Licensing Agencies

Important Dates: General Information Meetings and Expos

Success Stories

Success Stories

The Wolf Family

After enduring the frustrations of trying to conceive a child and one failed private adoption, Karen Wolf and her husband decided to become foster parents. Ms. Wolf was riding the metro near her home in Maryland at the time and saw a billboard about becoming a foster parent. She thought that fostering could be an answer to her prayers and also allow her the opportunity to help a child in need. Soon after becoming licensed, the Wolf family had a beautiful seventeen month old girl placed in their home. This child was later adopted by the Wolf family. They eventually moved to the north Texas area. The Wolfs wanted to continue fostering so they completed the necessary paperwork and training to become licensed in the state of Texas as well.

Three days after Christmas in 1998, Ms. Wolf received a late night phone call from a representative from Child Protective Services requesting that a three month old child be placed in their home. With no infant supplies in their home, the Wolfs went to an all-night retailer to pick up essentials for the baby. The baby stayed in their home for eight months. The Wolfs worked closely with the biological parents of the baby with the goal being that he would one day return home when the parents completed all the necessary services ordered by the court. The social worker assigned to the Wolf family wasn’t available on the day the baby was to return home. Ms. Wolf personally delivered the baby back to his birth mother. She stood beside the birth mother’s car with the baby’s supplies in hand and fought back tears. Ms. Wolf went over all the belongings she returned to the birth mother such as photo albums, a log of the baby’s first words and accomplishments, clippings from his first hair cut. Ms. Wolf hugged the birth mother and asked her to take good care of the baby that she had grown so attached to. Within two weeks following this separation, the Wolf’s other foster child, who had been in their home for a year and a half, also returned home to her birth family. In a very short time, her home went from a family of five to a family of three. Her house echoed like a cave and everyone was lonely.

Following this, the Wolf family decided to take a short break from fostering. Ms. Wolf volunteered at her daughter’s school to keep busy. Almost a year later, after accepting foster placements again, Ms. Wolf received a phone call about that same little baby boy that had entered her home three days after Christmas. He had been placed into foster care again and a placement was being arranged for him. Ms. Wolf immediately accepted him back into their home and was overjoyed to reconnect with the baby that she had grown so attached to previously. When the time came for permanent arrangements to be made, the biological parents of this child requested that the Wolf family adopt him. The birth parents expressed gratitude for the Wolf family working so closely with them in the past and for taking care of their child previously. Two years later, that baby was adopted by the Wolf family.

The Wolf family fostered for about nine years. Ms. Wolf indicates that the most difficult thing about fostering is growing attached to children and then seeing them leave your home. However, she says that the most rewarding part of fostering is knowing that you have helped a family and a child through a difficult time in their life. Fostering allows you to provide a child with a safe and loving home. Whether the children are with you for a short time or end up staying permanently, you have the opportunity to make a life-changing impact on their lives. 

The Harris Family

Jennifer Harris grew up in a foster home, spending seven years of her childhood with “the most amazing foster parents.” Her foster parents fostered for 16 years and took in over 75 children. She decided to become a foster parent herself after she and her husband struggled for five years to have a child of their own. In two years as a foster parent, she and her husband have fostered ten children and feel that they have made a successful impact on the lives of each of them.

After initially becoming licensed to foster, Jennifer received a phone call on a Monday evening around 8:00 p.m. A CPS worker was requesting a placement for two little girls, ages one and three. The placement was originally to take place the following Friday. Jennifer was nervous and excited about the arrival of the first two children to be placed in her home. However, she quickly realized all the supplies she would need, sippy cups and toddler food, high chairs and toys. Before even filling her home with all the necessities she received another phone call from CPS asking if the girls could be placed the following day instead. In what she describes as a “whirlwind,” Jennifer quickly rushed out to get all the necessary supplies and anxiously awaited the young girls the following day. That first night was difficult. Between introducing the girls to their new rooms and soothing them when they cried at bedtime, Jennifer realized that it would take some time for both she and her husband and the girls to adjust to the new situation. But after establishing a routine and getting to know the girls more, everything fell into place. The girls stayed at the Harris home for the following year until they went to live with other family members. Jennifer admits how hard it was to see them leave but how fulfilling it was to know that she did all she could to improve their lives.

Jennifer takes every opportunity available to tell others that she is a foster parent. She would definitely recommend it to others as well. She encourages others to explore all the aspects of fostering, including the difficult job of sometimes letting go of the children you become attached to. But she also adds that she loves fostering and making a permanent impact in the lives of children keeps her going through whatever struggles she may face. The greatest reward she receives is seeing the children change and grow while in her care. Jennifer also promotes fostering through her work as the Vice-President of Foster and Adoptive Parents of Collin County. She and her husband eventually hope to become adoptive parents as well.