July 9, 2025 • 46 mins
What if your entire city rallied around foster families? Rebecca from Georgia Kids Belong reveals how that vision is becoming reality through the Foster Friendly initiative, a movement transforming how communities support foster care.
Rebecca shares the powerful work of their I Belong Project, which creates advocacy videos for children waiting for adoption. These videos don't just share statistics- they amplify children's voices and help them find forever families. But the heart of our conversation explores their groundbreaking Foster Friendly initiative, which identifies businesses, faith communities, and nonprofits willing to support foster families through discounts, services, and resources.
The Foster Friendly app connects foster families with these supportive resources based on their location. What began as a small idea has grown into a movement, with entire cities now declaring themselves "Foster Friendly" and taking concrete steps to support foster families. Rebecca shares inspiring stories of how these initiatives are breaking down longstanding silos between organizations and creating organic communities where foster families find much-needed support and connection.
We dive deep into why community support is so crucial for foster families. Unlike other forms of service, fostering doesn't end when you come home- it is home. The 24/7 nature of this commitment, combined with the complexities of navigating the system, leads most foster parents nationally to quit within the first year. Community support through initiatives like Foster Friendly helps extend the longevity of foster families, directly benefiting children who desperately need stability.
Whether you're fostering, considering fostering, or simply want to support those who do, this conversation offers practical ways to get involved.
Download the Foster Friendly app today to find supportive businesses in your area and discover how you can be part of building a community where foster families thrive!
I'd love to hear from you! Send me a text!
Connect with me on Instagram: @Fosterparentwell
@nicoletbarlow https://www.instagram.com/nicoletbarlow/
Website: https://nicoletbarlow.com/
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hey friend, welcome back to the Foster Parent Well
podcast.
We're doing something specialthis summer because, let's be
real, summer is loud andschedules are wild.
So, in the spirit of keepingthings simple and soul-filling,
we're hitting rewind All summerlong.
I'll be sharing some of myfavorite episodes from the past,
conversations that encouragedme, challenged me and reminded
(00:22):
me that God is still workingeven when life feels messy.
If you're new here, it's theperfect time to jump in, and if
you've been around for a while,think of this like a little
refresher, like your spiritualiced coffee on a hot summer day.
So let's soak in some truth,lean into God's grace and keep
showing up for the hard and holywork that we've been called to.
(00:43):
Let's jump into this Rewindepisode.
Welcome to the Foster ParentWell podcast, where we have real
candid, faith-filledconversations about all things
foster care, adoption and trauma.
(01:03):
I'm your host, nicole T Barlow.
I'm a certified parent trainer,a certified health coach and an
adoptive parent myself.
This is a space where you canfind support so that you can
care for your kids with asteadfast faith, endurance and
joy.
I want you to foster parentwell, so let's jump in.
Well, hey there, friends, how'severyone doing today?
(01:41):
I hope you're catching thisepisode with a cup of coffee in
hand or maybe while sneaking ina few moments of peace between
all the beautiful chaos.
Life gets busy, doesn't it?
But I'm so glad you're here.
First things first.
I just want to say a big,heartfelt thank you to everyone
who has messaged me on Instagramrecently.
(02:02):
Seriously, you have no idea howmuch that means to me.
Podcasting can be a bit of amystery sometimes, like I'm over
here chatting away into thismic all by myself, but I don't
always know who's out therelistening.
So when you take the time toreach out, share your thoughts
or even just say hi, it's like alittle light bulb moment for me
(02:22):
, like, oh, real people aretuning in.
If you're interested inreaching out, you can find me at
Instagram, at Nicole T Barlow,and, speaking of showing love
for those of you who've taken afew extra minutes to leave a
review for the podcast, thankyou, thank you, thank you.
I know it's one more thing onyour already full plate, but
(02:43):
those reviews not only helpother people find the show, they
also totally encourage me.
So, whether you've just sent aquick note or a DM on Instagram
or you've written a review forthe podcast.
Just know that you are makingmy day.
Okay, now let's dive intotoday's episode, because I am so
(03:03):
excited about my guest.
You're going to love her.
Joining me is Rebecca Radacki,from Georgia Kids Belong.
Rebecca is an adoptive mom offour, an advocate and a writer
who's passionate about helpingkids find the belonging they
deserve.
She's also a fan of travel,cooking, concerts and all things
outdoors, so basically, she'smy kind of girl.
(03:26):
What I love most about Rebecca,though, is her heart for
connecting people.
She's incredible at helpingchurches and businesses find
creative and practical ways tosupport foster families in their
communities.
Today, we're going to be divinginto that urgent need for
families to dive into fostercare and why it's equally
(03:47):
important for communities torally around those families.
I know this conversation isgoing to bless you and inspire
you, so let's jump right in.
Here's my conversation withRebecca Radacki.
Well, rebecca, I'm so excitedto have you here.
I have seen you work so hard tobuild community around foster
(04:08):
care in your state, and I reallywanted to talk to you more
about the importance ofcommunity and just how do we go
about building that in our ownareas.
So tell me a little bit aboutAmerica's Kids Belong, georgia
Kids Belong Like.
What is it that y'all do andwhat is your mission?
Speaker 2 (04:26):
Okay, thank you.
Well, thank you for theopportunity.
I'd love to have thisconversation.
So thanks for the opportunity.
So I am the state manager forGeorgia Kids Belong.
Georgia Kids Belong is a statechapter of America's Kids Belong
.
America's Kids Belong has 10states and are also working in a
few other cities in a few otherstates, so a pretty wide reach.
(04:48):
We have two initiatives.
One is our I Belong project.
Our I Belong project we workwith here in Georgia.
We work with the State AdoptionExchange Unit, with the
Department of Family andChildren Services, to help
advocate for kids who are in ourfoster system whose parental
(05:09):
rights have been terminated, sothey are not.
