The published definition of “foster care” is: If a biological parent or a legal guardian is unwilling or unable to care for a child, the child is deemed to be dependent and is placed under the care of Child Protective Services.
The definition of a “foster family” is when a parent or parents take care of a child’s needs. Foster parents are people, other than the child’s parents, who give a child a safe place to live and grow. Foster parents take children into their homes and take care of them as long as the child needs. Together they become a “foster family.”
There are many definitions of a “foster child,” but the important fact is that these children are separated or removed from the biological parent or guardian due to no fault of the child and placed in the care of a “foster parent.”
We are redefining foster care, foster family, and the foster child by taking away the word “foster.” We are creating “a caring home,” we are creating a “family,” and we are loving “our children.” They will have “parents,” they will have “sisters,” and they will have a “home.” Our homes will love, nurture, and support our girls in every way that a normal family does. We want our girls to refer to each other as “sisters,” not foster sisters. We want them to refer to and have a relationship with their parents as mom and dad, not their “foster parents.” As our community grows, each “home” will provide for a maximum of six girls which will feel more like a family rather than a group home. Our parents will think of these girls as their own and will not have any of their biological children living in the home. Our girls will be given guidance to grow into productive young women, and when they move on into adulthood, just like in any other family, we will give them support to help them continue on a path to success.
So, welcome to the “family of North Texas Geary Girls Ranch” where love, nurturing, mentoring, educating, and success are what we are all about. Watch us as we continue to grow, and, unfortunately, we will because there are so many teenage girls who need us!
From our family to yours,
Susie Black Holamon
A former “foster child” who had “this kind of home and this kind of family”