×

Foster parents follow family tradition to serve needs of others

Toby and Amanda Freier of New Ulm have three small children of their own, but that doesn’t keep them from becoming foster parents when the needs of children arise.

“The need is great. We’ve been foster parents for nearly two years,” Amanda Freier said. “Toby’s brother’s family became foster parents in North Dakota. We saw how important the need was from some of your friends in New Ulm too, including Dr. Scott and Gigi Rysdahl who has done it for more than 10 years.”

Toby Freier said he and his wife signed up to become foster parents, underwent a significant amount of education and training with three other couples and participate in respite (short-term) and long-term foster parenting (several months up to a year).

“We started with respite foster care. Last fall, we cared for a six-month-old for six months,” Freier said. “We feel strongly about the need for kids living in an unsafe situation that may involve anger and addiction.”

Toby Freier added that often times the kids need help and the parents need some time of their own. It’s like a time out. “Our goal has always been to be supportive of families and social workers. I know the County is always looking for more foster parents. After you are qualified, you get a call from the County and the need may be immediate. Some families are interested in adoption, but that isn’t our idea,” he explained. “Some families can be reunited.”

Support from friends is important too. “Sometimes, our friends including those at church help us with driving kids to appointments and other places if we’re busy,” Freier said. “We feel called to serve the needs of others. It’s a small sacrifice to serve others and share the love of Christ and teachings of Jesus. We like working with kids about the same age as our kids. We hope other families will respond too.”

“We’re blessed to have a strong church family that supports us well,” Amanda Freier said. “It takes a village. Our kids accepted it well too. The six-month old we had was like a son to us. We pray and talk about it a lot.”

Avery, 7, said he hopes his parents continue to be foster parents.

Pastor Phil and Carol Schenk of New Ulm became licensed foster parents in 2014 after their three sons grew up and moved away. They have taken care of children.

“We were empty-nesters,” Carol Schenk said.

“It was a real adjustment to become parents again,” Phil said. “But we had time to spend with the foster children, short and long-term. God takes the plight of orphans and needy children seriously. We felt it was important for us to be available. When you see a need and have the ability to add stability to a situation, you want to be able to do it. You could say we’ve been taking care of kids and young adults for a long time. Some of our children’s friends stayed with us quite often.”

Carol, a paraprofessional at Washington Elementary School in New Ulm, felt a strong need to become a foster parent after one of her students needed a place to stay. “It’s rewarding to see kids open up and return love,” Carol added. “We enjoy being a positive influence in their lives.”

Phil talked about the challenges of foster parenting. “Sometimes kids have lived in many places so it can be hard for them to be comfortable with foster parents,” he said.

Brown County Licensing Social Worker Erin Kissner said she really appreciates people that have the heart to be foster parents, open their home to needy children and make a positive difference in their lives.

“It’s hard work, you’re taking care of a child that is not your own that may have very different and/or challenging behaviors,” Kissner said. “We are in need of all different types of families; ones that want to do respite care, emergency foster care, those willing to adopt, foster young and older children.”

Kissner said there is a need for foster families in the Sleepy Eye and Springfield areas. “If a child needs foster care, we always look to see which family would be the best match,” she added. “We try to keep children within their school district and community. The most foster families we have, the more options we have to find the best fit.”

Kissner explained that many children entering foster care have experienced some sort of trauma in their lives. “Because children don’t always know how to process their feelings, they can manifest themselves as challenging behavior,” she added. “It’s important that foster parents can see beyond the challenging behaviors and help a child work through their feelings.”

Brown County Probation Director Les Schultz, a former foster parent himself, said respite and long-term foster parents saves the County money and promotes keeping families together by giving parents and children time away from each other when it is needed most.

Brown County Family Service Director Tom Henderson said foster parents are a “win-win” when you can find them. “It takes special people in the right life situation. They have to be willing to accept children in the middle of the night, ” Henderson added. “But gone are the days of people foster parenting for 30 to 40 years.

There are more than 400,000 children living without permanent families in the United States, according to the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute.

AdoptUSKids, is a project funded by the U.S. Children’s Bureau to raise awareness of the need for foster and adoptive families and support the efforts of states, tribes, and territories to find families for children and youth in foster care. There are more than 5,000 children and 3,000 families registered on adoptuskids.org

Becoming a foster parent requires licensing, passing a background check, attending orientation and training and undergoing a home study.

Anyone interested in more information can contact Kissner at 507-359-6564 or erin.kissner@co.brown.mn.us

Newsletter

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper?
   

Starting at $4.38/week.

Subscribe Today