If you’ve spent any time in foster care communities on social media, you’ve likely encountered Laura, the incredible voice behind the Instagram account @foster.parenting. Laura is a content creator and mentor who draws from her experiences as a therapeutic foster parent, as well as stories and feedback shared by the online community she’s built. With practical tips, trauma-conscious guidance, and relatable stories, Laura helps others approach the complexities of foster care and empowers new foster parents through licensing and their first foster placement.
Foster care isn’t for everyone, but we can all do something to help foster families and the children in their homes. Here, Laura shares her roadmap to helping kids and families impacted by foster care.
How to Support Children and Families Affected by Foster Care
By: Laura, the Foster Parent Partner
Care about kids and families impacted by foster care? Today, I’m sharing a variety of ways you can show up in your community to make a real, tangible difference.
How you step into the community will depend a lot on what you can give and what you enjoy. No matter how big or small, everything we do to serve foster families helps strengthen their hard work and support the children in their care. Below you’ll find a variety of ways you can help.
Things Everyone Can Do to Help Kids and Families Impacted by Foster Care
- Educate yourself on how foster care operates and learn more about kids and families involved. You can do this through social media accounts, documentaries, books, podcasts, etc. Find a medium that speaks to you and share your learnings with friends and family.
- Podcasts: Fostering Change, Foster Friendly Podcast, The Imprint
- Books: Simply Neglect, You Should Be Grateful, Trash Bag Tales, First-Time Fostering, A-Z Therapeutic Parenting, The Connected Child
- Documentaries: Foster, We Gotta Get Outta Here, ReMoved, The Day I Picked My Parents, Foster Shock
- Stay informed on local policies and programs by signing up for news alerts for your county and state to learn about what the needs are in your community.
- Take what you learn and share with your friends and family about foster care and the issues your community faces.
- Participate in local elections. Local policies and politicians directly shape foster care in your area, as well as the systems connected to child welfare (such as schools, mental health resources, and housing).
- Link your grocery rewards account to a local foster care charity.
If you have resources:
- Donate like-new or new items to your local foster closet or make a monetary donation to a foster care nonprofit.
- Directory for foster closets and nonprofits: https://www.patreon.com/posts/support-for-129379139
- Stock your local community fridge or blessing box with food and supplies.
- Meet a local need for a family impacted by foster care through CarePortal.
- Grant a wish for a youth impacted by foster care.
- Purchase items and supplies for local organizations from a shopping list. Often, foster closets and nonprofits have Amazon wishlists linked on their websites. They may also reference their needs in their social media accounts or through a newsletter.
If you have time:
- Volunteer for your local CASA or GAL organization. This is a unique role that may require 10-30 hours per week as you step in to support a young person or group of siblings impacted by foster care. You help advocate for their needs in court and in day-to-day activities.
- Help out at your local foster closet or foster care nonprofit. These organizations often need help managing supplies or working at events.
- Wrap around a foster family and support them directly. You can join a formal program in your city if you don’t know any foster parents. If you know a foster family, you can help with transportation, babysitting, housework, running errands, meal trains, and beyond.
- Become a mentor to a young person. Reach out to local organizations that support former foster youth or transition-age youth.
- Join or start a care community at your local religious organization or club.
If you have expertise:
- Photography: Consider donating photography for graduating seniors in foster care or to local foster care agencies who need professional photos of children waiting for a permanent home. Photographers may also be needed for family photos, prom photos, and beyond.
- Business Professional or Owner: Consider creating special job training or internship programs for youth impacted by foster care, or become a foster or adoption-friendly workplace. You can also support youth with resume help or interview skills, a letter of recommendation, and introducing them to important people in your industry. Connect with a local organization that works with transition-age youth or former foster youth.
- Barber or Hair Stylists: Your services can help youth impacted by foster care for back-to-school or prom events. Contact your local foster care organizations to learn more about their needs.
- Mental Health Professional: Offer pro bono sessions for former foster youth or transition-age youth. Contact your local non-profit to understand specific needs. You can also offer sessions to workers and child welfare professionals.
- Legal Professionals: Offer pro bono sessions to former foster youth to help them navigate the court system. You can also step in further by signing up to be a GAL or CASA.
If you’re a leader in your community:
- Share online about foster care and ways people can help.
- Be a voice in town hall or PTA meetings to consider the needs of kids in foster care. Make sure their needs are being considered and not overlooked in day-to-day decisions.
If you have space:
- Become a host family through organizations like Safe Families or Host Families.
- Sign up to foster. Whether for a short amount of time or a lifetime, you get to decide how much you can give.
I hope this list will be a reliable guide for those of you who feel called to help kids and families impacted by foster care. Remember, you don’t have to do everything. Just pick one place to begin. Thank you for caring and showing up!
Learn more from Laura, the Foster Parent Partner
Laura’s mission is to raise awareness, advocate for children in care, and inspire foster parents to feel confident and prepared in their journey. We’re thankful and honored to share her roadmap to helping children and families affected by foster care.
Laura can be found on multiple social media platforms, including Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, LinkedIn, and YouTube. She’s also the author of First Time Fostering, a guidebook for new foster parents with 4.8 stars on Goodreads.
If you choose to get involved with foster care using this roadmap, we’d love to hear from you. Reach out to For Others on our social media or email us at marketing@forothers.com to tell us about your experience!
