Answer: In so many ways... Integrating new additions to a set family dynamic is always challenging. This article "How Foster Care Affects Your Biological Children" from Starting Parenting Over gives great insight into what to expect. And, in keeping with our commitment, the author doesn't sugarcoat anything.

As a Guardian ad Litem, you really get to know these children. Not only do we travel to see each child at least once every thirty days, visit their schools, speak to professionals in their lives (doctors, therapists, caseworkers, etc.), and then make a best interest recommendation to the court – but when it’s birthday time, many of our Guardians go the extra mile to make “their kids” birthday extra special!
 
This is a drawing a young man did and the GAL had the image placed on a special birthday cake. Who doesn’t love barbie dolls? Well the guardian helped this young mom learn how to make her daughter a special cake. And Oscar, well we all love Oscar the Grouch and these cookies brought a huge smile to a little boy’s face.
 
You can help by joining Speak Up For Kids Birthday Club. ​https://speakupforkidspbc.org/ways-to-give

We hear tragic stories every day of infants being left in dumpsters, children being abused, young lives in turmoil due to their parents drug use of domestic violence with in the family.

But there are good stories too. Of people like Diana H who has fostered over 18 children and adopted one. Or Terri C who fostered dozens of children and her own biological daughter adopted two of Terri's foster children. Or Sharonda who was ready to adopt one or two children and is stepping up to the plate to foster a large sibling group. Or the single man who just became a single dad.

Today @SesameCommunity announced a new initiative to support foster children, foster parents, & providers who serve foster families. The new content features Karli, a young Muppet in foster care and her “for now” parents, Dalia & Clem http://sesamestreetincommunities.org/topics/foster-care  #SesameCommunity

From @WPBF25News Story https://www.wpbf.com/article/sesame-street-introduces-karli-a-muppet-in-foster-care/27531768:   

In an effort to support foster children and families, there’s a new Muppet family living on Sesame Street. 

Karli, and her “for-now” parents Dalia and Clem, was introduced Monday by Sesame Workshop to offer support foster children and foster families, the nonprofit educational organization behind the iconic children’s show said.

The effort is part of the Sesame Street in Communities program that helps provide free resources for caregivers and community providers on a number of difficult issues such as homelessness and traumatic experiences.

“Fostering a child takes patience, resilience, and sacrifice, and we know that caring adults hold the power to buffer the effects of traumatic experiences on young children,” Jeanette Betancourt, senior vice president of U.S. Social Impact at Sesame Workshop, said in a news release. “We want foster parents and providers to hear that what they do matters — they have the enormous job of building and rebuilding family structures and children’s sense of safety. By giving the adults in children’s lives the tools they need — with help from the Sesame Street Muppets — we can help both grownups and children feel seen and heard and give them a sense of hope for the future.”

The material, available in English and Spanish, offers digital and printable resources.

PALM BEACH COUNTY GUARDIAN AD LITEM PROGRAM
Guardian Ad Litem is a state supported program of trained volunteers 21 years of age and older and professional staff.  These volunteers become part of the court process in order to represent and advocate for a child’s best interest.  Most of these children, now subjects of judicial proceedings, have been removed from their homes because of alleged abuse, abandonment or neglect.
Our volunteers advocate for needed services for the child, report to the judge, case manager and attorney via written reports/ testimony and monitor the case from beginning to end. With a GAL, a child is half as likely to languish in the foster care and child welfare system and more likely to find a safe, permanent home.
In Palm Beach County, there are approximately 1,400-1,600 children in the system at this time. To be part of Guardian ad Litem, there are no special legal skills necessary- just good common sense and the desire to help abused and neglected children. Someone interested in helping children may also volunteer for our Speak Up for Kids program. Speak Up for Kids’ is a 501(c3) non-profit whose sole purpose is to support the GAL program and its mission through fundraising, grants, community events/ awareness and presentations. Volunteers are needed for Marketing, Website Management, Administrative, Special Events and Media Relations.
To VOLUNTEER or obtain more information regarding Guardian ad Litem and Speak Up for Kids, visit our website at Galpbc.org or speakupforkidspbc.org or call 561-355-6224. 
Make a lasting difference in the life of a child. VOLUNTEER to be the VOICE of a child

Question: Are single men excluded from serving as foster parents?
Answer: Absolutely not! Forever Families are not monolithic. This story highlights how men are rallying to support children in our communities.

