A Journey of a Lifetime
The Gonzales family were all smiles on Bella’s adoption day. Pictured on either side of the judge (in black) are (left to right) Julie, Bella, Willow, Annie and Jake Gonzales. Julie says, “It’s been a wonderful journey…it made our family complete.”
November is National Adoption Awareness Month, intended to raise awareness of those children in foster care needing adoption into permanent homes. At any given time, there are about 760 children in foster care in Butte, Glenn, Shasta, Siskiyou, and Tehama Counties, and almost one-third of them are eligible for adoption.
At Yosemite this past summer, the Gonzales family added another fun family adventure to their many memories.
Sheri Wiggins, program director for Shasta College’s Foster & Kinship Education, says, “If you are willing to step up and be the parent a child needs you to be, there are many children looking for permanent, loving and caring families.” She explains that the first goal of foster care is to “reunite children with their parents when a suitable home environment can be reestablished, and that can take six to 18 months.”
She also cautions parents to be realistic in their expectations. “Children in foster care often have hard starts in life and have experienced trauma that may have greatly affected their development in a variety of ways. Families wanting to adopt through foster care need to be flexible in their expectations, able to see a child for who they are, not who they aren’t, be willing to be creative in their parenting, and have a large capacity for commitment, patience and determination to meet all of the needs of any child placed in their home. A good sense of humor helps tremendously!”
“Interestingly enough,” she continues, “love is often something that grows out of shared positive experiences over time. This is why love is not enough. First, the child needs to feel safe; then, they will build a relationship. As the relationship grows, so does trust. Willful compliance only comes after the first three have. If you require a child to be compliant to be loved, these children are not for you.”
Sheri and her husband had a foster home license for ten years and adopted four children, two brothers with special needs ranging from critical medical conditions to mental health issues and two newborn girls with grave medical problems. With one daughter, she says, “The doctor actually told us we didn’t want to adopt this baby. We are so very thankful that we did. Our family has been very blessed, and the work in raising them has been difficult and complicated at times. Worth every minute of it.”
Julie Gonzales, president of Chico Creek Dance Center, became a foster mom through the Youth for Change Foster Care Services in Chico. “My husband and I went into the foster care system wanting to adopt,” she says, “and our daughter Bella’s adoption was a wonderful experience. We got matched with Bella when she was three months old, and she is now four. It took about 18 months for Bella’s adoption to become final. You’re not given a definite ‘yes’ until the end, so it’s a process of up and down emotions.”
Julie says the support and benefits the state provides for foster and adoptive parents is a big help. “The state gives enough money and support to help both foster and adoptive parents until the child turns 18. If we could get more families to open their homes either for a short period or a longer period to help these kids, it would be wonderful.”
One of the ways the state supports adoptive parents is through “WRAP Around Services.” These programs are designed to give the families respite and assist in keeping the child in the home. Sheri knows this, firsthand, “We had WRAP services with one of our sons when he was an older teen. He had become emotionally unstable and volatile. Our entire family was exhausted. By having services brought to us, we were able to avoid an out-of-home placement. When done well, WRAP can be very powerful.”
Kelsey Johnson, account executive with North State Parent magazine, became an adoptive mom after fostering a special needs child. Her son, who was three at the time of adoption, is now nine. “His mom asked me to adopt him because she just couldn’t take care of him. He is considered terminally ill but thriving,” Kelsey says. “That is the only challenge. The most rewarding is just being his mom. He loves me, and he’s become part of the family.”
For those curious about becoming foster or adoptive parents, Sheri says, “My children have forced me to grow in ways I never would have anticipated. Each has brought their own way of loving to our family, and all of them are successful in their own right. They fill my life with joy and love, and the hard work that parenting requires of all children.”
The Process
- There is now one approval process for anyone who wants to foster or adopt.
- Relatives are given priority when placing a child in a foster home.
- All families must complete at least eight hours of annual training.
- All families must complete an orientation and 12 hours of specific training to become “resource family approved.”
