with by improving the visits, not by requiring longer yearly courses.
Thank you. I got my son back weeks ago. Worked very hard and guys this was all over a one night lapse, I e actually been clean 5 years April, 1,2014 so never think for one second that because ur clean, that a slip, just one night it will be ok and your life won't change from that single mistake! Mine did, 💯 I never thought in a million years that the next day my life would change. I damaged my family relationships, friendships excetera. I love the foster family the took me and my son as new members to their family. We were very blessed.
💙💙💙💙
I love this relationship dynamic! Seeing 2 friends grow in separate ways & then make it back together. I can’t wait to be a foster mom! Greg & I are planning on doing that once we are in a position to be able to do it. I want to make sure that we can provide for Emerson first, and then I will spend the rest of my life supporting other littles & teenagers!
Edit: PA allows felons to be foster parents as long as you pass the classes & home visits. As long as your record has been clean for X amount of years, you can do it!
Man, I am so excited to be able to do this one day!! She is so amazing!!
What a true angel your friend is!!!!! We are in need of about 100000 more couples like this. 😀this makes my heart so very happy.
"If you doing it right you heart should break " wow, what an amazing woman.
Thank you for your videos! So awesome seeing people making a positive difference from their struggles and experiences.
Addiction is something we MUST keep talking about. It’s affecting more of us than we likely realize. When I was deep in my addiction I was so afraid to get help. I was a Mormon mom who was living a life that wasn’t authentic to myself. I had been taking care of my stepmom and dad prior to their passing away. I was isolated, terrified and knew that if I didn’t get help soon...my children would end up finding me dead. I made the decision to go to rehab and it was the best decision I’ve ever made!!! Yet it would have been a better situation if we were having conversations about how it’s affecting EVERYONE!!! Even the stay at home mom who lived in a religious household. Since then my life has changed DRASTICALLY! I married my first middle school love, blended our family of 9 and are now running our own dog grooming shop in our hometown. Recovery is possible!
We need to continue sharing our stories and getting the information out that there is hope!
Thank you for being awesomely you!
I have been in foster care for 3 months when I was 4 or 5 years old. It's very interesting to see the parents side. I really hope that one day I will be able to either adopt or get foster children. I just want to give something back
I have 4 kids 1 girl who is 5 then 3 boys who are 4, 2 and 1. I would love to foster little beans eventually. I love kids and if my husband and I can make even a little difference for a child and their parents that would mean everything to me.
For all the people who want to foster in the future, there are lots of ways to serve other than being a foster parent. 1) Help existing foster parents with babysitting, breaks, taking meals with new placements/going to store etc. 2) Become a CASA (court appointed special advocate) Bio parents have their own lawyer, foster agency has a lawyer, kids have a lawyer (or should) but the CASA is supposed to watch out for the child's best interest. 3) Check if your area has a Citizen Review Board. The board reviews X number of cases/case files a year to make sure policy is being followed and that the child is getting everything they should. 4) Many areas have 'clothing closets' which offer clothes and supplies. Help gather stuff and organize clothes etc.
I absolutely love this video. I had a friend growing up who's parents were foster parents. I would see kids come and go and it broke my heart. Some kids had it so hard and it was tough to see. The world needs more people like Katie.
I love this...my foster situation was like a puppy mill i was there for their check it was short lived they really didnt wanna be bothered too much
Katie is such a beautiful person. It takes a special person to be a foster parent. Great video! Thank you Katie and Tim for opening your home to the kids who need one.💞
Fourth year foster parent here, thanks for having someone discuss what we do in a positive light. We receive so much backlash at times and it’s great seeing another wonderful foster mom. I’m from Arkansas and when you said 17 calls I was floored. I would say I get an average of 5 calls a week. It’s the hardest job, but the most rewarding. Keep up good relationships with the bio families, it’s so worth it.
What an incredible thing she's doing for these children! I so admire anyone that fosters. It can't be an easy thing to do, emotionally. 💖💖💖
I'm 35 but will you be my foster parent? You're so nice. Lol
Wow your friend is amazing. It nice of her open her home for help a foster kid. I was foster kid since I was 6. My first home was abusive. They did it for the wrong reasons. Luckily my second foster home was good. I got adopted in their cared. 😀
💙💙 I was a foster kid before being adopted by my foster parents. We need more foster parents like you!
