From Foster to Forever

Everyone sees the pictures. An adorable child holds up a sign with the number of days they were in foster care before being adopted by a loving family. The numbers on those signs are usually painfully high. We get emotional both at the immense joy of a child joining a family but also in the tragedy of how long it took for them to get there. This is not that story.

Kenna was placed in foster care in September of 2022 and just one year later, the Schuerman family adopted her. “We had a unique experience as Kenna’s biological parents had minimal involvement from the beginning and the agency was granted permanent custody quicker than usual,” Beth Schuerman explains. “By the time Kenna was available for adoption, we already loved her and considered her to be a part of our family. So, it was an easy decision.”

Not only was her time in foster care brief, the Schuermans were her only foster parents. Being well prepared before the placement began and supported throughout helped make the placement successful from the beginning. In fact, they believe having a supportive team that included Focus on Youth, their CASA worker, and the family services case worker, was an absolute necessity.

There were challenges, of course, some big and some small. While their biggest challenge was readjusting to parenting a toddler again, they say “The most rewarding experience by far has been seeing Kenna grow and develop over the year.”

She is one of the blessed few who found a forever family in her very first placement. There can be more foster children like her. They encourage anyone on the fence about foster care and adoption through foster care to give it a try. Being a foster parent can be challenging at times, but to them it’s worth it. Maybe the next adoption day photo tugging at people’s heartstrings will be yours.