Foster Parent Advocacy Foundation Inc

Stories

Tina Jenkins
Ms Jenkins has been a foster parent for five years now. She is having issues with her foster care agency at this time. Her agency has not
supported her and she does not know what to do. She feels alone and
frustrated. Can you Help us to help her with support and assistance?

Dorin C. Matthews
I have been an Foster/Adoptive foster parent for 11 years now and I have transferred to several different agencies. I thought things would be different, but it was worse each time I transferred. I was with one foster care agency for less than a year, and had the worst experience with them.

Welcome to the unique and challenging world of foster care. If you have enter this profession,you probably have not yet realized some of the challenges you are about to encounter. My primary goal of starting this agency is to help foster parents and youths get the services and help that they need from their agency. I want to educate and empower foster parents and youths so that they can be able to advocate and thrive. Majority of fostercare agencies experiece huge turn overs in foster parents and they wonder why? foster parents become frustrated and not supported and then quit because of the negative expereince that they receive from the foster care agency. Children need loving and dedicated fosterparents but agencies need to be supporting the foster parents and providing the services that they need to help these children in care.

The foster care system itself,outside of parenting the foster children,is much more difficult to survive in than you might have expected. Here we are going to be looking at ways to strengthen your survival skills while living and working withthin the foster care system. Most social workers and case workers dont understand the difficulty of your job as a foster parent. Foster parents feel under-valued and dispensable and as though they are not treated as a professionals by the rest of the foster care treatment team.

As a foster parent we learn that we get back more than we give. Our rewards are seeing the differences we have made for our children. My hope is that foster parents who join our organization will know that their chllenges have been experience by many others who have gone before them.We are going to begin a journey together and support you and your foster child that is in your home as much as we can. I help foster parents and chidren in foster care by providing advocates to assist them and fight for their rights. I will contiue to help a child in need by helping foster parents get the sevices that they need for the child that is in their home. My staff and I will contiue to make a complaint on any agency that chooses not to provide services for a child in foster care. Agencies have a social responsibility to help children in foster care.

Empowerment is the key to helping foster parents and children. I tell all foster parents, "read your foster parent manual". It has all of the policy and procedures that agencies are suppose to be following when caring for foster children. Unity is the key for foster parents. Foster parents need to come together and speak out aganist agencies. Stop the injustices toward foster parents who are willing to help the children but are not being supported by their agency. Don't be afraid to speak out; you have the right, and the child in foster care deserves better.

I wish all of you to feel the successes of your work and the knowledge and patience to overcome your obstacles. Foster parents are unique and wonderful people who will contiue to make a difference in the lives of foster children. Our organization is here to help support you along the way. Become a member today.

Thank you for your time,

Dorin C. Matthews
Adoptive Foster Parent

Ms Rose Lindsay came to us because her grand children was placed in foster care, She was not able to become the kinship foster parent because she has a osi case called in on her when she was a foster parent.. She was not aware of her rights as a foster parent and needs assistance with helping her with clearing her name.Her indicated record was finally cleared with the help of fpafoundation.She will now move forward to become a fosterparent in order to get her grandchildren out of foster care.

Lydia Flores

Ms Lydia Flores does not speak english and her grand children were removed from her home. She was not able to request a fair hearing because she could not read the notice in english. We were able to request a fair hearing for her due to her not being able to read english. Can you help us be able to Assist Ms Flores at this time. She needs a lawyer because she was not informed about her rights as a kinship foster parent.

Satos Matos
She is a new kinship foster parent and is having problems with learning her rights and understanding the proper policy and procedures.FPA Foundation will provide her with the guidance and the information that she needs as a kinship foster parent.

This kinship foster parent Ms Rosario needed a Partnership Coordinator to assist her at a court hearing and provided ongoing support and guidance to her. She has experience several isssues with her agency and needed an advocate

FPA foundation has been supporting her with advocacy and support and also provided referral for the birth mother her niece to get the help she needed. They have been working in partnership so that the birth mother can get her kids back and get on her feet. While the agency has not been supportive toward this family.

I am a 29 year old foster alumni. I entered foster care when I was a toddler, returning home at 1years old and then re-entered at age 11 and aged out! I have twin sisters, which I had to step up at a young age to provide protection and the ...missing motherly figure. As no child should have to bear such responsibility, I was removed home first, not knowing if they suffered any more abuse.

I was in 9 foster homes and 3 group homes while separated from my sisters. We reunited in our second to last foster home and I was determined to make sure the foster system didn’t separate us again. We ended up being placed next door to each other (which was the best day of my life). Once I aged out of the system my sisters lived with an aunt until I received relative care giver custody of my sisters, when they were 15 years old.

Now the twins are both in college and doing well. I am currently interning with Senate Finance Committee through a program called Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute. This internship allowed me to advocate for foster care youth and bring child welfare reform! I have a desire to create an orphanage ministry overseas after graduate school.

This summer, I will be traveling to Prague and spring 2012 I will be traveling to Trinidad. These traveling opportunities will provide the advocating journey needed to bring domestic and international adoption policy changes.

Thank you,
Nicole Marchman
Providing a voice for the voiceless

Foster care stories from the community

Kinship foster care stories

Brenda Feliciano
She is a new foster parent and does not have the support and guidance from her agency. She came to FPA Foundation for support and training about her rights as a foster parent.

Indrawatti Haniff- has been a foster parent for one year and has a OSI case called in on her.She needs assisance and support with requesting a hearing and sending documents up to the state.

Douglas Walker- Has been a foster parent for 15 years. he has adopted 4 children and has dedicated his life to helping foster children. He had a OSI case called in on him and it was unfounded and then somebody deliberatly called in the case on him again that happen two years ago. He needs assistance and support at this time.

Ms. Anderson- A foster/adoptive parent for over 10 years.She reached out to us because a case was called in on her. She will be provided with an advocate who will go with her to her osi hearing and support her in her time of need.

Ann Delacruz- Has been a foster parent for several years now. She has had a OSI case called in or her and her mother at thistime. We are assiting her with preparing for her case and her hearing that is schedule in August.

Angelia Brown- Ms Brown has been a foster parent for several years now and has a OSI case called in on her.The youth has been removed from her home at this time. We are fighting to help her get the youth place back into her home at this time. Her due process was violated by the agency. fpa was able to help her by requesting her meeting. She is schedule for a hearing.

Eliza Gonzalez- Ms Gonzalez needs a fair hearing because the agency refuses to pay her for the days that the youth was in her home at this time. We are assisting her with preparing the paperwork and attending her fair hearing.

Sharon Wright and Barbra James- This is a remarkle story about a dedicated foster parent fighting for the rights of the foster youth and her 3 children that were place in her home. FPA foundation Inc advocated for Barbra James the aged out youth because the agency wanted to discharge her with no support services. The judge gave her a extention in order for the services to be put into place.,Ms Wright will be helping barbra with her 3 kids after she has aged out of the system.

Foster Parent Stories