Meet Foster Care
The Merriam-Webster website defines foster care as “a situation in which for a period of time a child lives with and is cared for by people who are not the child’s parents.”
Children enter foster care when it is unsafe for them to live at home because of physical abuse, sexual abuse, neglect or abandonment. Their time in care may be short-term, until a relative placement can be found, or long-term, until such a time that their parents are able to provide a safe home for them or an adoptive family is found.
The mission of Fostering Engagment is to help visitors to the site gain a better understanding of foster care and mobilize them to support foster children and those who care for them.
Many of us have a friend, neighbor, family member or coworker who is a foster parent and have seen firsthand the challenges they face. Caring for children who have suffered trauma is difficult. And that’s where the rest of us come in.
Every year 30% to 60% of the nation’s foster parents discontinue fostering. And almost half of new foster parents quit during their first year, due in part to lack of support, Irene Clements, Executive Director of the National Foster Parent Association says.
On this site, you will find facts about foster care, stories about those who are involved in foster care as foster and adoptive parents and ways that you can get involved.
As the mother of two biological and three adopted children, I know firsthand the importance of one’s “village” when raising children, especially when children come from hard places.
It is my hope that Fostering Engagement will serve as a catalyst to bring in a fresh wave of support to foster and adoptive parents and the children in their care.
Melanie Johnson
Creator of Fostering Engagement
Foster & Adoptive Parent
Watch a short story about Melanie’s oldest son, Antonio–who came home at 13 months of age.