💙What an awesome woman. Thank You for raising awareness to another important topic..Foster Care. It is such an unselfish gift to help families during hard times. I had a different experience with Foster Parents when I placed my daughter up for adoption when I was young. They took care of her while I made my final decision & chose a permanent home for the daughter I loved so dearly but was too young to care for on my own. YOU CAN NEVER HAVE TOO MUCH LOVE FOR A CHILD! 22 years later we ALL still meet yearly to celebrate our special bond. The foster parents, myself & my daughters adoptive parents...It’s a meaningful & awesome celebration of all the people who loved her when she was born until this very day! 💙
Jess, this is a nice thing that you've done highlighting this foster friend of yours for such a good reason...to increase awareness of foster families. Thanks for doing that...I've known 2 friends so far that are doing foster care...wonderful thing they are doing.
That was really interesting. You're providing a great service!
I had a little boy for a year and he suddenly got placed with family. In the matter of a few hours he was gone and I fell apart. I have a piece of my heart with all of the foster littles that came and went.
This of all of your videos has resonated w me so much. We are now at our 2 year anniversary of fostering. All of the paperwork, appointments, falling in love with all of the children takes a toll but we would do it all over again to be a light in these kids lives
Katie did incredible. She is an amazing woman.💙💙💙💙💙 Thank you for doing what you do Katie. You are loved.
There is a other great foster family on you tube. The channel is called... BE THE VILLAGE. they are a wonderful family, and the mom is such a sweetheart
Thank you!!! I'm considering helping foster kids in some way so I'm trying to learn everything I can! 😊 really appreciate the info 💜💜
@@Kelly-jn4cp 😍😍😍💜❤️
Thanks for sharing! I’ve been trying to find people that foster with channels! Do you know of any others besides Be The Village? (And not crazy middles/crazy pieces. although I watch them sometimes they aren’t an accurate representation of what it’s like being a foster parent at all. They have already closed their license and have 30 kids between 2 families who are adopted out of foster care. They more are a “adoption after foster care” channel.) Since reunification is the goal, and most people that foster don’t have 20 foster children, I would love to find more people who are a better representation of what foster care is ACTUALLY like! I’m sure it’s really hard though since you can’t show the kids or reveal a ton of details so people watching videos are left in the dark. I wouldn’t even know where to begin to vlog stuff. So it would be great to see anyone else that’s figured it out lol!
@@kellyyoung7117 That is the only family I cane across as of now. If I come across more, I will let u know
There’s also Kait from love mother blog channel. She’s in Canada but a lot of it is similar!
My sister has 8 foster kids in her home right now she has adopted 6 of them and also has 3 kids of her own!! Shes so amazing and helps these kids through alot of their problems!!! Her kids range from 3 yrs old to 17 yrs old!!
well now iam kinda pissed, i was a foster child / ward of the state. i was put in the worst foster n group homes. that abuse in everyway. to see a good one makes me feel cheated. but i love that there are good ones like you. so thank you!
Once my nest is empty....we've been thinking about fostering a child. We've only 2 bedroom house. So only one bedroom available for a child. Which is my daughters room now. It's a tiny house...i wonder if that's ok. As well as we've got 3 dogs! 3 cats.
Yah that's fine! And two kids to a room normally but whatever is best for you and your family! 💕
@@Sabrina-uw7wc thanks so much! I was wondering.
Excellent topic. Foster Care children need good, trusting, qualified and loving homes. I salute those who step up when our fellow Americans/s are in need. Our social eco system is in trouble. The fact we need people to raise other people's children is a sign that our sociatal structure is coming apart at the glue. The positive aspect is that, the saying "it takes a village to raise a child", holds true. Great video!
Much Respect to Katie and TimTom 😆 💙
Katie ❤️ thank you for ‘taking on” these kids that need parenting (not a BFF). You and TimTom are awesome!
I love her outlook on fostering. I've been working to get my daughter back home since i had her, she's placed with my boyfriend's dad and step mom who seemed to be so on board and supportive at first, but we've been a year clean and working towards a better life and getting her home since day one, we've now found they refer to us as just a couple of addicts who did this to ourselves, which may be, but no acknowledgment of all we've done this last year getting sober getting our lives together and supporting and being there every step of the way for our girl. It's such a hard situation but it's so good to see someone supporting both the children and the parents. I think it's often forgotten the goal is to hopefully stay reunification with safe and healthy parents who can raise healthy happy children. She and her husband are amazing people for doing this. You're videos give me so much hope and inspiration.
Good luck to you! I hope you get your baby back. Never give up!
