Non-traditional family caregivers gain extra support through new foster care license
Marina Garcia
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – September is kinship care awareness month, and it’s the first year since a new state regulation has gone into effect that allows foster care agencies to better help families and children.
For the first time in Colorado, non-traditional families will have access to the same resources in foster care. That means a grandparent, aunt, or neighbor can now obtain a new kinship foster care license.
A foster mom I spoke to says it’s transformed her family’s lives.
“It was a whirlwind from the beginning. We didn’t know what we were getting into. We just knew that these boys needed somewhere to go, somewhere safe, and somewhere they could be loved. And that’s what we’re willing to do,” says foster mom Stacie Tshabalala.
Stacie is a single mom who is fostering two kids who were previously her neighbors.
She has been taking care of these children for two years and now has access to a wealth of resources since getting her kinship licensing through Kids Crossing.
Though the trauma experienced by these kids may have everlasting effects, she says the counseling and 24/7 hour crisis care, which are a few services, have put her in a more stable position to work towards adopting the boys.
“Many benefits that we weren’t aware of, that we’re now having, make it. It’s such a load off, and it makes it so much easier. And so even though we might not have the perfect home, a lot of times people think, you know, that it has to be perfect. It it’s less than that and made it to where we’re able to do it, where we wouldn’t have been able to keep it out for much longer before.” says foster mom, Stacie Tshabalala.
If you are thinking about fostering and want to learn more about this new licensing program, you can view the full list of foster care agencies in El Paso County here.