The goal of foster care is forkids to return home to their
families, but in this particularcase, with this particular
group of kids, they're notreturning home, so we work with
them to advocate for adoptivefamilies.
We do that through videostorytelling.
We invite them out for fun days, um, with lots of volunteers,
(05:32):
lots of people to love on them,lots of personal attention.
Um, we get to take them to funplaces.
We were just at the um with theFalcons at Mercedes-Benz
stadium.
We've been at pizza placesmaking pizza.
We have done.
We've been at Truist Park withthe Braves.
We've been at the CollegeFootball Hall of Fame Just
trying to take them to reallyfun places, because they are
(05:55):
coming on those days to createvideos, knowing that they're
creating videos to help themfind families.
So it's a day that, in theirminds, represent all that
they've lost and all thatthey're hoping for.
So they're coming in.
Uh, it's a very triggering andhard day.
We're asking them to dosomething incredibly hard, so we
try to make our venuesexceptionally fun and special,
(06:17):
um, just to just to lighten thethe the weight of it and make it
a fun and memorable experience.
So that's our I Belong project.
As a result of those days, Iwill say that we create two
minute advocacy videos that weshare on our social media.
We share those with lots ofchurches who share them with
(06:40):
their congregations.
We've got other nonprofits thatshare them.
The state uses them on it's myTurn Now Georgia and AdoptUSKids
so that when families arelooking to adopt, they will find
actual videos of the kidstalking and sharing about
themselves.
So it's amplifying their ownvoices, but that's our I Belong
(07:02):
project.
Speaker 1 (07:02):
I love that.
You know we I train fosterparents for a living and so many
times you do have people thatare looking for kids, that are
waiting for an adoptive home andneed that type of placement.
So I love that you guys areadvocating for kids in that
(07:24):
space, but also being veryconscious about how you go about
that.
Speaker 2 (07:28):
Absolutely, Absolutely.
We're really focusing on kidsthat are harder to place.
So we're looking at teenagerswho are aware of what's being
put out on the internet aboutthem.
We're looking at sibling setsand kids with special needs.
So we're trying to be very,very sensitive about that.
We are honored to get toactually, you know, share their
(07:48):
voices, share their faces.
We don't take that lightlywhatsoever, but it is a powerful
medium for helping findfamilies.
Sometimes there are peoplewaiting and hoping to find those
kids, and other times peoplewill come across a video, not
realizing that they were waitingand you know that a child was
possibly going to enter theirfamily.
(08:08):
So it is kind of our flagshipinitiative and one we hold very
dear and are honored to get todo that work.
Another beautiful outcome of itis that, since we can share the
(08:41):
faces and the voices of kiddosin foster care and see that
they're just kids with differentlife circumstances that are
unique and sweet and fun andquirky and all the things, and
then reach out to us and say youknow what I've always thought
about foster care.
I've been watching this videohow do I start the process?
And that is a very significantsecond outcome and goal of the I
(09:04):
Belong Project.
That's amazing.
Yeah, I do think it is a verysignificant second outcome and
goal of the I Belong Project.
Speaker 1 (09:07):
That's amazing.
Yeah, I do think it is a lotharder for people to turn away
when they see real kids In ourexperience, when people see our
family and they know some of ourstory.
So we adopted a sibling groupof five from foster care, or I
mean even before we adopted ourkids and we were just fostering.
(09:28):
When they see our kids, andthey're like, oh wait, these are
just kids, right, and theconcept is not so foreign and
they can see, you know, thefaces, the personalities of kids
or whatever.
I really do think that it makesa big difference as to make it
not such a foreign concept, butreally it brings it closer to
(09:51):
home, Absolutely.
Speaker 2 (09:52):
I mean, I can share the statistic that there's 400
plus kids in Georgia's fostersystem who are waiting for
adoption.
But you know when I share Aidenand Aiden talks about loving
football and how he really hopesthis particular video will help
him find a family, and he looksright into the camera and says
he wants to have a family bygraduation and then tells about
(10:13):
himself and that he's been infoster care for seven years.
It's a whole different.
It's a whole different thing.
It's personal and real.
So yeah, that's amazing.
Speaker 1 (10:22):
I love that you guys do that.
How did you get involved inthis work, like, how did your
heart get stirred towards fostercare or adoption?
Speaker 2 (10:30):
That's a great question.
Well, this job is the dream jobof my life.
It is the greatest honor.
We are an adoptive family.
We adopted internationally, weadopted internationally, and
when you start the adoptionprocess, you enter a different
culture of people within yourchurch, within your community,
(10:51):
you start being connected toother foster and adoptive
families.
So through that adoptionprocess, we ended up starting a
foster care and adoptionministry at our church and did
that for several years and justum, you know, lived up close and
personal and beside both fosterand adoptive families and it
(11:12):
just felt instantly like theseare, these are our people, this
is what God intends for our lifenot only to adopt but, you know
, on a grander scale, make animpact.
Um, I've done a lot of writingover the years about adoption
and when America's Kids Belongwanted to start a chapter in
Georgia, got the opportunity tolead their first I Belong
(11:35):
Project video shoot here, andthat was going to be a temporary
thing, but thankfully it issomething I've gotten to step
into and have helped start thechapter here in Georgia and help
launch our initiatives.
Speaker 1 (11:53):
That's awesome.
Well, you know, I hear youtalking about like starting a
community at your church, and Iknow that that's part of y'all's
mission too is really to createcommunities around foster
families and foster care.
So why do you think thatcommunity is so important for
foster families?
Speaker 2 (12:14):
Well, I think it is critical.
I think that families who arefostering kids, kids, are taking
in our most vulnerable kids inour society and I think there's
just so much to it that mostpeople aren't aware of and that
I really, really believe ittakes a village to serve these
(12:36):
kids and to carry the weight ofall of their needs.
