Sunshine

COVER STORY
CORE VALUE: RELATIONSHIPS
Family pictures and scrapbooks of
memories line the bookshelves, and
art projects and school reports hang
proudly on the refrigerator. While this
sounds like a typical family home, it
also describes an MCH foster home.
Foster parents are special people.
They open their hearts and homes to
children and want the best for them.
“One of the best things for children
is to know and be loved by their
parent,” said Melissa Opheim, vice
president for community services. “Our
foster parents understand the built-in
need for a connection to a child’s biological
parent.”
Foster parents know the challenges
biological parents face and find themselves
in a situation to help children by
providing a loving home and the reassuring
connection to their parents.
“It’s important for foster families
to have regular contact with the birth
parents to share information, discuss
the child’s progress, and celebrate special
experiences,” Opheim said.
Opheim said that foster families
are creative in exploring ways to nurture
the connection between children
and their birth parents. Foster families
through MCH have regular contact with
most birth parents to help keep them
informed and involved in the decisions
that affect their children. Every effort is
made to help birth parents take part in
special occasions with their children, including
birthdays and other milestones,
holidays, and school and church events.
Foster parents often create “lifebooks”
that document special experiences,
like a child’s first steps, first loose
tooth or first date. One foster mom refers
to the life-book as “documentation
of the child’s journey at her home until
he can go back home to mom.”
Brooke Rasco, a caseworker in
Waco, said one of her foster families
makes an effort to place photos of all
their foster children’s biological parents
on the mantel.
“Each night, the foster family gives
the children an opportunity to look
at their parents’ photo and talk about
them,” she said. “This enables the children
to have a constant visual of their
birth parent.”
Children placed in foster care come
from all backgrounds, and the biological
parent must work to overcome the
issues that led to the child’s placement
with MCH. These include joblessness,
incarceration, homelessness, court restrictions,
active addictions, or safety issues
in their current living situation for
the children. Sometimes a placement
comes from a young parent who needs
time to learn parenting skills.
“Many times birth parents feel isolated
and angry at the circumstances
that brought them to this point in their
lives,” Opheim said. “Foster parents
can play a role in helping to ease that
anger and frustration and speed everyone
along to a healthier tomorrow
through the care and attention they
give to the child and to the child’s connection
to loved ones.”
Though each situation is different,
there is one constant – relationships
are the foundation of any family dynamic.
Exemplifying the Home’s core
value of relationships, MCH outreach
offices and foster families are committed
to keeping families connected.
MCH foster families help children stay connected with their birth parents and other relatives. To learn more about becoming
a foster parent through MCH, visit our website at: http://www.methodistchildrenshome.org/page/community-services.aspx.
Sunshine I Winter 2011 5