May is National Foster Care Month — and I want to share my story as a foster parent with you today. #NFCM2020 #FosterCareMonth

I was raised by my grandmother. I always used to think about what would happen if my grandmother had decided I wasn’t her problem, or that she couldn’t raise another child at her age. #FosterCareMonth

But that’s who my grandmother was. She’d tell me, “Jenn, if you have it, you have to give it.”

That’s why I became a foster parent at the age of 24 and fostered several children before they aged out of the system. #FosterCareMonth

One night, one child came into my room in the middle of the night. I asked what she was doing.

She told me her mother would leave in the middle of the night and not come home for days. She was worried I would leave too.

My heart was broken.

I tucked her back into bed and told her that I was never going to leave her.

Fostering children changed my life and perspective, but most importantly I was proud to provide much-needed stability to kids when they need it most.

My foster children were able to graduate from high school, and eventually college. I’m so proud of the lives they’ve built.

I carry the fostering experience with me as both a mom and Delegate.

In 2018, the Virginia General Assembly passed a bill making it easier for foster parents to adopt their foster children. #FosterCareMonth

In 2019, we passed a bill requiring the following steps be taken when placing children in the foster system:

1) Determine if the child has relatives eligible to foster parent
2) Provide notice to the relatives
3) Explain to the relatives how/if the child can be placed with them

This year, the General Assembly passed a bill allowing those who’ve aged out of the foster system to remain in their high schools until the age of 22.

I'm proud of those bills, and there's still more we can do. #FosterCareMonth