So our other initiative, ourother initiative with Georgia
Kids Belong is our fosterfriendly initiative and the goal
of that is to rally communityaround foster families, because
we believe that these are ourkids, that, like I'm here and I
(12:57):
live in Ackworth, and I believethe kids here in Ackworth are
our kids and it's part of ourjob to to look out for them in
whatever way is possible.
And our foster families are onthe front lines.
I believe they are ourmissionaries, I believe they're
community servants, communityheroes, all of the things.
Again, they are serving ourmost vulnerable kids and it's
(13:19):
not a shift that they step outof.
At the end of the day, they areliving with these kiddos,
meeting all of their needs, fromacademic to medical, to
spiritual, to physical.
So I just believe it's a reallychallenging job and the
community should be charged withrallying around them.
Speaker 1 (13:40):
Yeah, I, you know, I always tell foster parents that
you know it's very different.
You may be used to doingmissions, you may be used to
being in ministry or whatever,but it's very different when you
can do ministry and then comehome to your safe space.
Then when that ministry movesinto your home and it's a
(14:01):
24-hour job, there is no spacewithout that.
Exactly, it's totally differentdynamic.
And so I mean I agree, and Ithink most people don't realize
just how taxing it is.
I mean doctor's appointments,visits, all kinds of stuff that
you have on your schedule.
(14:22):
People are coming into your homeconstantly.
People are critiquing how youdo everything and the way you
look and the way you smile andthe way you introduce somebody,
and I mean just everything iscritiqued.
And you know your home has tobe set up differently.
Cabinets have to be locked.
I mean there's just so muchstuff right, and so you know
your home has to be set updifferently.
Cabinets have to be locked.
I mean there's just so muchstuff right, and so you know to
(14:42):
have community around, I thinkreally changes whether or not
people can continue to do it.
I mean, statistically,nationally, most foster parents
quit within month four to month,12.
And because it's hard.
And if we want stability for ourkids that are in care, that
(15:08):
need stability, that we need tosomehow create an environment of
longevity for these parents sothat they are able to do the
work for longer.
So I I love that you guys aretaking this initiative to really
rally around foster families.
(15:28):
Um, not everybody can foster,not everybody's in a place to
foster, but but everybody can dosomething, Everybody can play a
part to really support thecause as a whole.
Yes, absolutely so.
Tell me a little bit about theinitiative.
What does it do?
What is all involved in how youare creating community?
(15:52):
Thanks for asking so.
Speaker 2 (15:54):
The initiative is called Foster Friendly.
It's a statewide initiativeasking so.
The initiative is called FosterFriendly.
It's a statewide initiative.
We are working from border toborder to raise up businesses
who are willing to rally aroundfoster families simply by giving
a discount or some specialoffer for foster families.
Businesses don't always have anopportunity to step in.
(16:15):
Maybe they're asked for acorporate donation, something
like that.
But we are asking businesses touse their platform, their
influence, what they're doingevery day with their lives to
serve foster families.
So we have an app called FosterFriendly that's available to
all foster and kinship familiesin Georgia and we've been real
(16:37):
intentional to try to.
There's several things on theapp, but one being those
businesses.
We've worked really hard tomake sure that there are
businesses across the state andthat includes everything from
coffee shops, so a weary fostermom can go and grab a cup of
coffee and have a moment ofrespite.
Speaker 1 (16:56):
Hallelujah.
Speaker 2 (16:58):
Hallelujah, and get a discount on that and be able to
afford it and to be able towalk into a coffee shop and know
that that coffee shop is fosterfriendly, which is we call them
a foster friendly business.
They have agreed that they careabout foster families.
They want to play a role inhelping them thrive and are
offering some sort of a discount.
It can be a percentage off, itcould be a free cup of coffee,
(17:20):
it could be a buy one, get onefree all different things.
Businesses get to choose that.
But a foster parent could walkinto that coffee shop and
present the app there's anidentification on the app and
ask for that discount.
And there's lots of sweetstories of owners coming out and
just saying, hey, thanks forfostering, this is something
small that I could do.
Discount, and there's lots ofsweet stories of of owners
coming out and just saying, hey,thanks for fostering, this is
something small that I could do.
(17:41):
I make, I'm making, sell coffee, I can, I can help you have a
moment of rest, but with a cupof coffee.
So coffee shops, um jumpyplaces, as many family friendly
things as um as we can, uh,recruit um movie theaters, we
have therapists, we have cardealerships, we have car repair
(18:06):
places, we have salon hairsalons, pizza places, all manner
of businesses.
We think that that you know,our foster families need support
in lots of different areas,from that cup of coffee to help
with their vehicle that they'reusing to transport kiddos, so
let's, you know, give them adiscount on their oil changes.
(18:27):
Um to different attractionslike Pine Mountain Animal Safari
down in um, South Georgia,gives half off.
Wow, that's an expensiveattraction.
You know, taking a family outto any attraction is can be
challenging financially andespecially for a foster family
that welcomes in threeadditional kids and so they get
(18:49):
to go to Pine Mountain AnimalSafari and be seen by them and
shown appreciation and be ableto afford to have that outing
and shown appreciation and beable to afford to have that
outing.
So there are foster-friendlybusinesses all over the state.
We are identifying faithcommunities that are serving our
(19:09):
foster families and kinshipfamilies.
We identify those and they canbe working with any other
nonprofit, any other ministry.
They can be trained by all thedifferent ministries and
nonprofits that serve in thatarea.
We are looking for churches whodo at least two of three what
we call best practices and thatis, they have trauma trained
(19:32):
their staff.
They have an ongoingintentional ministry to serve
foster families.
That could be full wraparoundor it could just be a parent's
night out quarterly.
