Seeing there is extra room in their hearts and home, Delbert Gutierrez and his wife felt that they wanted to participate in a foster care program. In an article for Willits News, Delbert shares how the program became beneficial to them and the children they took home.
In 2008, my wife and I separately were thinking of participating in a foster care program. Our children had all left home and we had extra room in our hearts and home. Without discussing the idea, we both thought we had the time and energy to give back to the children in our community.
I spoke to a few friends about the idea of becoming a foster parent and learned about the Multi Dimensional Treatment Foster Care (MTFC) program with Redwood Children's Services (RCS) through my great friend, Sal Ricco. Sal told me about a staff member from RCS who spoke to his Rotary club about the real need for foster families so I thought it was time to approach my wife.
Though my wife and I hadn't communicated with each other about our interest in foster care, I knew she would be excited about the idea. I took it upon myself to take my wife with me to RCS to get an application, not knowing what she would say. Right there in the parking lot we agreed this was what we wanted to do and filled out the application for becoming a foster parent.
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Soon after we submitted our application the MTFC Program Supervisor, Wendy, contacted us. I was very excited we would be embarking on this journey and we started to schedule the initial trainings for this new program RCS was launching. This new treatment program had seen great success in other places so we were happy to be part of bringing it to our community. Almost immediately after completing our certification we had our first youth.MTFC program is a time-limited treatment program addressing the need to "break the cycle" by introducing a very structured, strength-based approach to youth in foster care and the families they are returning to. Being very structured and working as a team, RCS is able to gain great strides with the youth and families, decreasing the risk of children reentering the foster care and probation system.
Our first experience was very trying for us as we didn't have experience with some of the situations that came up. This was a radical shift from how we parented our own children as the program is very structured. We quickly learned that our compassionate and caring personalities must be evenly coupled with a rigorous following of the program system in order to keep with the treatment program of MTFC.
Learning this helped us to provide a means for a successful placement for the children we have cared for.
We have continued to learn new ways and techniques as foster parents within the MTFC program. Being successful, however, is not our success alone. RCS has provided great support to us through our supervisor, Wendy, who has been so helpful and always available, but also through foster parent meetings once a week where we discuss our children, and weekly visits with RCS staff of family therapists. Another major support for us has been our own immediate family. Our adult children have been a great help to us over the years we've been foster parents, treating our foster children like their own family and supporting us in the work we are doing.
Since becoming MTFC foster parents, we have cared for seven youth. Four of our foster kids have graduated the MTFC program and one is due to graduate in July 2013. We find great pleasure in seeing these children out in the community and whatever they are pursuing or are involved in, we feel like they are our family and take great pride in their success.
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