🙏🙏🙏
This taught me so much! I've always wanted to foster once I'm married and settled (many years in the future lol) and there's so much here that I hadn't thought about. Like the "the goal is not adoption" like as soon as you explained that I was like omg duh but I hadn't considered it before. Such a good video, thanks for spreading the word!
it’s so inspiring to see a mom who’s kid was in care, but is back home. My siblings and I have been in care for 3 years, and at times it feels like i’ll never get to go back to my mom.
Katie your amazing!!! Thank you for fostering, the world needs more people like you🥰🥰
I love this! I've always wanted to be a foster parent but I'm a single mom with a full time job so it's unfortunately not possible right now. It breaks my heart bc I'd do it in a minute if it was a possibility. Foster parents are amazing!!
Thank you for stepping up. You really are helpung to save lives. Even if it's just giving children a solid mental foundation to grow up healthy. 💕
There is such a MASSIVE need for foster parents who are willing/able to take teenagers. Children in their late teens are at that age where they have probably been in the system for years. They may have not gotten the proper guidance & taught life skills (how to sign up for college, apply for jobs, balance money, & just be an adult in general) I would love to be a foster mom to that age range but unfortunately I'm not able due to multiple reasons but maybe some day.
This is awesome!!! Jess I love all your videos but the last 2 weeks have been amazing💙💙💙 great job! I still talk to the foster mom that my daughter went to 12 years ago. Thankfully she was the best. She was so good to my daughter. Katie your job is very hard but so rewarding. Keep up the good work.
I love co parenting with our current bio family ♡ there are times we or any foster parents have to pull back depending on how they are working their plan etc .
Love this! As a parent I really hope my kids are kind to everyone and are not judgemental. You are both so strong and positive and I love your story.
Respite care is also available to give other foster parents a break. Your friend is doing an amazing thing, we need more people like this! 💙
I would love to be a foster parent when I'm finished with school and more financially stable. Because of my journey with addiction, I would love to foster or adopt children who have been affected by that in some way. There are so many kids out there who need a home, love, and support. I thought it was beautiful when she said that the goal is not adoption but reunification. You can tell that she has such a good heart 💙💙💙💙💙
omg, I love you soo much. I'm about to cry. you are the best foster care, parent and I respect you so much, girl Keep up the good work.
As a kid from the system.( adopted) People like this are always needed! She’s a beautiful person! You can tell she’s speaking from her heart !
My family has been a foster family for 7 years and it is so worth it! We have had over 20 kids and have loved each one so deeply! Love this video and all this information is so true! DO FOSTER CARE!!!
I love love love this perspective. I was a foster parent for 3 years. We had 12 placements (2 at a time, all under 2 years old). Our goal was always reunification, but was so hard to let them go too! We had some for 1 night and some for 13 months....and you are so right, if you don't grieve it, then you aren't giving the kids what they need! LOVE
Need more ppl in this world like Katie to help & break the cycle! Thank you so much Katie & "Tim Tom" for doing what you do! You both are truly amazing ppl! 🙏🏻💙💙💙🙌🏻
💙💙 wow Jess your friend is soo amazing to do what she does , my Husband and I also had to take these classes to keep our grandson out of the system per DHS . We've now had him for approximately 9 years now.
GOD truly blessed 🙌 us with him he's our blessing from above.
Thanks for giving us these videos that are so real , and so you !! You are truly an amazing person ❤ ♥
Aww! Wow, Katie is amazing! So young but wise! 🙌🙌 thanks for doing this. You are an inspiration!
It’s amazing that this whole video is out there on the internet now for people considering foster care to see. I also LOVE seeing so many comments from people whose children were in foster care that were reunified with their children. And people saying how much the support of the foster parents was so helpful and how it’s one big family. When we started looking into becoming foster parents and started doing research a lot of what we found made it seem like we could just easily foster to adopt. Even DFS didn’t fully try to make sure people understood that reunification is the goal, NOT adoption. I think it’s REALLY important for anyone considering becoming a foster parent to understand this before they go into it. I see so many people who aren’t supportive of the birth parent and get frustrated wanting to adopt their foster “child”(I don’t really love that word bc it’s NOT their child. I normally use placement but that doesn’t fit here. But want to make it clear what I mean!) I think understanding and coming to terms first BEFORE even going into training to have foster children in our home was SO SO important for us and changed everything. We went into it wanting to support the birth parent as much as possible no matter what happened. It just makes it so much harder when people start fostering thinking they are going to adopt and that a child should stay with them. I hope that anyone who stumbles across this video at any point in the future and is considering becoming a foster parent sees all of the comments from people who worked their butts off and were reunified with their children. And if someone sees this and is considering becoming a foster parent, know that although it’s hard it’s SO rewarding. It’s also truly amazing to see a parents progression and working their program to be reunited with their child. It’s hard to love and get attached to a child and have to say goodbye, but it’s SO much easier when you can see the happy ending with them being reunited with their parent. Remember reunification is the goal, but you can change both the child AND the parents life by supporting the birth parent as they work to get their child back! Seeing Jess’ perspective motivates me even more to support parents for reunification to happen! I work with babies born with neonatal abstinence syndrome and I’m so glad their is someone out their showing birth parents IT IS possible to get your life together, to stay sober and to be reunified with your child! I can’t believe it too this long for a video showing the different perspectives of both the foster parent and the birth parent. It’s SO necessary. Thank you for making it. You are going to help so many people from this video! I am definitely sharing this with EVERYONE I know who is involved in foster care! ❤️
Great video. Thanks so much. Such important topics. Wonderful job being a foster parent. Thanks so much for helping families and their children.
