Helping foster families
Woman shares advice with nearly 4,000 people on Facebook
When people suggest foster parents do it for the money, Tina Peterson lets out a little chuckle.
Those who open their homes to children in need do get a monthly government stipend, though Peterson said it only covers a child’s basic needs. Instead, she said, the real rewards for her and other foster parents extend far beyond the monetary.
A resident of Chicago’s Beverly neighborhood, Peterson runs a Facebook group for current and prospective foster parents. Started in 2012, Illinois Foster Parents Support Group provides a platform for its 3,700 members to exchange information, advice and support.
Peterson and her husband, Richard, decided to become licensed foster parents after attempts to conceive naturally failed and adoption proved complex and costly.
The couple fostered their son Lucian, 9, from infancy, and adopted him about two years later.
They also have another foster son, now 4, who came into their care when he was 7 weeks old.
Getting feedback from group members with experience is valuable to foster parents, who often face unknown circumstances when they take a placement, Peterson said.
When a foster parent accepts a child or children into their home, the child might be newly entering the foster system or may come from another foster home.
“Being a foster parent is really hard because you’re getting kids of all different ages, and they’re kids that sometimes come from very traumatic backgrounds,” she said.
When a child enters the foster care system, caseworkers often still are investigating what trauma they suffered, Peterson said. It isn’t the foster parent’s job to uncover these issues, but to be sensitive to them and report any information that surfaces.
Becoming a certified foster parent While the Facebook group includes currently licensed foster parents, it also helps prospective foster families understand what they’re facing. To start with, gaining a foster care license requires submitting to a meticulous process, Peterson said.
“As a foster parent you take PRIDE classes, where you get a general overview of what
Those who open their homes to children in need do get a monthly government stipend, though Peterson said it only covers a child’s basic needs. Instead, she said, the real rewards for her and other foster parents extend far beyond the monetary.
A resident of Chicago’s Beverly neighborhood, Peterson runs a Facebook group for current and prospective foster parents. Started in 2012, Illinois Foster Parents Support Group provides a platform for its 3,700 members to exchange information, advice and support.
Peterson and her husband, Richard, decided to become licensed foster parents after attempts to conceive naturally failed and adoption proved complex and costly.
The couple fostered their son Lucian, 9, from infancy, and adopted him about two years later.
They also have another foster son, now 4, who came into their care when he was 7 weeks old.
Getting feedback from group members with experience is valuable to foster parents, who often face unknown circumstances when they take a placement, Peterson said.
When a foster parent accepts a child or children into their home, the child might be newly entering the foster system or may come from another foster home.
“Being a foster parent is really hard because you’re getting kids of all different ages, and they’re kids that sometimes come from very traumatic backgrounds,” she said.
When a child enters the foster care system, caseworkers often still are investigating what trauma they suffered, Peterson said. It isn’t the foster parent’s job to uncover these issues, but to be sensitive to them and report any information that surfaces.
Becoming a certified foster parent While the Facebook group includes currently licensed foster parents, it also helps prospective foster families understand what they’re facing. To start with, gaining a foster care license requires submitting to a meticulous process, Peterson said.
“As a foster parent you take PRIDE classes, where you get a general overview of what
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