It can be challenging caring for children who are filled with anxiety, who have issues of trust and attachment, and who struggle with so much on a day-to-day basis in your home and as part of your family twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. Perhaps that is one of the reasons why up to 50 percent of foster parents quit after the first year of opening up their home to children in foster care. Today’s foster parents lack support and a support network.
The truth is that as foster parents, we need and we deserve a network of support from those who truly understand what we do, why we do it, and the difficulties we may face as foster parents. Perhaps the best thing my caseworker did for my wife and me after we completed our foster parent training was help us create a foster parent’s support group in our county. We began meeting once a month, at a local church, and my wife and I quickly grew to not only look forward to each meeting but really embrace and value the members in the support group. The other members of our support group understood what my wife and I were going through as foster parents because they, too, were foster parents. They too had had similar experiences.
Join the thousands who receive Dr. DeGarmo’s FREE foster care newsletter. Simply fill out the form below.
As a support group, we could lean on one another during difficult times, laugh at some of the absurdities that only come with foster parenting, and gain valuable knowledge and skills from those foster parents who had already gone through similar experiences as they had walked the foster parenting journey as well. Most important, we could surround ourselves with people who would not judge us as “those strange foster parents.”
Foster parent support groups, or foster parent associations as they are sometimes also known by, offer so much for both the new and veteran foster parent. Support groups and associations offer you the opportunity to develop relationships with other foster parents. These relationships are wonderful occasions for you to validate your own experiences and emotions you feel as a foster parent. Fellow foster parents will also be able to discuss common experiences and common concerns related to the foster children living in their homes, as well as share ideas and resources with one another.
When you join a foster parent support group, you quickly come to the realization that you are not alone. There are others who have had similar experiences, and this realization often turns to relief. Along with this, when you are surrounded by others who have walked the same path you have as a foster parent, you can truly express yourself with others without fear of judgment or ridicule. Support groups offer just that, a supportive environment where you will very likely feel comfortable enough to share your feelings, concerns, frustrations, and doubts within a safe space. Doing so can be both therapeutic and even healing for you. In addition, as you share with others who support you, the stress of caring for children in crisis and in need can be reduced considerably.
Become a Special Member of The Foster Care Institute-AMAZING Benefits!
One wonderful benefit of belonging to a foster parent support group is the opportunity to surround yourself with others you can learn from. Indeed, you will learn so much about how the foster care system truly works from those who have been involved in it for some time. In addition, you will also learn practical and real-life tips on how to deal with difficult situations you might be experiencing currently or may experience in the future. This can better help prepare you in advance for those challenging moments, as well as grant you a better understanding of what you might experience caring for children in crisis. Finally, foster parent support groups allow you to share resources. Perhaps you have a new baby being placed in your home and do not have the proper resources needed. Others in your foster parent support group may be able to help, providing cribs, car seats, age-appropriate toys, and so forth. Indeed, foster parents are quick to share not only knowledge, wisdom, and experiences, they are also often quick to share needed physical items.
-Dr .John
Want MORE about this? Look for the upcoming book Called to Foster by Jen Lilley and Dr. John DeGarmo in May, 2026.
The truth is that as foster parents, we need and we deserve a network of support from those who truly understand what we do, why we do it, and the difficulties we may face as foster parents. Perhaps the best thing my caseworker did for my wife and me after we completed our foster parent training was help us create a foster parent’s support group in our county. We began meeting once a month, at a local church, and my wife and I quickly grew to not only look forward to each meeting but really embrace and value the members in the support group. The other members of our support group understood what my wife and I were going through as foster parents because they, too, were foster parents. They too had had similar experiences.
Join the thousands who receive Dr. DeGarmo’s FREE foster care newsletter. Simply fill out the form below.
As a support group, we could lean on one another during difficult times, laugh at some of the absurdities that only come with foster parenting, and gain valuable knowledge and skills from those foster parents who had already gone through similar experiences as they had walked the foster parenting journey as well. Most important, we could surround ourselves with people who would not judge us as “those strange foster parents.”
Foster parent support groups, or foster parent associations as they are sometimes also known by, offer so much for both the new and veteran foster parent. Support groups and associations offer you the opportunity to develop relationships with other foster parents. These relationships are wonderful occasions for you to validate your own experiences and emotions you feel as a foster parent. Fellow foster parents will also be able to discuss common experiences and common concerns related to the foster children living in their homes, as well as share ideas and resources with one another.
When you join a foster parent support group, you quickly come to the realization that you are not alone. There are others who have had similar experiences, and this realization often turns to relief. Along with this, when you are surrounded by others who have walked the same path you have as a foster parent, you can truly express yourself with others without fear of judgment or ridicule. Support groups offer just that, a supportive environment where you will very likely feel comfortable enough to share your feelings, concerns, frustrations, and doubts within a safe space. Doing so can be both therapeutic and even healing for you. In addition, as you share with others who support you, the stress of caring for children in crisis and in need can be reduced considerably.
Become a Special Member of The Foster Care Institute-AMAZING Benefits!
One wonderful benefit of belonging to a foster parent support group is the opportunity to surround yourself with others you can learn from. Indeed, you will learn so much about how the foster care system truly works from those who have been involved in it for some time. In addition, you will also learn practical and real-life tips on how to deal with difficult situations you might be experiencing currently or may experience in the future. This can better help prepare you in advance for those challenging moments, as well as grant you a better understanding of what you might experience caring for children in crisis. Finally, foster parent support groups allow you to share resources. Perhaps you have a new baby being placed in your home and do not have the proper resources needed. Others in your foster parent support group may be able to help, providing cribs, car seats, age-appropriate toys, and so forth. Indeed, foster parents are quick to share not only knowledge, wisdom, and experiences, they are also often quick to share needed physical items.
-Dr .John
Want MORE about this? Look for the upcoming book Called to Foster by Jen Lilley and Dr. John DeGarmo in May, 2026.
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