One Family's Journey Through Becoming Foster Parents
Deciding to become a foster parent is a deeply personal choice. Crystal and Nicole are currently working through the process of becoming certified foster parents with Embrace TFC. After getting married last year, Crystal and Nicole made the choice to start learning about foster care. With a big house they felt they had plenty of room in both their home and their hearts to open up to a child in need.
It is so important when becoming a foster family to have support from friends and family. “Our friends and family have been very supportive, constantly checking in to see where we are in the process and cheering us on.” Not only is the support of friends and family important, it is also vital that couples are on the same page when it comes to starting this journey. “We are very big on communication. We grew up differently, but we have both grown and learned to accept there are always multiple points of views to every part of life. And being able to have that understanding and truly know how to listen to one another has been the greatest support we could have for each other.”
Just like many families starting the journey to becoming foster parents Nicole and Crystal had some reservations about getting started. “We were worried that we wouldn’t be able to afford to foster. We had no idea about compensation really. And we were cautious because just in our heads we assumed that we had to be with any child who wasn’t school aged, 24/7. I had no idea we could work full time and still cater to any child at any age range.”
So why Embrace, with so many state and private agencies to choose from? “We of course looked into just using our local state office. But they only offer training twice a year. With our work schedules, we have peak seasons and off seasons and it was hard to think about not having any flexibility with training options. We saw many signs for Embrace and anytime we thought about it, somehow Embrace kept popping up and we took it as a sign to reach out. The first time we spoke to staff at Embrace we knew it was the right first steps into becoming foster parents for us. Just by knowing they are so flexible and available for our questions and concerns.”