Inside the Mission: Profiles in Foster Care
Communities Connected for Kids unveiled its Profiles in Foster Care series in the Spring of 2024.
The project, which introduces local foster parents to the community through a series of short bios and pictures, is also a product of CCKids’ #25by2025 campaign to add 25 foster homes by 2025.
“We hope that by sharing these foster-care stories and experiences, others may be inspired to consider their own foster-care journey,” said Christina Kaiser, CCKids community relations director.
We are pleased to introduce you to our foster parents below - come back often to meet new families!
For our July 2024 profile, we are pleased to introduce Trish Crawford, a very new foster parent licensed in January of 2024 with her husband, Billy.
Trish and Billy have four adult biological children in their 30s and have fostered two teenage girls from their home in Fort Pierce.
"We decided to become foster parents after hearing the statistics for teens that age out of the system and how many become addicts, homeless or end up in prison," Trish says. "This tugged on our hearts and we felt the need to help.
"My advise for anyone looking to foster would be to pray on it and then pray some more. It’s not an easy decision but there are moments that are rewarding. Even if you only do it for a little bit you can make a difference in a child’s life."
The August 2024 profile is of Jocelyn Fimiano, a foster mom in Port St. Lucie who has been recognized statewide for her work with other caregivers and biological parents.
Licensed in 2020 at the height of the COVID pandemic, Jocelyn and her husband, Adam, have fostered 28 children and currently have seven in the home, including four of her own children.
"We love kids and felt called to help," she says. "Once we were in it, we saw how great the need was."
So what advice would Jocelyn give others thinking about becoming foster parents?
"You don't have to be a perfect parent, you just need to have love in your heart," she says. "If you lead with love and grace, you can build strong connections that will continue to last after reunification.
"Don't fear the goodbye."
