August 14, 2024

What Does a Parent Foster?

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, foster means “to encourage something to develop.” Fostering a child is not simply providing shelter and meals.  It is so much more.  So what exactly does a parent foster? Foster parents foster healing. Foster parents foster self-esteem. Foster parents foster healthy relationships. Foster parents foster emotional intelligence and empathy. […]
Woman in graduation cap and gown smiling at an older woman, who is smiling back.

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, foster means “to encourage something to develop.”

Fostering a child is not simply providing shelter and meals.  It is so much more.  So what exactly does a parent foster?

Foster parents foster healing.

Foster parents foster self-esteem.

Foster parents foster healthy relationships.

Foster parents foster emotional intelligence and empathy.

Foster parents foster joy and curiosity.

Foster parents foster positive childhood memories.

Foster parents foster success- achievements along the way that pave the road to bigger milestones.

Foster parents foster hope.

Foster parents encourage their young person to be their best, to feel their best, and to do their best.  Foster parents see the spark inside every child and kindle it carefully.  Foster parents foster the future.

 

If you have the spirit to foster goodness in this world and meet the basic qualifications, please apply today.  A child is waiting.

Topics:
Share this
Courtney Edge-Mattos

Read our latest blogs

SEE MORE
July 16, 2026

Foster Care: Growing Up

He was six and bouncing around the playground on a bright green hippity-hop ball, his grin beaming up at staff.  Someone snapped a picture at just the right moment.    She was an uncertain girl who had spent most of her life in a residential program.  The freedom of a home felt foreign.  What do you […]
June 10, 2026

Reunification and Grief

We had been talking about reunification for some time now. During the last foster care review, Jamie’s social worker shared her mother had been doing very well. Attending all her required AA meetings, participating in individual therapy, and starting a new job. I was so excited to learn that her mother was doing well and […]
1 2 3 67

Comments

Leave a Reply

Sign up for updates!

Get news from JRI delivered directly to your inbox.
CARF accreditation badge
Joint Commission International Quality Approval gold seal.
JRI's intensive residential treatment programs, clinics, and community-based services are accredited by the Joint Commission. JRI's residential schools, group homes, day habilitation and Huntington at Symphony are accredited by CARF.
Instagramfacebooklinkedintiktok

Copyright Ⓒ 2026 JRI. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy. Language Accessibility Notice. Machine Readable File Links.

magnifier