Fostering Love

500,000 children
More than 500,000 children in the United States are in the foster care system. May is National Foster Care month. Foster care affects hundreds of thousands of children and families and society as a whole. Child welfare issues arise in families of every race, ethnicity, culture, and age group, according to www.fostercaremonth.org.

Children and youth are placed in foster care when their parents or guardians are no longer able to ensure their essential wellbeing. These young people need stable, loving care until they can either safely reunite with their families or establish other lifelong relationships with a nurturing adult, the Web site reads.

'Mother Hen'
Having a foster family is teaching Brenda and Bob's own children what it is like to be a parent, Brenda said.

"Being a parent is a full time job," she said. "It teaches them that your children's needs come before your own... you have to sacrifice a lot. We did it with our kids and are doing it again," she said.

With one child still at home, Brenda's daughter, Rachel, is "becoming quite the mother hen." Having young children in the home has taught Rachel the challenges and joys of parenting.

Just as Rachel decided to share her experience on the phone with a reporter, the little cries of children waking from their naps could be heard in the background.

"Hello," she said to one of the one-year-old foster children. "How are you?" she asked.

"Yep, they are up," she said.

The Broschart's are cleared to take in three children, but currently are housing two, from two different families.

Rachel said she is proud of what her parents have decided to undertake. "They are really helping the community," she said.

"We are giving kids a safe environment and it is really cool because they may not come from the best of homes and it is like a sanctuary for them here," she said.

Next to providing a safe environment for the children, the most important thing would be to provide consistency, Brenda said.

"Kids need security and we wanted to create a secure sound and loving space for them."

The most special moments for the Broscharts is the occasion when one of the children "does something cute and funny," Rachel said.

"It's those special times when they crack you up," she added. "Seeing them grow and learn is cool and when you see they are really learning in a good way you know you've actually done some thing to improve the life of a kid."

Rachel said she remembers each child.

At one point the family had an eight-day-old baby, who slept in Rachel's room. That was a crash course in motherhood, she said.