This is Foster Care
What does the reality of foster care look like?
We asked former foster youth, current foster parents, and Coyote Hill Foster Care Ministries staff around Missouri.
This is Relative Foster Care.
Meet Latuana Hatcher, a Relative Placement Provider with Coyote Hill Foster Care Ministries. Latuana takes care of her three biological children and four relative foster placements.
“They are such strong little kids. I don’t even know if I’m as strong as they are. No child should ever have to go through what these children went through. And for them to still call me mom and for them to still want to work on themselves everyday is absolutely amazing.”
Watch more at the video below.
This is a Guardian Ad Litem
There are so many adults who work together to advocate for a child in foster care—the lawyers, therapists, CASAs, foster parents, and biological family. It can be pretty confusing. That’s why we sat down with Bill Ellis, Thirteenth Circuit Guardian Ad Litem (GAL) in Missouri, to discuss his role in the lives of children in foster care.
“I advocate for the child’s best interest,” said Bill. “That puts me in a unique situation where I may have to recommend to the court something the juvenile is not in agreement with.”
Watch more at the video below.
This is a Chief Deputy in a Juvenile Office
Curtis Bramblett is the Chief Deputy of the 10th circuit juvenile office in Missouri. That includes Ralls County, Marion County, and Monroe County Missouri.
“I really like rehabilitating kids. They love, they learn, they care, they have desires, they have wants, they have needs, they have hobbies that really entice them, they have things that they look forward to. They have dreams. It’s no different than any other child.”
Watch more at the video below.
This is a Foster and Adoptive Parent
Steve and Sarah Yates were married for just a few months when a baby girl named Zariah came into their lives and changed everything. We wrote about their adoption journey with Zariah last year. Shortly after the story was published, and only a few months after they adopted Zariah on April 6th, Zariah went into cardiac arrest due to hypoxia.
“I was at work and my husband was running to the grocery store doing a Walmart pickup. Zariah was just sitting on the couch watching TV,” Sarah said. “My husband gave her a big kiss on the forehead and said he would see her when he got back. When he got home from the groceries and the home health nurse right out and said, ‘Zariah’s not breathing.’ My husband almost immediately when he got in there realized her trach was out and put her trach back in and started doing CPR.”
Watch more at the video below.
This is a Former Foster Youth Who Is Now a Foster Parent
We would like to introduce you to Brandi Brooks, a 26-year-old former foster youth at Coyote Hill Foster Care Ministries. Brandi was placed in foster care in 2009 after having a poor relationship with her parents.
“I moved around homes a lot in the system,” Brandi said. “I went to three different houses at Coyote Hill’s Foster Care Neighborhood, and then left there to live with a friend. Then, I moved around Butterfield Youth Services four different times.” Brandi lived in eight different homes over a four-year period in foster care.
Watch more at the video below.