Foster mom touts ‘huge reward’ of helping out kids, while local agency calls for new caregivers

CTV News Edmonton's Nahreman Issa has more on a desperate need for foster families in northern Alberta.

A local foster parent is hoping to tug on some heartstrings and help find safe, stable homes for children in need.

Carrie and her husband have been fostering for 19 years. During that time she has adopted five of her former foster children, and continues to care for a young adult who aged out of the system but still lives with her.

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“My home is a home for as long as it’s needed. If that’s two weeks, if that’s 48 hours. If that’s for life, that’s what we’ve chosen as a family to do.”

Carrie’s is one of about 75 foster families that foster through the McMan Youth, Family and Community Services Association.

The association is currently caring for 130 children and said it needs more families in the Edmonton area and northern Alberta to sign up to help keep children from being moved away from home while in care.

“Part of our hope is that we’re going to find care for children that they can stay in their communities, so the children are able to maybe stay in their schools, have closer access to their families,” McMan program manager Corie Entrop said.

Entrop said there are some misunderstandings that could be preventing families from considering fostering, such as that families can’t pick the age or gender of a child they would like to care for.

“They’re worried that maybe they’ll be presented with the challenging child that they can’t manage when they first start,” Entrop said. “That is a big misconception, because we try to match the child to the family’s needs.

“We want that child to be able to fit in with the family.”

The province said there were 2,939 children in foster care placements as of December, as well as 1,494 licensed foster homes.

In an effort to increase the number of foster caregivers, the Alberta government recently increased caregiver rates by two per cent on April 1. That’s on top of a 4.2-per-cent increase in June 2024.

Carrie quit her job to foster full time almost two decades ago. She said it’s been a “challenging career,” but one that has been immensely fulfilling.

“As foster parents, we don’t get to make the big decisions. We only get to open our home and hug that little soul that’s scared and crying and wanting their family, and so that is the hard part,” Carrie said.

“But then there is a huge reward in building those relationships and those connections, because that little person needs everybody to do that,” she added.

McMan Fostering’s contract with Alberta Children and Family Services is for 200 children. It said it needs all kinds of families to open their homes, with a greater need for Indigenous families and LGBTQ2S+ friendly families.

Carrie hopes more people will learn more about the process and consider signing up, to cut down on the stress of being in care as much as possible for those kids.

“We are having to place kids out of province and away from their families and communities, and that makes it really difficult for the children, for their families,” Carrie said.

“I’m trying to get at the heartstrings of people,” she continued. “If you have just a slight piece in your heart, that you know you’re like, ‘You know what, maybe I can help.’ We would really appreciate it, because there is only so much room in my home.”

More information on fostering can be found on the McMan website.

With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Nahreman Issa