And then the third would bespeaking on foster care and
adoption from the pulpit atleast once a year.
So if a church does two ofthose three things, we call them
(19:54):
foster friendly and list themon the app.
So we have foster friendly faithcommunities on the app so that
if a family is looking for achurch to go to, if they move,
they're looking for, you know, aplace that will see them as a
family and want to serve them,then they can find those on the
app as well.
It also lists nonprofits.
(20:16):
So we've tried to identify allthe amazing nonprofits that are
doing incredible work across thestate, from foster closets to
mentoring, all manner of justdifferent beautiful and needed
things that our nonprofits aredoing and identify those on the
app so a family can find them aswell on the app, so a family
(20:42):
can find them as well.
So the app reads a user'slocation and it tells them
within their area where thefoster family businesses are,
where the foster friendly faithcommunities are.
It lists the nonprofits.
And it also a fourth thing thatlists is events for foster
families.
So that is statewide.
And then we go a little bitdeeper and we have started to
build foster-friendlycommunities, which is a deeper
(21:06):
dive within a community.
Speaker 1 (21:08):
That's amazing.
I know that.
I mean I'm not a current fosterfamily, I don't get any
discounts or anything like that,but we have a couple of
businesses in our area that arefoster friendly.
They do have the fosterfriendly sticker out and it
makes me feel seen, right, like.
(21:28):
It makes me feel like, okay, Iam important to this business.
This business sees me and seesmy kids and really acknowledges
that we're here and we're partof this community and I think
that's so huge.
I mean, even above thediscounts is just for foster
(21:51):
families, adoptive families, tofeel seen.
And I loved how you said thatabout the churches too.
You know, to be able to go onthere and to see that a church
is trauma, informed, that theyhave trained their staff, that
their staff knows and is goingto be able to help my kids and
(22:13):
meet the needs of my family,that I'm going to be seen and
feel comfortable and wrappedaround in that community, is
huge.
Speaker 2 (22:21):
Being seen is very, very powerful and can mean the
difference between a family, youknow saying.
You know I have communityaround me, I have people who
care, I am valuable, what I'mdoing is important and it's seen
.
You know, maybe I can do thisfor a few weeks longer, Maybe I
can take one more case, andthat's huge.
Speaker 1 (22:43):
Yeah, because so much of the work is behind closed
doors and so you don't.
Nobody sees what you're doing,nobody sees all the effort that
you are putting out, nobody seesall the things that you have to
do or the emotional load thatyou're having to carry.
Nobody sees the weight of allthe knowledge that you have
(23:06):
about what goes on in our worldand about what happens to kids,
right Like.
The weight of that burden isvery, very heavy and it's
something that nobody elsereally knows.
And, as foster parents, becauseof confidentiality and because
we're protecting our kids'stories, you know, even people
(23:29):
sometimes in our close circlesdon't really know some of those
things that we are carrying, andso to just have a community
wrap around its foster families,its foster children, and to say
I see you, you're doingimportant work, I think is huge.
Speaker 2 (23:46):
It really is huge.
So, basically, how our fosterfriendly community initiative
started was I again, I live inthe city of Ackworth and I went
to our mayor and at the time wewere just working on gathering
those foster friendly businesses, foster friendly faith
communities, identifying allthose nonprofits, which is
(24:08):
highly valuable Um.
But I went to him and um so Iwas asking if he knew this was
brand new to Georgia term.
Foster friendly was brand newUm.
So I went to him and just askif he knew of businesses in new
to Georgia term.
Foster friendly was brand newUm.
So I went to him and just askif he knew of businesses in our
area who become foster friendly.
And the more we talked um herealized him.
Our mayor realized himself thatour foster parents were not a
(24:32):
population that he had addressed.
And this is a beautiful man,this is a man who cares very
much about his community and allaspects of his community.
They've in the past have done alarge initiative for our
special needs population butreally in this conversation
realized that you know, our cityhad never focused on these
(24:53):
families.
He'd never had a meaningful,intentional conversation with
DFAC staff.
So in that conversation helooked at me and he said could
our whole community be fosterfriendly?
It sounds like we all need tobe foster friendly and in that
moment an initiative was bornthat literally has spread to
(25:16):
other cities in Georgia andother states across the country.
So our foster friendlyinitiative just took a step
deeper and said let's really tryto dig in as a community and
we've developed a process andsteps and some parameters around
what that looks like for a cityto become foster friendly some
(25:37):
steps and some goals.
But it's really been abeautiful thing and Ackworth has
been a great example of thataround what that looks like for
a city to become foster friendlysome steps and some goals.
But it's really been abeautiful thing and Ackworth has
been a great example of that.
In the beginning we were justidentifying.
We set a goal based on thepopulation of a certain number
of foster friendly businesses.
We wanted our foster familiesjust to see those businesses
popping up on the app and knowoh my goodness there is a car
repair shop and our pizza placeand our ice cream place on main
(25:59):
street gives discounts.
They care about me, um.
But then those businessesstarted to become aware of these
families more and they wouldcome out, as I said, and have
conversations with thesefamilies and started to follow
Georgia kids belong on socialmedia and just their overall
awareness grew.
So the community's awarenesshas grown.
(26:21):
We've developed and been veryintentional about looking for
faith communities within ourcommunity who would be willing
to take the steps to learn to befoster friendly.
We've also asked the city andall of our foster friendly
communities to recruit, alsoasked the city and all of our
foster family communities torecruit.
Something we realized inAckworth, which is most cities,
(26:42):
in most towns in Georgia, isthat there are enough foster
families.
There simply are not enoughfoster families, so we can take
steps to take care of ourexisting ones, but at the same
time, the city as a city needsto recruit.
Yeah, our churches cancertainly do that and they play
an absolutely key role, but thecity can take some steps there
(27:05):
too.
