F E AT U R E
OPENING HOMES & HEARTS May is Foster Care Awareness Month.
The Mullins Boys | Photo © Russell Hays
In Tennessee, approximately 8,000 children are in foster care at any given time. With fewer than 4,000 foster families with open homes, the need for more foster families is considerable. May is celebrated as National Foster Care Awareness Month to bring awareness to the need for more foster care families. Foster parenting sounds intimidating, but with support, it can be incredibly rewarding. Linzie Mullins, a Youth Villages foster-to-adopt parent in Memphis, was once in your shoes. She has a great story and serves as a wonderful resource for current and future foster parents. Linzie and her husband looked into fostering in late 2019, and by the next year, had a foster son who they later adopted. They’ve since adopted another boy they fostered. She has made fostering her passion and regularly gives advice and support to prospective and current foster parents. Linzie recently helped four families bring foster kids into their homes through Youth Villages. She also regularly talks and meets with three foster moms who ultimately adopted through Youth Villages in the last three years. Here are her top four nuggets of wisdom:
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and rewards of fostering. The Department of Children’s Services, along with partnering agencies, require this training to become a foster parent in Tennessee. Youth Villages’ Therapeutic Foster Care program also requires two additional trainings focused on trauma and collaborative problemsolving. Regularly scheduled check-ins and counseling sessions are required for both the child and foster parents, separately and together. Additionally, counselors are available 24/7 to help with situations that may arise. Know you’re making a difference. Providing a safe home for a child makes an enormous difference in their lives. By keeping a schedule, letting the kids know you are there for them and they can rely on you provides a constant and reliable routine that kids need. If you’re considering it, do it. Listen to that voice encouraging you to look into fostering. Kids are always in need of a safe place to live or stay short-term. Youth Villages provides training and constant access to counselors and emergency services. You’re not in this alone. Foster parents undergo extensive training to prepare them for the challenges
Keep the grit. Maintaining your resolve and determination to provide a safe, loving home for kids is the most important task for a foster family. Your kids may have experienced trauma in their previous home. Continuing to fight for them with their struggles can boost their confidence and help strengthen your relationship.