What Successful Fostering Looks Like

You’ve probably heard cringe-worthy stories in the news about the foster care system. But we’d like to take this opportunity to highlight fostering success stories. We’re proud of the selfless dedicated foster parents and their families that have a heart to see children placed in safe and nurturing homes, during very difficult seasons of life.

We hope these stories will warm your heart and help you realize that maybe your family would make an ideal foster family.

Foster Success Stories

We always strive to keep siblings together. Recently, one of our social workers shared that they were able to keep a set of siblings together when placed in foster care, thanks to the family network.

The importance of keeping siblings together when they’re placed in foster care can’t be overstated. Children who are being removed from their homes often do better if they can stay with one or all of their siblings. Families we work with are aware of that and are willing to stretch their parameters to accommodate siblings. 

For example, another family had an age limit of 0 to 8, but because their placement child had an older sibling, they were willing to foster the 16-year-old sibling as well to avoid separating the sisters.

This wasn’t just a one-time thing. This happens over and over again: Medina County foster families expand their hearts and homes, and their capabilities, to do what’s best for the children.

Our foster coordinators work hard to develop strong working relationships with foster families because that connection benefits the children. As a result, many of the foster families that work with Medina County JFS will answer the phone in the middle of the night to take a placement for emergency situations. They’re that dedicated to helping children. Even in the early morning hours, they sacrifice sleep to be part of the team figuring out how to accommodate the child in their home.

In many cases when a child has to be placed back into the foster care system for a second time—after being sent back to their birth families—the same foster family steps up again to take that same child into their home. They know that welcoming the child back into their family provides stability and lets them know that they are wanted and loved.

At Medina County JFS our primary goal is to place children back into their birth family whenever possible. We are proud of our counties' reunification numbers. But we are simultaneously proud of the sacrificial foster families that welcome the children into their homes and families with open arms.

Do you have a fostering success story? Are you interested in playing an important role in the reunification process by opening up your home to a foster child? Share your story or reach out to Medina County JFS.