A single foster mother in Idaho, Emma was willing, able, and ready to foster a child on her own. Her choice is not common, but the Department of Health and Welfare encourages single parents, or single people with no children, to apply.

And just because Emma is not married does not mean she is alone in her mission to help foster youth. She is connected to a large supportive network. Friends drop off clothes, diapers, and other items her foster children need. Sometimes, the youth have very little when they arrive at her home, so winter clothing and toiletries must be kept on hand, or be quickly found, borrowed, or donated. She attends community events and asks the local fostering community for help.

“I've said this before, that I may be a single foster parent, but I'm not fostering alone,” Emma said. “You know, the coffee get-togethers, the park days, the mom’s dinners, the conference that happens every year.”

Emma also joined a Facebook group that helps her meet other parents. The online community helped her immediately and continuously through her journey. And joining that group led her to get even more involved. 

She learned about respite care, which gives foster parents a break when they need it, and she signed up to help other parents as a respite caregiver. What this means is that for a few days or a week, a foster youth will stay with a trusted and licensed person close by. It allows for vacations, mental health breaks, medical procedures, and other routine events that may come up in the normal course of fostering.

After becoming licensed, Emma met other local foster families on a group site, and when they needed respite assistance, she became trained, stepped up, and helped. Meanwhile, once she had foster kids of her own, she reached out to single foster parents across the country to help navigate her own situations. 

“Some of those families, they were placed with their kiddo, but then I was the only one that ever did respite for those kiddos,” she said. “Then they could have consistency. The kiddo was either with their foster family, or they were with me.” 

Respite goes both ways, too, and at times “when there are hard days or I am not feeling well,” Emma has asked for help. 

For youth living in constant transition, encountering new faces and places can trigger past trauma, and Emma stressed that respite care allows foster parents to recharge so they can better support these children, giving youth in foster care a greater sense of calm and security.

If you're interested in becoming a foster parent, or helping with occasional respite care, it can be as small as committing to one child for one season of their life. Please call 211 or visit the department’s foster care web page for more information. Your willingness to open your home can make a profound difference in a child's life.

The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare is dedicated to strengthening the health, safety, and independence of Idahoans. Learn more at healthandwelfare.idaho.gov.