Adoption from foster care myths stem from legitimate concerns. While children are in foster care because they have been abused or neglected, they are no different than any other child and need a family to give them the love they deserve. When it comes to adopting from foster care, most people want kids who are […]
You welcome him into your home, spend time building a relationship based on trust and acceptance and together you overcome hardships. You both fight and persevere through the inevitable setbacks that come with changing a life. But then he turns 21 in NJ and officially “ages out” of the foster care system and he leaves, […]
Every baby born into the world represents another chance to improve upon the past and feel hopeful about the future. But it takes years of work from a patient, strong-willed and dedicated parent to help a baby become a healthy child. You can be that parent for thousands of babies across the state. Fostering babies […]
You’re sleeping comfortably in bed after a long day. As you’re counting sheep, your sleep gets interrupted with the cries of your foster child. In a rush, you run to his room to make sure everything is OK. On your way there, many thoughts cross your mind. Is he having a nightmare? Did he fall […]
With Pride Month coming to a close and the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in favor of marriage equality, June has been a historically important month to the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Questioning, Intersex (LGBTQIA) community. Pride month serves as an annual chance to recognize the impact that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people have had […]
When welcoming your foster child into her new home, your focus is to make sure she has everything she needs. Imagine that upon providing her with the essentials, including food, noticing rapid weight loss or finding large amounts of empty food wrappers hidden in weird places in her room. You are successfully providing for her, […]
The U.S. has just 5 percent of the world’s population but 25 percent of its incarcerated population. The alarming rate of incarceration in the U.S. is a hot button issue, with stories appearing everywhere from the New York Times to CNN. However, there’s a large group of blameless victims often forgot about in this discussion: […]
Everyone has something to learn from gardening. Children can pick up all sorts of new skills – planning, nurturing and responsibility to name a few. Adults can enjoy reconnecting with nature and feeling good about having grown their own food. But what’s most important about gardening is that it has a special way of making […]
When you don’t know where your next meal is coming from, it’s understandable that you would try to save every morsel. For thousands of children throughout the country, food is as fleeting as the time it takes to chew and swallow. Unfortunately, food hoarding in foster children is an all too common practice. By human […]
Too often, we hear stories of children who fall victim to abuse or neglect. In the United States alone, there is an estimated number of over 400,000 youth in foster care. Fortunately, there are many people who work together for a common goal – enhancing the lives of kids in the foster care system. We […]