So it's just been a reallybeautiful thing to see.
We're about two and a halfyears into this now and it's
deepened, as more people in thecommunity are aware, and I will,
you know, meet somebody at thepark and start sharing about
what I do and they're like, didyou know?
They'll tell me.
Did you know?
Our city's foster friendly andit's a sense of pride and it's
(27:29):
really, really become abeautiful thing.
So our city has been havingrecruitment events.
We had a recruitment event lastweek that was called Ackworth
Cares and we got our food fromour foster-friendly businesses.
Our foster-friendly faithcommunities were sponsors.
We had nonprofits and DFACs andprivate agencies just having
(27:50):
conversation and being in thesame room, and so that was our
second year doing it.
And it got deeper in the secondyear because more people were
aware of foster care in ourcommunity and just all these
beautiful things happened.
We had a spa owner who alreadyis foster friendly, who was
there to represent her alreadyfoster friendly business, who
(28:13):
heard leadership in CobbCounty's DFACs talk about how
weary your case managers are,and she went up afterward to her
and offered a spa treatment,like to come to a meeting and
give a spa treatment.
So there's lots of thosebeautiful like it's happening
more organically now wherepeople are realizing, okay, I
(28:33):
own a spa, this is what I coulddo.
I, you know I'm a principal ina school spa.
This is what I could do.
I, you know I'm a principal ina school.
This is what I could do thateverybody truly, as you shared
earlier has a role to play andcan use their life, can use the
position that they're in toserve.
It's been a really beautifulthing.
And now we have other citiesexpressing entrance interest and
(28:55):
working on becoming fosterfriendly, so we've got five
cities now in Georgia who are inthat process.
Speaker 1 (29:03):
That's awesome.
We talked about this a littlebit before we started recording,
but my city, the city I live in, is in the process of becoming
foster friendly and it has justbeen really neat to see
businesses start to pop up withthe sticker and on the app and
stuff and just to know that ourcity really cares, that.
(29:25):
You know, going through thatprocess Well is.
So is the app itself just forGeorgia, or is it located other
places as well?
Speaker 2 (29:36):
It is an America's Kids Belong app it does it reads
by area.
So wherever you are in Georgia,if you're in Valdosta and you
open it, it will read within ahundred miles of you in Valdosta
.
But any of our states who arepursuing the foster friendly
initiative are using the app.
(29:57):
So another great feature isthat if a foster family in
Georgia travels to Tennessee,then they can.
If they go up to Nashville,then we have Tennessee Kids
Belongs.
There's lots of foster friendlybusinesses in Tennessee around
Nashville.
Speaker 1 (30:15):
Oh, that's kind of fun.
So, if you're traveling andyou're looking for fun stuff to
do, you could look on the appand see what are the foster
friendly businesses.
Speaker 2 (30:23):
Absolutely, and even we have.
The city of Jacksonville hasbecome foster friendly.
There's not a Florida kidsbelong, but the city of
Jacksonville reached out andwanted to become a foster
friendly community.
So right there on the borderthere's a city that is with all
kinds of businesses popping up.
Speaker 1 (30:42):
That's amazing.
So how can businesses getinvolved, or how can folks begin
the process of making their owncity a foster-friendly city?
Speaker 2 (30:52):
Great question.
Any business can apply.
We have an application form onour website can apply.
We have an application form onour website.
Those applications come to usand we can approve them.
Of course, we're looking forbusinesses that are appropriate
to be on the Foster Friendly app, but it's as simple as saying
you know, I can do something.
And opening up that link andsharing their logo, sharing
(31:15):
their offer, thinking, okay, Iown a pizza place, I could do,
you know, half price pizza orfree drinks.
Or you know, the offers arewide and all kinds of things,
but thinking about what offerthat they could make.
(31:36):
And then submitting that.
And then they appear on the appand we follow up with
information on how to onboardtheir employees and we stay in
communication with themregularly because, as I shared
earlier, we're also looking toelevate their awareness.
We want them to be fosterfriendly and then our hope is
that their awareness will beginto build and that they'll
continue to take steps and to godeeper.
(31:56):
We've had businesses offerinitial discounts.
Maybe they'll say we'll do 10%,and then some foster families
come in and they haveconversations and they get
inspired and they realize youknow this matters because most
of our foster families arewalking into this business
saying it is really cool to findour local Main Street ice cream
(32:18):
store on this app, thank youfor being foster friendly.
And then we've had businessescall and say you know what?
Let's bump it up to buy one,get one free ice cream, or
something along those lines.
So that's been a really coolaspect.
So any business can apply Umfor cities that are interested
in being foster friendly.
(32:38):
They can reach out to usdirectly by email, through our
website or social media.
Um, we are a small team and withbig dreams and with these two
big initiatives that havemassive momentum.
Um, so, of course, like anynonprofit, we're working on
fundraising, so we're alsolooking for partners who are
(32:58):
willing to help fund thismission and help fund Georgia
becoming foster friendly,because it is an investment of
our time and our capacity islimited, because we really want
to dig in.
We're not interested in havingcommunities say they're foster
friendly in name.
We want them to meet specificgoals and then we want them to,
(33:19):
you know, meet specific goalsand then we want them to
continue to go deeper, like,okay, you've reached your limit
of, or your goal of, number ofbusinesses, let's go deeper,
let's recruit, you know.
So it's really a timeinvestment.
We want to really be in it withour cities, so, um, we are
developing that capacity umthrough, but need to fundraise
(33:39):
to do so but we would love toyeah Y'all.
Speaker 1 (33:41):
Just so you know, I got uh an email from Rebecca 415
this morning.
Speaker 2 (33:48):
That is very true.
Speaker 1 (33:50):
Yes, so they are working all hours of the day
trying to get this done.
