Yolo County Licensed Foster Families ~ People Like You!

Rhonda David and Russell Fulk Family ~ Kids, David, Rachel, Audrey and Lea

My husband Russ and I always had the thought that we would adopt.

Our oldest son came to us by way of a private adoption arranged by a caring local physician. Our second child, Rachel, is our birth daughter. As we contemplated adding to our family the conversation moved toward adopting from foster care as we felt we could make a difference in a child’s life that needed a home. We became licensed Yolo County foster parents and were blessed with a lovely toddler, Audrey that we happily adopted when reunification efforts had failed. As time moved on, we thought about a fourth child, and again looked to foster care. This past year we added 10-year old Lea as a permanent member of our family. With a full house and four kids we thought we were finished for the time being, but it came to be that Audrey’s 15-year old birth sister was in need of a caring family; recently a fifth child has come to live us. She is blending in and our hope is she too will move forward toward permanency. Along each step of adding to our family, we have actively included our kids; they have been 100 percent supportive as our family has grown. Foster care and adoption have enriched our lives and helped us to be more compassionate human beings. Honestly it feels good to help and know that you have forever touched the life of a child.

 

Rena and Tom DeLacey ~ Daughters, Erin, Emily and Stephany

We had thought about fostering about for 3 years before walking into the Foster Care Pre-Service classes at Woodland Community College. In June of 1997 we learned that a child we knew and cared about had been placed into protective custody; it was she who gave us the motivation and courage to step into action and get licensed as Yolo County foster parents. That child was Erin, now our adopted daughter, a blessing and beacon of light that forever changed our lives. Erin may have been our initial motivation; however after getting licensed we gladly accepted a sibling group of 3 brothers, ages 10, 6 and 4. We fostered them for 20 months before they transitioned to a wonderful adoptive home; gladly we stay in contact with them. Our family has fostered 30 children over the course of the last 9 years. Kids have returned to birth parents, grandparents, adoptive parents and we have adopted our three daughters, Erin, Emily and Stephany.

In 2001 we decided it was time to welcome a baby girl into our family; our daughter Emily. As part the foster care team we worked with her birth parents toward reunification; after months of visits and going to court, it was decided that it was best for this child to stay with us as a permanent member of our family. We proudly adopted Emily at the age of 2. In 2004 we learned that Erin’s younger sister was in need of a foster home while her birth family worked through reunification services. Two years later, after reunification efforts ceased, we finalized Stephany’s adoption making our family what it is today. Our beacon of light and goodness, Erin, passed away on March 28, 2007 at the tender age of 21 from complications related to lymphoma. Whenever she heard about a child coming into care, she would say, “Come on Mom, what’s one more”. Our family will continue to carry on Erin’s wishes; by parenting kids that need a foster home, working day-to-day to improve their lives and make a difference in their future.

 

Emily Amy & Fred Mitchell ~ Transitional or Bridge Foster Parents

Life was comfortable, I had a job that provided traveling and benefits including a car, and my husband and I had a peaceful, quiet home. However, I was becoming increasing burned out with my job and felt that I needed something positive for the “inner” me. I made a commitment for change, giving myself two-years and the following 3 criteria: To feel good about what I was doing; not to work solely for financial benefit; and whatever job I was going to do would render a positive impact on people and/or society.

Honestly I thought I would be working with the elderly. The two-year time line was getting very close when I read an article about the need for foster parents in our local paper; the article touched me. That very evening my husband and I attended an “orientation class” that had been mentioned in the write-up; it turned out to be the first class in a series of Foster Care Pre-Service classes offered through the Woodland Community College Foster & Kinship Care Education Program. It was not until the completion of the 21-hour series that I decided foster care was calling my name. Being a foster parent has filled my void. In the past three-years, Fred and I have welcomed 17 children into our home, including a newborn and teenager. For me, life has much more meaning; I am doing something positive for people, it just happens to be kids.

