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Foster Care Success

4 min read

Foster Care Support Group: Stepping Back to See In

By Courtney Edge-Mattos on September 22, 2022

A long-haired boy stares at the camera.

“Oh, nothing going in my house, just the usual.  I don’t need to take up everyone’s time,” she said.  Her voice was upbeat.

As a Homefinder, it often surprises the families when I know about the goings on in their households. 

“I think you’ve got something pretty big coming up…Aren’t you taking guardianship of Big C?”

“Oh, that…Yep, that is coming up.  But it’s no big thing,” she deflects.  Foster parents so often shy away

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3 min read

Fostering: Am I Ready? Am I Enough?

By Courtney Edge-Mattos on April 2, 2021

How do you know when you are ready to foster?

How long have you been thinking about fostering?  Is this a new idea or something you’ve considered for some time?

This is often the first question I ask folks, and the answer is almost always the same: years.  But they weren't sure they were ready.  They weren't sure they are enough.

They've spent years picturing what it would be like to prepare a room for a child, of the things they would do with a child or

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Rachel Arruda

Rachel has been a part of the JRI team since January, 2000. For over 20 years, Rachel has been working in the field of human services assisting families with accessing and navigating services. Rachel received her Bachelors degree in psychology and Masters Degree in Public Administration from Bridgewater State University. She was promoted in July 2005 to Family Networks Program Director where she closely worked with the Department of Children Families for 10 years ensuring that children and families received the highest quality of individualized services ranging from community based through residential care. Rachel is very dedicated to helping the individuals she works with and is committed to improving the lives of children and families. Rachel’s passion for creative service programming inspires her in her role as JRI Service Navigator.