Yes, I kind of hope people don'tnotice that, but yeah, yes, no,
but I mean I think that showsyour heart for the mission and
that you guys are not juststanding back and going here fix
this right, but you're reallydigging in with cities, You're
(34:12):
really digging in withcommunities, you are really
helping, you know, bringawareness to foster care and the
kids that need adoption and howto support foster families like
really how to support, you know, foster care as a whole, and I
think that's huge.
So I mean, I think it'simportant that people know that,
(34:34):
because I think that this is aninitiative.
These are things that peoplewill want to invest in right
People want to invest in peoplethat are really pouring their
heart out for this mission.
Speaker 2 (34:47):
We hope so, and we need them to because we have a
lot of cities that are startingto reach out.
I'm like this could happen inany city in Georgia.
As we were standing in thatAckworth Cares event and seeing
all these beautiful connectionsbeing made from government
leaders to DFACs, to privateagencies and nonprofits and
business owners and fosterparents, it was just a beautiful
(35:09):
thing and our team was lookingat each other like this should
be the case across Georgia, butwe do need people to rally
around and invest in the missionAbsolutely.
Speaker 1 (35:22):
Well, and I mean I think it's beautiful that you
know, a lot of times thoseagencies different private
agencies and the state anddifferent businesses that may be
foster friendly but a lot oftimes are working in silo.
So to be able to pull all ofthose people together in
together, to work together, toget to know each other, so that
(35:43):
everybody's moving in one accord, I think is huge as well,
because there are so many kidsthat don't have homes and they
don't have a place to go, and sothere needs to be more
awareness so more people standup.
I was on the phone with a DFAXworker earlier today about a
child that's in a hotel and hasbeen in a hotel and without
(36:10):
place to go right Because therearen't enough places available
to take kids in.
Speaker 2 (36:17):
Yeah, we don't need to be a barrier for those kiddos
by hanging out on our silos.
We need every nonprofit, weneed every agency to figure out
their unique role and to play it, and so one of the goals of the
Foster friendly app is to pointout other things that are
(36:39):
happening.
We don't, we don't want.
It's a Georgia kids belonginitiative.
It is funded the app is fundedby Georgia kids belong but we
want to point to foster closets.
We want to point to all theother nonprofits.
We want all the nonprofits andfaith communities who are
hosting things for fosterfamilies to put it on the app so
that our foster families don'thave to search, so that they can
(37:01):
open up this app and realizethat there are businesses, faith
communities, nonprofits andevents all around them wanting
to work together.
You know, we there's no likecharge for a nonprofit to be on
the app, please.
We want to point you out yes,there's no like charge for a
nonprofit to be on the app,please.
We want to point, point you outyes, you are fundraising too.
We are all nonprofits and we'refundraising, but we fully, you
(37:25):
know, we are people of faith andwe believe that, um, that there
is funding for all of our foreverybody, and it's not, it's
not a fear of ours, um.
So we, we want to point to, wewant a foster family to be able
to open up an app and see wherethe closest foster closet is.
We want them to find a mentor,we want them to find tutors.
So, absolutely, we absolutelyhave to build bridges to move
(37:51):
forward because, you know, beingworking in silos has been an
obstacle, another obstacle forkids in care for far too long.
Speaker 1 (37:59):
Absolutely, absolutely.
Well, one of the other thingsthat I have seen as a result of
the app and businesses becomingfoster friendly is foster
parents building community withone another.
So my daughter works at a localChick-fil-A and that is foster
(38:19):
friendly and they have fosterfriendly night on Monday night.
And I will tell you, I heardsome foster parents talking the
other night and they're like ohwell, our Monday nights are
booked because we go toChick-fil-A on Monday nights.
But part of the reason they'reso intentional about going on
(38:40):
Monday nights is because theyknow that all the other foster
parents are going to be thereand they have really built
community with one anotherbecause they're all there on
Monday nights.
Very true, yes, and so I mean Iknow that's probably been great
for Chick-fil-A, but it's greatfor these foster parents too,
(39:03):
not just to be seen byChick-fil-A, not just to get the
discount on their kid's meal orwhatever, but really to be able
to have a gathering place wherethey're all coming together and
getting to know one another andsupporting one another.
Has been huge and so fun towatch.
I mean, I think that has been ahuge benefit of.
(39:23):
You know, our cities becomingfoster friendly and more
businesses becoming fosterfriendly is because these foster
parents are gathering togetherin these locations.
Speaker 2 (39:34):
Absolutely.
That makes us, that makes mevery happy to hear, and we're
hearing that.
We're hearing great storieslike that.
We have a children's museum ofAtlanta is doing a free day
quarterly and we're hearing thesame thing.
Families are going because theyget to go for free to the
children's museum when theymight not be able to go
(39:55):
otherwise.
But they're also saying we just, we're going also just to be
with all the other fosterfamilies and what a blessing it
is at the end of the day to sayI connected with this foster
family who can relate to youknow XYZ part of foster care,
and it's definitely an excitingaspect.
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (40:12):
Well.
Speaker 2 (40:13):
I just think that's community.
Speaker 1 (40:14):
That's community.
It is community and I thinkit's been marvelous.
I mean, I've seen thedifference that it's made in
your area and in my area.
I've seen the difference thatit's made in these communities
and in these foster families,and so I just applaud you
because I think that you guysare really teaching people how
(40:36):
to build community and how tobuild bridges well, so that
we're all working together forthis cause.
So where can people find youand how can people support
Georgia Kids Belong.
Speaker 2 (40:49):
Thanks for asking.
We are on social media, ofcourse.
We are on Instagram andFacebook and LinkedIn.
We have a website.
America America's kids belonghas a podcast called the foster
friendly podcast as well.
Um, and in terms of support, mynumber one ask actually is that
people who are following Georgiakids belong and see so our I
(41:10):
belong project, as I shared,we're um sharing videos of kids
who are waiting to be adopted.
