Wessels Foster Parenting Home Page

to the
Foster Parent
Help Page
Sponsored by Craig & Sue Wessels

Hello..... Please allow us to introduce ourselves. Our names are Craig and Sue Wessels and we have been Foster Parents since 1983. We do not consider ourselves to be experts in the field of Foster Care. But we would like to share our experience with any new comers or anyone with questions regarding fostering children. We have fostered quite a few children in our home and have seen quite a few family re-unifications in the last few years. Fostering a child in a crisis situation takes Patience, Understanding and lots of Love and Time.

We have (3) boys. The oldest is 19 and is currently in the U.S. Marine Corps and the younger boys are 9 years old, and in the 4th grade and 8 years old, and in the 2nd grade. We are a military family and have had the opportunity to be foster parents in 4 different states. We do maintain contact with just a few of our Foster Children. A couple of our foster children have made us grandparents. We have (3) grand daughters and (1) grandson.
They are a joy to talk with on the telephone and have come for visits.

How Do I Become a Foster Parent
Contact your nearest Department of Human Services.
They will have a packet of information for you to go through. Once you have finished completing this packet of information, there should be some type of training required. Your home will be inspected for safety and cleanliness. When you have complied with all of the information requested from you, and after your home inspection, you should receive a license to become Foster Parents.
(This process could take up to 2 months depending on information requested in the packet and training for you. So don't lose faith you can do it!)

Reasons for children being removed :

Physical Abuse, Sexual Abuse, Emotional Abuse, Failure to Thrive, Neglect,
Parent in Jail, Abandonment, Child is a Runaway, Death of a Parent or Guardian
These are just a few of the many reasons a child will come into your home.
If you are new to any or all of this, we suggest that you start out
with only one child and work your way up.
(No matter how much the case worker pleads with you to take just one more. This makes the difference between a good placement and a disastrous one, for you and the child.)

Never Lose Sight of the Fact
Never lose sight of the fact that you have signed an agreement with the Department of Human Services to take a child into your home, treat this child as you would your own and understand that you are toHELP RE-UNIFY THIS CHILD...
WITH THEIR BIOLOGICAL PARENTS

You must NEVER and we can't emphasize this enough....

Never berate the child's parent(s) or their situation. It is not your choice or decision to make, regarding the feelings the child should have for their parent(s). You may not give the child your opinion regarding their parent(s).
It is the child's choice alone to decide, with the help of their casworker and counselor.

Please feel free to share your experience with us.
When sending us your article, please make sure that there are
no names, addresses or telephone numbers in it.
Confidentiality is required so that the children
you discuss in your article or you yourself are protected.
Feel free to send your questions or comments to us via E-mail.

Wishing you the happiest Foster Parenting Experiences,

Craig & Sue Wessels