Happy Friday, and Four New Campaign Photos!

Happy Friday afternoon everyone!

Today we posted some of the photos from the "I Did It" foster parent recruitment campaign on our website. Check out the terrific photos of Brandy, Christina, Sunshine and Linda, as well as their reasons for why they decided to become foster parents:

Christina - "I did it because I could. I knew my husband and I could be thoughtful, compassionate and supportive parents. We knew we could provide a loving and nurturing home to a child who needed one."

Brandy - "I did it because I've been in their shoes. In junior high and high school I was in foster care for six years. My foster family had such a positive impact on my life - it made me want to become a foster parent."

Sunshine - "I did it because of my sister. Growing up, my sister was in foster care. When she later became a foster parent, she inspired my husband and me to think, Hey, we can do this. Now we help sisters stick together by fostering sibling groups and other Iowa kids."

Linda - "I did it because two kids in my church needed a home. When two girls we knew were placed in a shelter, we thought we could just drive over and pick them up. We ended up becoming licensed foster parents to take care of them. Twenty years later we're still fostering."

Thanks foster parents for all you do, and the many powerful reasons behind it. If you're thinking about doing foster care, tell us - what would be your reason? We'd love to hear.

Have a good weekend! If you're looking for something fun to do this weekend, head to our Facebook page - people have been posting some great suggestions!

5 Things to Know About Matching Calls

Wondering why you haven't received a call for a foster placement in awhile? We hear that question from foster families every now and then, so here's a few things to consider if you've been in that boat.

1. Talk to your support specialist. A good first step is to always let your support specialist know your questions. He or she can talk to you about what's going on in your local area, what the needs are in your community and make sure all your information is correct and updated.

2. Remember it's about the best possible match. When a child enters foster care, we're looking to find the best possible family to meet that child's specfic needs. Maybe the child has a pet allergy. Maybe she has past trauma that makes her uncomfortable with a male parent. Maybe there are several siblings who need to stay together if possible.

It's also important for a child's stability to keep them in the same school district if possible and close to their birth family for visits, since reunification is the ultimate goal. By having a large pool of available foster families, there's a better chance we'll find a great match for that child or sibling group. The Department of Human Services then makes the final decision where to place a child.

3. Give us a call after a child leaves your home. When a child leaves your home, Iowa KidsNet doesn't receive instant notification of that discharge. If you give us a call and let us know, then we'll know your home has space for another child sooner rather than later.

3. Do respite care. Doing respite care for other foster families is a great foster parenting opportunity. It will also help you build your network of support with other foster families in your area. Then, when you do have a child in your home, they could provide respite care for you!

4. Think about your family profile. You may eventually want to take a look at your family's preferences. Are the children coming into care in your area the kinds of children you would be willing to care for? If not, you may want to examine if you could be a great match for other groups of kids. We know our families put careful consideration into what their family strengths are during PS-MAPP training, so do some homework first if you're thinking about making a change. For example, if you're thinking about fostering teens, talk to other families who foster older youth and ask your support specialist for advice. You could do respite care for a teen.

5. Take advantage of training. The Iowa Foster and Adoptive Parents Association (IFAPA) offers many great and free trainings to foster and adoptive parents. Take advantage and build your foster parenting skills so you'll be ready for the next child you welcome to your home!

Iowa's lucky to have many great foster families across the state. Thanks for all you do, and being willing to step up for kids who need safe and nurturing homes!

Does anyone have questions about our matching process?

The power of one

Last night I heard a single mom speak about the challenge of trying to go back to school while affording child care for her three kids, and a young woman talk about her difficulty in accessing quality mental health care after first attempting suicide at age 12.

They weren't stories about foster care, but they reminded me how powerful just one person's voice can be. How powerful it can be when we encourage the people most affected by an issue to share their voice. To share their story.

The National Resource Center for Permanency and Family Connections provided that opportunity recently when they launched their Digital Stories From the Field project.

It's a collection of stories about the child welfare system, told from the voices of those who know it best - foster youth, their families, social workers, judges, advocates and many others.

Check out Josh's video where he talks about journey of shuffling through foster homes and schools and how supportive adults made a difference. He's now working toward the goal of a master's degree in social work.

Or listen to Bernadette's story, a mom who vividly describes the day her children were placed in foster care and how her journey unfolded from that moment.

It's those kinds of stories, those powerful and personal truths, that we need to hear during National Foster Care Month and all year long.

An "I Did It" moment with Brandy

First Lady Mari Culver will help us honor Iowa's great foster families for National Foster Care Month and unveil our new foster family recruitment campaign - featuring real Iowa foster parents - on May 24 @ 11 a.m. at the Capitol in Des Moines!

We'd love for you to join us - we'll be in the rotunda, second floor.

In the meantime, see a sneak peek into our photo shoot for the new campaign with the video below. Joe Crimmings of Joe Crimmings Photography generously donated his time and awesome talent to this project to help us raise awareness about Iowa's foster kids. Thanks Joe!

Brandy, an Iowa foster mom, shares about her personal reasons for doing foster care:

Am I too old to be a foster parent? Debunking myths of foster care

I was chatting with a foster parent yesterday, a wonderful woman, who shared her story of how she became a foster parent 18 years ago.

Back then, she had called her local agency to ask if a single woman could become a foster parent, not sure if that was allowed. The agency was happy to inform her she could, and ever since she's been fostering Iowa youth, from teen mothers to infants to kids with special needs.

As we head into May's National Foster Care Month, it's a great time to share a few other myths about foster care.

1. Myth. You have to be married and a homeowner to be a foster parent. Fact. Foster parents come from all walks of life. Some are single, some are renters, some have kids and others don't. And foster parents come from all racial, religious and ethnic backgrounds and sexual orientations.

2. Myth. Kids are in foster care because they've done something wrong. Fact. Not true. Kids enter foster care because their biological family is currently unable to provide a safe or nurturing home. The ultimate goal of foster care is for kids to be able to return safely home to their biological families if possible.

3. Myth. Foster families are superheroes. Fact. While we do think our foster families are pretty awesome and extraordinary, the truth is they're ordinary families. And they'll be the first to tell you that! Foster parents are everyday, down-to-earth people who for many different reasons chose to step up for a child who needed a home. So, if you've been thinking you don't have what it takes, you might be surprised!

4. Myth. I'm too old to be a foster parent. Fact. You have to be 21 years old to be a foster parent in Iowa, and after that your age is only a consideration if it affects your ability to care for a specific child. In fact, I heard a nice story yesterday about a 68-year-old woman who is fostering several teenage boys. Older foster parents can be great - often, they have previous parenting experience or can share a wealth of wisdom and life experiences with youth.

5. Myth. Once I become a foster parent, I'm on my own. Fact. As child welfare has evolved, so has support for families. In Iowa, foster parents now have a really good support network with every foster family being assigned their own support specialist. Check out more about support here.

What are some myths you've heard about foster care? Or things that have surprised you? We'd love to hear.