The sharing of those videos andthe interaction with those
posts help those kids be seenand kids are finding families
because they are sharing,because people share videos.
It happens all the time thatsomeone will say my friend, my
(41:35):
high school friend, shared avideo of this kid and I saw it
and I couldn't stop watching andends up becoming their family.
So my number one request, firstof all, is always for the kids
is to consider sharing some ofthose posts of the kids in
Georgia who are waiting to beadopted.
We, of course, need more fosterfriendly businesses, so if
anybody listening has aconnection to a business who
(41:57):
they think might consider it,you can find that information on
our website or you can contactus and we will connect with you
or that business.
We'd love to add your faithcommunity.
If you're going to a faithcommunity that you think is
foster friendly or would like tobe, then let us know that as
well, and we certainly, as Ishared, do need people to help
(42:18):
fund our initiative.
We need people who can rallybehind the Foster Friendly
Georgia initiative and help makethat possible, both financially
and then just with connections.
Speaker 1 (42:31):
Yeah, well, I love that and, rebecca, this
conversation has been so goodand I think it will give people
ideas on how to start buildingcommunities in their own areas
as well, because I do think itmakes a big difference for our
foster families and for kids incare, ultimately that we are
able to really provide what theyneed long term.
Speaker 2 (42:54):
So thank you for being here.
Speaker 1 (42:56):
I'm so glad that we finally got a chance to catch up
and have this chat.
Speaker 2 (43:01):
Absolutely Very grateful for the time.
Thank you so much.
Speaker 1 (43:04):
All right, friends.
That's a wrap for today'sepisode.
I hope you're walking awayfeeling encouraged and inspired
and maybe even thinking abouthow you can lean into supporting
foster families in your owncommunity or, if you're a foster
family, really rallying yourcommunity around you guys as a
group.
Before you go, I want to sharea couple of super practical
(43:27):
things that you can do to make adifference.
First, go check out the workthat Rebecca and her team are
doing and spread awareness bysharing some of their videos and
helping others to see the needsthat exist.
I will put all of her contactinformation and website
information in the show notes.
And then, if you haven'tdownloaded the Foster Friendly
(43:49):
app yet, be sure to do that.
It's such a great resource forfinding foster-friendly
businesses in your area or evenonline businesses you can
support from anywhere.
It's an easy way to beintentional about shopping with
companies that support fosterfamilies.
And guess what?
Right now, on the FosterFriendly app, I'm offering a
(44:10):
free wellness coaching sessionexclusively for foster parents.
Yep, you can find me on thereby searching Nicole T Barlow
Coaching.
I know wellness isn't alwaysthe most exciting topic.
Believe me, I get it, but thisis different.
I mix self-care, wellness,trauma-informed parenting and
faith into one plan.
(44:31):
That's all about supporting youas you parent kids from hard
places.
So go check it out.
It's completely free and I'dlove to connect with you there.
All right, that's it for thisweek.
Don't forget to share thisepisode with a friend and, if
you haven't already, leave aquick review for the podcast.
It means the world to me.
Have a beautiful week and I'llsee you back here next time.
(44:55):
Now let me pray for us as wewrap up today.
Heavenly Father, I just thankyou so much for the work that
Rebecca and the team that sheleads is doing here in Georgia
and what America's Kids Belongis doing nationwide, lord, to
spread awareness for kids thatneed homes, to spread awareness
(45:18):
for foster care and the need forfamilies.
To spread awareness, lord,about how people can get
involved and support the fosterfamilies that are stepping up.
Lord, I right now am asking youfor more foster-friendly cities
, more foster-friendlybusinesses, lord, more people to
(45:41):
support these families that arestanding up.
Lord, I ask that you use thesefoster-friendly businesses to
build up foster parents, to helpthem to feel seen and supported
in all of the hard work thatthey're doing, because, lord, I
know it gets hard on them.
(46:02):
Lord, we thank you for how youare pouring into foster families
.
We know that you are theircomfort and you are their
strength.
Help them to lean into you aswell.
We love you and we trust you,lord, in Jesus' name amen.
Hey friend, welcome back to the Foster Parent Well
podcast.
We're doing something specialthis summer because, let's be
real, summer is loud andschedules are wild.
So, in the spirit of keepingthings simple and soul-filling,
we're hitting rewind All summerlong.
I'll be sharing some of myfavorite episodes from the past,
conversations that encouragedme, challenged me and reminded
(00:22):
me that God is still workingeven when life feels messy.
If you're new here, it's theperfect time to jump in, and if
you've been around for a while,think of this like a little
refresher, like your spiritualiced coffee on a hot summer day.
So let's soak in some truth,lean into God's grace and keep
showing up for the hard and holywork that we've been called to.
(00:43):
Let's jump into this Rewindepisode.
Welcome to the Foster ParentWell podcast, where we have real
candid, faith-filledconversations about all things
foster care, adoption and trauma.
(01:03):
I'm your host, nicole T Barlow.
I'm a certified parent trainer,a certified health coach and an
adoptive parent myself.
This is a space where you canfind support so that you can
care for your kids with asteadfast faith, endurance and
joy.
I want you to foster parentwell, so let's jump in.
Well, hey there, friends, how'severyone doing today?
(01:41):
I hope you're catching thisepisode with a cup of coffee in
hand or maybe while sneaking ina few moments of peace between
all the beautiful chaos.
Life gets busy, doesn't it?
But I'm so glad you're here.
First things first.
I just want to say a big,heartfelt thank you to everyone
who has messaged me on Instagramrecently.
(02:02):
Seriously, you have no idea howmuch that means to me.
Podcasting can be a bit of amystery sometimes, like I'm over
here chatting away into thismic all by myself, but I don't
always know who's out therelistening.
