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Help, Hope, and Healing for Birth Parents
Real-Life Stories
Child Welfare Information Gateway
National Foster Care Month: 2019
2 p.
Public Domain
Download: https://www.childwelfare.gov/pubPDFs/rls19_helphopeandheal.pdf
One family in Richmond, Virginia, learned the importance of working with biological families after they received their first foster placement, a 2-day-old girl. The baby's birth mother, Patty, had suffered much hardship and trauma throughout her life. Even after 7 weeks, when the baby girl returned home to Patty, the foster family stayed close, helped connect Patty with resources, and moved her and her daughter into safer housing. Tragically, Patty passed away from complications related to the flu just 9 months later, but she left the foster family with a desire to partner with biological mothers in the future. The family created the nonprofit Patty's Hope, which offers help, hope, and healing to mothers with children in foster care. This Real-Life Story was developed as part of National Foster Care Month 2019.
Keywords:
OPEN ADOPTION; BIRTH CHILDREN; BIRTH MOTHERS