AN INSIDE LOOK AT FOSTER PARENTING By Melissa McCance
Foster parent: a person temporarily serving as a parent for a child who has lost or been removed from a parent’s care and who is not the person’s own biological child. It’s a simple and straightforward definition but an ironic one considering there is nothing simple or straightforward about being a foster parent. The decision to bring other people’s children into your home does a lot more than ramp up everyday things like laundry, meals, family schedules, and transportation. These children’s life histories can create issues that make them more challenging to parent. A child may exhibit any combination of sadness, confusion, mistrust, anger, combativeness, poor socialization, lack of discipline, and more. There is no doubt that loving, committed foster parents can be in for a journey that will tax them mentally and emotionally, all while being an exceptionally rewarding experience. John and Mary (not their real names) are an area couple whole-heartedly invested in fostering. They married in 2017 and, after some moving around, settled north of Battle Creek. John began working in insurance which is still his line of work. While living there, they became licensed as foster parents—a step John and Mary decided upon before their marriage. The first placements were a boy and girl (now their adopted children) and they have a biological daughter born soon after the adoptions became final. Other moves followed and they’re now in a larger home in Hillsdale County which 54 | SimplyHers.net
allows for more children. The couple has fostered a wide range of ages including teenagers who are significantly harder to place than younger children. They’re contracted with the state for three Temporary Placement Provider beds for emergency placements by the state and could be children who are coming out of psychiatric hospitals, juvenile detention, police custody, etc. Those placements are two-week contracts during which time the state tries to find a long-term placement. If the child fits in with their household, John and Mary can sign on for additional two-week segments if another placement hasn’t been found. However, if the state finds another place for a TPP child, the child must be moved. At this time, John and Mary are licensed for the three TPP beds and several general placement beds along with their three children. Currently, they’re waiting for their reclassification as a group home to be finalized. John explained that the rules and regulations governing the foster parent system can make it difficult for licensed parents to navigate the system. John and Mary said they coordinate with their licensing worker to figure things out.
