Foster parents provide supportive homes, foundation for life
By Sarah Moss, Staff WriterShare:  
June 14, 2010 — In a 2006 survey, an estimated 510,000 children in the U.S. were placed into the foster care system. The number of children being removed from their homes is increasing every year while the number of licensed foster families needed to care for children is decreasing. Many feel as though this drop in potential foster families is due to financial strain and emotional fatigue. Unfortunately, the need for healthy, happy foster parents doesn't change.
With increasingly alarming circumstances surrounding the removal of children from their biological parent's homes, it is no surprise that foster parents can, at times, find themselves emotionally spent, physically strained, and generally burned out. So where do some families find the strength to continue this selfless work? Many men and women draw upon the strength and support they receive from the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is in this strength that many LDS foster families were given the promptings to start their foster journeys in the first place.
In Doctrine and Covenants, chapter 83, verse four, it reads: "All Children have claim upon their parents for their maintenance until they are of age."
What if the parents are not providing adequate maintenance for a child? Then, in most cases, those children are put into the foster care system, and, in some cases, they are put into an LDS home where they can learn about the gospel and priesthood and reap the benefits of their blessings. If a child has to be taken from their home, then being put into a house with the Holy Spirit has the power to heal fractured hearts and saddened spirits.
Halie and Nicholas Geren are new to the foster parenting experience, as they've been licensed and actively caring for children for just two-and-a-half months. But during that time, the Gerens have been blessed to care for four children varying in age from 9 months to 4 years old.
Nicholas and Halie Geren with their biological children, Alexandria and Lane. Contributed Photo.
After some challenging pregnancies, Halie and Nicholas discovered that foster parenting was something they'd both always been prompted to do. They both had a desire to support and parent children, despite whether or not they were biologically related to them. They had a need to take kids from the most difficult of circumstances and give them as much love and sense of family that they could during the short time they would be together.
The Gerens are currently caring for a 10-and-a-half-month old, and a 4-year-old, both boys. Halie spends her days teaching the 4 year old how to control his temper and how to treat the rest of the family with respect and love. The foster children the Gerens have cared for have come from situations involving abandonment, neglect and even abuse. This doesn't discourage them, though. Their devotion to these children is palpable and their resolve unwavering. Halie firmly believes that the gospel will impact these children's lives for the better, whether they are with her family for two weeks or many months.
When asked to describe the most rewarding part of being a foster parent, Halie said that it is difficult to pinpoint just one, as the experience is incredibly fulfilling. Although she did say that it moves her to see the foster children happy and that the Lord helps them to raise their own children, so it is extremely meaningful that He has entrusted them with other people's children as well. She and her husband love giving the kids an example of an eternal family and hope that someday it will inspire the children to grow up wanting to attend church themselves.
Michele and Pat Reed decided to take on the role of foster parents once their own children, now between the ages of 22 and 26, were grown and out of high school. Feeling that their calling as parents was not yet finished, they became foster parents to a multitude of children, from birth to 2 years old. Michele says her inspiration came in the form of a picture hanging on their living room wall. It is a drawing of Christ holding a baby up above his head; Michele and Pat continue to work diligently to emulate Christ through foster parenting.
Pictured, Pat and Michele Reed. Contributed Photo.
Some of the children the Reeds have had in their home were from situations of neglect or abuse, whereas others were considered "medically fragile", which usually occurs when an infant is suffering from drug and alcohol withdrawals due to the mother's use. Helping an infant come down off of the effects of substance abuse is a staggering process, something that Michele explains that "you never get used to."
The Reeds are still in close contact with a family in which the parents of a child they cared for are clean and sober now and are living quite successfully and providing a healthy, happy home for their daughter. Michele recalls her best birthday gift ever, in which she was reunited with four of her former foster babies for a play date. Seeing the children back in loving homes, be it with their biological parents, or with adoptive parents, is abundantly rewarding for the Reeds.
Pat is now extending his legal office to include adoptions, as his life has been irrevocably changed by his experiences in bringing families together.
The Reeds strive toward reuniting their foster children with their biological parents. Their focus when a child is placed in their care is not only to provide for the physical and emotional needs of the children but also to help the biological parents get their lives together. They make it a point to tell the biological parents that they are there to help and that they are their biggest supporters.
Michele refers to the hymn, "Because I Have Been Given Much" for inspiration, and the words resonate in the devotion she and her husband have for these foster children. Their own life with their own biological children was full and abundantly blessed, so they feel inspired to give to children who weren't blessed with such circumstances. The Reeds have been continually impressed with how well their older children have embraced their foster siblings, and how passionate each of them are about foster care as well as their parents mission to care for these children.
Though foster parenting can be emotional and physically draining, the spiritual rewards are great. LDS families have an opportunity to not only provide a child with clothing and shelter, but also with a life-changing example of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Sunday services, Primary, the young men's and young women's programs, and Family Home Evening can all work together to give a foster child the example of family that can have a life-changing impact. Providing a safe environment in a home with the blessing of the priesthood can not only help them to overcome physical and mental setbacks, but it can also stir something in their souls.
As Sister Geren says, the goal is to send them home to their biological parents with a desire to someday learn more, and be a part of the gospel once again.
If Heavenly Father himself could physically care for each and every one of the children in the world who find themselves without a responsible adult to do so, He certainly would. Instead, he chooses these men and women, these foster parents, to do the work. He entrusts the physical and spiritual well-being of these underprivileged children to foster parents. It's an incredible responsibility, one these foster parents do not take lightly. These families are examples of Heavenly Fathers' insight in choosing His workers. They are examples of pure, Christlike love that should inspire us all.
Want to find out more?
To learn more about becoming a foster parent, visit the Washington Department of Social and Health Services Web site at www.dshs.wa.gov or call 1-888-543-7414.
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