Unexpected Blessings:
TRACY JOHNSON WITH BIOLOGICAL SON COOPER AND TWO FOSTER CHILDREN.
Tracy Johnson’s Journey of Inclusion Tracy Johnson’s plate was already full when she began fostering more than two years ago. A single mom of a 10-yearold son and speech pathologist for Edmond Public Schools, Johnson requested placement of one foster child at a time. She received her first placement call for an 11-month-old and his newborn brother. Though it wasn’t what Johnson was expecting, she didn’t hesitate in saying yes. She cared for the sibling set for five months before they were moved to an adoptive home.
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“When they left, I said I’m only doing one next time!” said Johnson. As luck would have it, she was placed with a little boy whose biological mom was expecting. When asked if she would take the baby when she was born, she agreed wholeheartedly. “I have seen a bond with siblings that I can’t imagine if they were split,” said Johnson. “The 20-month-old takes care of his sister. He hears her cry before I will. If I get four more calls [for siblings] I can’t imagine ever splitting them.” Keith Howard, president and CEO of Circle of Care, the placement agency through which Johnson fosters, says while the agency does its best to place children within foster families’ parameters, Circle of Care’s foster parent training exposes them to the realities of siblings in foster care. According to the agency, a sibling group of three has only
BY ERIN PAGE PHOTOS BY KIMERA BASORE
a 65 percent chance of staying together, while a group of five has a 0 percent chance, primarily because most foster families simply don’t have the necessary space or vehicles. Howard, himself a foster and adoptive father, says like Johnson, he realized through his own journey the importance of supporting sibling relationships in foster care whenever possible. “That sibling relationship will be the longest relationship in their lives,” said Howard. “They shouldn’t suffer the consequences of that relationship being broken because the system can’t keep them together.” Circle of Care ascribes to a report by the 2002 National Youth Leadership Advisory team position paper that describes the experience of foster siblings placed in separate homes as “extra punishment and a separate loss.” Like Johnson, Howard has witnessed the benefits of his kids healing together.
