After raising three biological children, Darlene and her husband, Bill, decided to become foster care parents—a journey that led them to adopt five children, four of which are teenagers. They also have two more adoptions pending. In addition to adopting, they have fostered hundreds of children over the last 20 years.
With nearly 19,000 children in the state foster care system and fewer than 4,500 licensed foster homes, one local charity wants to remind people that these vulnerable children are in desperate need of a safe and loving family—and helping these children may be easier than you think.