This was a fantastic video Jess !! Thank you so much for sharing your friend’s experience with us. Hopefully this was a little push that was needed for some ppl thinking about fostering children. Thanks again ❤️
Inspired to be a foster parent once I own a home 🙋🏼♀️😍. I love kids & it never crossed my mind before this video!
Jess I love your phases of the moon shirt. It is awesome! I am fascinated with the moon and its phases
What a great video Jess and Katie!!! Shame on the 7 ppl who disliked this video. What is there to dislike about this awesome thing these women are doing to help so many? Bless you two women for all you do!!❤❤❤
I learned a lot from this video. I’ve decided I don’t want to have any children biologically but I’ve always thought about adoption/foster care. This video was very informative. Thank you for making it! Katie is amazing and I find her story just as inspiring as yours. You two have such a varied experience it’s really great hearing your perspectives. 💙💙💙
In my area, foster care agencies are starting to expect foster families not to give a race preference and to be willing to serve children of any race. It is really upsetting that a foster family would give a race preference. There is no good reason for it.
Thank you for stating that foster care is about reunification! Reunification is always the first goal. :)
Chelsie Cotten...I was just thinking, shouldn’t it be a red flag that someone isn’t really fit for foster parenting if they have a race preference? There’s literally no reason other than prejudice to be unwilling to give a child a *temporary* home just because of their ethnicity 😒
@@vanessaf7259
Yes, i agree. I think it would be a red flag.
I've seen it in the past with people from more than one race wanting kids of the race that matched them. It may not always be prejudice. It could be laziness (not wanting to learn how to do hair you're not familiar with), not wanting to deal with West other people think and wanting to match because of that, or maybe having family who are prejudice. But regardless of the reason, i don't think it should be something foster parents are allowed to choose a preference about. My agency had us agree to serve kids of any race, which we would do anyway, even if it wasn't required.
Having grown up in the foster care system in Missouri i can relate so much to this. Absolutely love it.
She did great! 💙 ive always wanted to foster. My neice and nephews went into foster care a couple years ago. We occasionally run into the foster family and theyre so so great. I was so scared for them while they were away because i just didnt know what type of family they were with. But im so grateful that they took in 3 kids under 3! Now the kids are with my mother in law full time and she just took in their 3month old sister that's not even her grandchild! She didnt want her to be adopted out and be lost from her sister and brothers. Shes a warrior! If my mother in law didnt step up for them they'd be adopted out by now and we would never see them again. Their parents never tried to get them back and are still on the wrong path. I could never give up on my child.
💙💙💙💙💙💙💙 We need more Katies... You are just so genuinely loving and such a sweetheart!! Thanks so much for this interview, I'm SURE you are making a difference!!
I didnt have an ideal childhood but no foster care but i had friends who were but their experiences were really awful. Thank God for people like Katie! I wanted to do foster care but my husband is a permanent resident not a citizen and they wont let us apply until he gets his citizenship which is !$1000ish. But Katie...u ROCK!!
Your friend is such an amazing person.
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That was so Heartwarming Katie & Tim-Tom are such wonderful people! To make this choice is not an easy undertaking & honestly my misconceptions have always been on the other side...hearing what “horrible people” have my friend’s son but obviously I don’t think she’s emotionally capable of seeing it through the other side cuz they’re always going to be her enemy when she actually should look inward.
Would love another video geared towards your experience with the Foster system that obviously went seemingly well since Micah is clearly amazing!! But this was an incredibly moving interview to hear it from the other side when there’s typically such a negative stigma...