 

Laurie Crist ~ Sons, Todd and Jeremiah

Foster care gave me a family, so it has a very special place in my heart. I have distinct memories of being little and begging my mother to tell me how to have children. I’d planned the traditional married, one boy, one girl route, but when that didn’t work out; I turned to the Yolo County foster care system. My first foster placement, a 3 ½ -year old charmer named Todd became my first adoptive son. We worked through many challenges with the support of county and state programs. When Todd was 15, realizing that he was absolutely the best thing that had ever happened to me, I decided that I needed to do it again, so I came back to foster care.

Three-week-old Jeremiah was placed with me a little over two years ago. Though his birth mother tried very hard to reunify with him, it didn’t work out, and I was lucky enough to become his adoptive mother in July of 2007. My two boys have given me much more than I have ever given them: love in unending supply, laughter, and a wonderful reason to get up every morning. Ok, so I’d rather not be getting up at 6 which Jeremiah seems to think is the best time, but you can’t have everything…just nearly everything. Part of that “everything” has been the extended family made up of other Yolo County foster and adoptive parents and children, county employees, and college staff. Their friendship and support provides that famous “village” that is so often spoken of that is helping to raise my boys in an atmosphere of kindness and trust. Perhaps that support net is why being single, working fulltime, and being on the other side of 50 has not prevented me from having the best time of my life creating the family, perhaps not that I’d planned, but infinitely better than I’d ever hoped.

 

Calvin & Corinne Marr ~ Daughters, Chloé and Casey

We first became acquainted with the Yolo County Foster Care program when we moved to Davis in 1998. We were looking for a local adoption support group as we have two adopted daughters, now age 14 and 12. We attended several Foster and Kinship Care Education classes with various speakers of which many were either foster parents or foster children. We saw films and heard some amazing stories of how foster care has helped shaped deserving children that through no fault of their own were being neglected or abused in some way by their birth parent(s). We heard the plea that Yolo County needed more foster parents and that children were being placed in other counties because we didn't have enough licensed foster parents.

We had thought of expanding our family through another adoption but realized that we were getting older as parents and our family has already been blessed. After reading The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren with a small group from our church, we realized that we needed to do something with the gifts that God had given us. As a family we decided to open our home and lives to become a foster family. We went through foster care pre-service training in Winter/Spring of 2006 and had our home licensed in August 2006. We had specific parameters in terms of age and sex of the child we felt we could handle for our first placement. In October 2006 we received a call to foster a little girl. We did not know how long this would be, might have only been for the weekend. She has been with us for about 10 months. We were led to fostering by our religious beliefs and it has become evident that there was divine intervention when our daughter was placed in our family. We sincerely hope she will be reunified with her birth mother, as it is the primary goal of the foster care program, and we plan to remain in her life as significant caring adults as she grows older.

 

Hiedi and Ed Andersen ~ Daughters, Amanda, Kaylie and Lily

I was one of those hurt kids you read about in the papers; at 15, after years of battering and emotional trauma, I was placed under the umbrella of protective custody and into a foster home. Yes, I was scared and confused, yet a whole new world opened before me. In my first foster home I met Jennifer, another kid in placement that came to be a lifelong friend. In foster care adults embraced and guided me forward, from my social worker, foster parents, public defender, therapist, the Foster Care Education Director, and so many others. Honesty, I believe I am alive today because a teacher cared enough to make a child abuse report on my behalf; I am so thankful to her. My life has been enriched and blessed because of foster care and early on I knew I would grow-up to be a foster parent.

Today 20 years after being placed into protective custody, my husband Ed and I are kinship, foster and adoptive parents. Our two oldest daughters came to us as kinship placements when my brother failed to protect them.  Amanda and Kaylie are now our legal children through adoption. As Yolo County licensed foster parents we have cared for several babies and young children on a short-term basis. One sweet newborn that we were able to pick up at the hospital, Lily, became a permanent member of our family on March 11th, 2008, at the age of 16 months. I know that foster parents change lives, and I also know that Ed and I are making a difference to each of the children that come through our front door, whether they stay for a week or as permanent member of our family. Kids like me need good parents and a safe, loving home. Please consider being a foster parent as you too can become a life
changer!