Meet Barbara and Liz and listen to their inspiring stories.
​YOU can make a difference.

​I am a Foster Mom and this is My Story

I went to class, I readied my home, I passed the background check, and I rallied family and friends to help as I would be a single foster parent, and then I anxiously awaited the first placement call.  

It came sooner than expected, just two days after I was certified. A little girl needed to change placements – for the 10th time – she had some behavior issues, she was 3. 
 
I’m thinking, who wouldn’t have issues after being moved 10 times. The caseworker continued, “She has no health issues and is generally happy.” “Bio Mom is working on reunification so she may be there a short time or a while. We really need 
someone to stick with her this time”, she said.

The butterflies in my stomach, thinking:  Can I really do this? What if she doesn’t bond with me? I don’t want to disappoint her.  And then I took a deep breath, gathered my strength and said yes. What time will she be here?

It’s not been an easy journey. It took Elisa a while to warm up to me, to trust that I wasn’t going to leave, but she’s thriving now and she’s been with me almost two years. You see, Elisa entered this world the baby of a former foster child, just 20 years old herself, trying to find forever love by having a baby. Bio Mom was trying so hard to keep her baby but lacked the true understanding of what parenting looked like because she spent her teenage years in different group and foster homes and that was after her own birth mom failed to take care of her.

What I learned along the way is no one is perfect, not the child, not the bio mom, and certainly not me. Foster Care is messy! There is no cookie cutter situation. But there is love, ever abounding love, when you have patience and persistence. I came to realize that what was best for Elisa was to help her mom learn to parent her properly. It took time but by opening my heart and my home to a little girl, I now have a forever connection with her and her Bio Mom with whom she was just reunified.

I hope my story inspires you to consider fostering. I am now readying my home for another foster adventure, maybe siblings this time. 

​I am a Foster Mom and this is My Story

I heard the knock on the door my heart began pounding. Thinking, "Am I ready for this? 
Can I really help this child?" 

Opening the door, half hiding behind a caseworker, I see a little boy, looking down holding tightly onto a stuffed elephant and a football. My heart explodes with the desire to make him feel safe. "Come on in" I say, "would you like some cookies?"  (It’s an old real estate trick: bake cookies to make the house feel homey.) 

All I got was a head shake, but Asher and his case worker came in. We sat down to do the paperwork and Asher was fidgeting, clearly nervous to be here. We walked back to show him what turned out to be his room for the next year and a half. Little did Asher know, I had already started to love him. There's just something special about helping kids who are stuck in hard situations.

It took a while for Asher to warm up to me and adjust to having a routine. But patience, caring, and consistency won out and Asher is now thriving! The biggest challenge was school—he was two years behind. The routine helped and so did his motivation to play football. I'm happy to report that with our help and that of his tutor, he should be on grade level next year.

For me, well, my first foster was hard. I always knew that reunification was the goal but the reality of the loss when he left was real. I'm lucky that his Bio Mom was able to see how much he grew as a person while "in care" and she still includes me in his life. 

You see, fostering is intended to be temporary care. My “job” was to love and care for this child as if he were my own until his biological parents could take care of him. Yes, sometimes that temporary job can become permanent and lead to adoption; but when a parent and child can be reunified, that is the best of both worlds!  I am proud of the forever impact I have had on Asher’s life. 

I hope my story inspires you to consider fostering. I am now readying my home for another foster adventure, maybe siblings this time.

Forever, “Aunt” Sally