- All adults must complete an assessment to become RFA approved, and the home must pass a home environment check.
- An approval is good anywhere in California, making it possible to foster and adopt children who live anywhere in the state. If the family moves after approval, a new home inspection must be done, and the approval updated.
- A family can be approved by a county or a foster family agency to take foster children who may end up becoming adoptive children.
Foster Care & Adoption Resources
NATIONAL
Center for Adoption Support and Education
MULTIPLE COUNTIES
Butte College Foster Kinship Care Education Program; Chico. Butte and neighboring counties. Free ongoing training, parenting classes, workshops, and family enrichment training. 2480 Notre Dame Blvd. (530) 897-6235.
California Department of Social Services Adoptions; Chico Regional Office: 520 Cohasset Rd., Ste. 140. (530) 895-6143.
California Kids Connection. A program provided by the California Dept. of Social Services as a registry of children waiting to be adopted and families wanting to adopt.
Children First Foster Family Agency; Shasta & Siskiyou Counties. Private, nonprofit agency.
- Red Bluff. 590 Antelope Blvd. Bldg. B, Ste. 20. (530) 528-2938.
- Redding. 2608 Victor Ave., Ste. A. (530) 722-1022.
- Yreka. 490 S. Broadway St. (530) 841-1030.
Children’s Hope Foster Family Agency; Gridley. Butte, Glenn & Tehama Counties. Private, nonprofit agency. 567 Virginia St. (530) 846-4955.
Lilliput Children’s Services; Butte, Glenn, Shasta, Siskiyou & Tehama Counties. Private, nonprofit agency. Foster, adoption, and kinship services for domestic adoptions. Adoption support group and post-adoption resource center.
- Chico. 289 Rio Lindo Dr. (530) 896-1920.
- Redding. 2580 Victor Ave., Ste. C. (530) 722-9092.
Shasta College Foster & Kinship Care Education Program; Redding. Shasta & Tehama Counties. Free classes, workshops, and conferences for caregivers. 11555 Old Oregon Trail. (530) 339-3611.
Sierra Forever Families Post-Adoption Services; Chico. Butte, Glenn & Siskiyou Counties. Private, nonprofit agency. Post-adoption support services for anyone who has adopted through any agency or attorney. Support groups, parent training, social activities, resource information. 520 Cohasset Rd., Ste. 140.
(530) 478-0900.
Youth & Family Programs; Butte, Shasta & Tehama Counties. Private, nonprofit agency. Family-centered, team approach to foster care and support services to children and teens age infant-21, their birth families and the agency’s foster parents.
- Redding. 2770 Pioneer Dr. (530) 365-9197.
- Chico. 2577 California Park Dr. (530) 893-1614.
BUTTE COUNTY
Butte County Adoption Services; Oroville. 202 Mira Loma Dr. (530) 538-5119.
Youth for Change Foster Care Services; Chico. Full-service foster family agency accredited by the California Alliance of Child & Family Services. 2580 Sierra Sunrise Terrace., Ste. 100. (530) 877-6764.
SHASTA COUNTY
Krista Foster Homes; Redding. Nonprofit Christian agency. 1135 Pine St., Ste. 21. (530) 246-1259.
Ready for Life Foster Family Agency; Redding. Private, nonprofit, faith-based agency. 962 Maraglia St.
(530) 222-1826.
Shasta County Foster Care, Adoptive & Kinship Care; Redding. Full-service domestic adoption & foster care agency. 2650 Breslauer Way. (530) 225-5554 or (530) 225-5791.
SISKIYOU COUNTY
College of the Siskiyous Foster and Kinship Care Education; Yreka. Foster Care and Resource Family Approval Classes, 2001 Campus Drive.
TEHAMA COUNTY
Tehama County Department of Social Services; Red Bluff. Foster family services and services for young adults who have aged out of the foster system but still need support. Parent education classes and child abuse hotline. 310 S. Main St. (530) 527-1911.
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