FCA Foster mom Kelly was recently honored as Star of the Month in the Annie C. Courtney Foundation newsletter. Her work with children in our program has made a lasting difference in their lives.
Kelly has impacted the lives of more than 20 children through her role over the past four years as a foster parent with Family & Children’s Agency. From those who were placed in her home, to the children for whom she has provided respite care, transportation, or child care, to the children placed with the three additional families she recruited into the organization, Kelly has made a lasting mark.
Currently, Kelly is the foster parent for “Nicole,” who is in her care at the Family and Community Ties level of foster care. This higher level of need can be a challenge for many parents, but Kelly has risen to the occasion. She advocates for Nicole and has been working to teach her structure, responsibility, and how to accept not always being the center of attention. Kelly has been an integral part of Nicole’s treatment team, and has built strong relationships with all of Nicole’s providers in addition to the Family & Community Ties team.
To Kelly, being a foster parent means “giving someone else’s child what I would give my own.” She looks at her role as being part of the village raising a child, and often thinks about how she would want her own daughter to be treated if she were in foster care. Children in Kelly’s care participate in family meetings, vacations, and are integrated into her extended family. She builds life-long connections with the children in her care.
By taking children in as her own, Kelly represents everything we are looking for in the foster parents in our program. We are thrilled to nominate her as the Star of the Month.