So when you take the time toreach out, share your thoughts
or even just say hi, it's like alittle light bulb moment for me
(02:22):
, like, oh, real people aretuning in.
If you're interested inreaching out, you can find me at
Instagram, at Nicole T Barlow,and, speaking of showing love
for those of you who've taken afew extra minutes to leave a
review for the podcast, thankyou, thank you, thank you.
I know it's one more thing onyour already full plate, but
(02:43):
those reviews not only helpother people find the show, they
also totally encourage me.
So, whether you've just sent aquick note or a DM on Instagram
or you've written a review forthe podcast.
Just know that you are makingmy day.
Okay, now let's dive intotoday's episode, because I am so
(03:03):
excited about my guest.
You're going to love her.
Joining me is Rebecca Radacki,from Georgia Kids Belong.
Rebecca is an adoptive mom offour, an advocate and a writer
who's passionate about helpingkids find the belonging they
deserve.
She's also a fan of travel,cooking, concerts and all things
outdoors, so basically, she'smy kind of girl.
(03:26):
What I love most about Rebecca,though, is her heart for
connecting people.
She's incredible at helpingchurches and businesses find
creative and practical ways tosupport foster families in their
communities.
Today, we're going to be divinginto that urgent need for
families to dive into fostercare and why it's equally
(03:47):
important for communities torally around those families.
I know this conversation isgoing to bless you and inspire
you, so let's jump right in.
Here's my conversation withRebecca Radacki.
Well, rebecca, I'm so excitedto have you here.
I have seen you work so hard tobuild community around foster
(04:08):
care in your state, and I reallywanted to talk to you more
about the importance ofcommunity and just how do we go
about building that in our ownareas.
So tell me a little bit aboutAmerica's Kids Belong, georgia
Kids Belong Like.
What is it that y'all do andwhat is your mission?
Speaker 2 (04:26):
Okay, thank you.
Well, thank you for theopportunity.
I'd love to have thisconversation.
So thanks for the opportunity.
So I am the state manager forGeorgia Kids Belong.
Georgia Kids Belong is a statechapter of America's Kids Belong
.
America's Kids Belong has 10states and are also working in a
few other cities in a few otherstates, so a pretty wide reach.
(04:48):
We have two initiatives.
One is our I Belong project.
Our I Belong project we workwith here in Georgia.
We work with the State AdoptionExchange Unit, with the
Department of Family andChildren Services, to help
advocate for kids who are in ourfoster system whose parental
(05:09):
rights have been terminated, sothey are not.
The goal of foster care is forkids to return home to their
families, but in this particularcase, with this particular
group of kids, they're notreturning home, so we work with
them to advocate for adoptivefamilies.
We do that through videostorytelling.
We invite them out for fun days, um, with lots of volunteers,
(05:32):
lots of people to love on them,lots of personal attention.
Um, we get to take them to funplaces.
We were just at the um with theFalcons at Mercedes-Benz
stadium.
We've been at pizza placesmaking pizza.
We have done.
We've been at Truist Park withthe Braves.
We've been at the CollegeFootball Hall of Fame Just
trying to take them to reallyfun places, because they are
(05:55):
coming on those days to createvideos, knowing that they're
creating videos to help themfind families.
So it's a day that, in theirminds, represent all that
they've lost and all thatthey're hoping for.
So they're coming in.
Uh, it's a very triggering andhard day.
We're asking them to dosomething incredibly hard, so we
try to make our venuesexceptionally fun and special,
(06:17):
um, just to just to lighten thethe the weight of it and make it
a fun and memorable experience.
So that's our I Belong project.
As a result of those days, Iwill say that we create two
minute advocacy videos that weshare on our social media.
We share those with lots ofchurches who share them with
(06:40):
their congregations.
We've got other nonprofits thatshare them.
The state uses them on it's myTurn Now Georgia and AdoptUSKids
so that when families arelooking to adopt, they will find
actual videos of the kidstalking and sharing about
themselves.
So it's amplifying their ownvoices, but that's our I Belong
(07:02):
project.
Speaker 1 (07:02):
I love that.
You know we I train fosterparents for a living and so many
times you do have people thatare looking for kids, that are
waiting for an adoptive home andneed that type of placement.
So I love that you guys areadvocating for kids in that
(07:24):
space, but also being veryconscious about how you go about
that.
Speaker 2 (07:28):
Absolutely, Absolutely.
We're really focusing on kidsthat are harder to place.
So we're looking at teenagerswho are aware of what's being
put out on the internet aboutthem.
We're looking at sibling setsand kids with special needs.
So we're trying to be very,very sensitive about that.
We are honored to get toactually, you know, share their
(07:48):
voices, share their faces.
We don't take that lightlywhatsoever, but it is a powerful
medium for helping findfamilies.
Sometimes there are peoplewaiting and hoping to find those
kids, and other times peoplewill come across a video, not
realizing that they were waitingand you know that a child was
possibly going to enter theirfamily.
(08:08):
So it is kind of our flagshipinitiative and one we hold very
dear and are honored to get todo that work.
Another beautiful outcome of itis that, since we can share the
(08:41):
faces and the voices of kiddosin foster care and see that
they're just kids with differentlife circumstances that are
unique and sweet and fun andquirky and all the things, and
then reach out to us and say youknow what I've always thought
about foster care.
I've been watching this videohow do I start the process?
And that is a very significantsecond outcome and goal of the I
(09:04):
Belong Project.
That's amazing.
Yeah, I do think it is a verysignificant second outcome and
goal of the I Belong Project.
Speaker 1 (09:07):
That's amazing.
Yeah, I do think it is a lotharder for people to turn away
when they see real kids In ourexperience, when people see our
family and they know some of ourstory.
So we adopted a sibling groupof five from foster care, or I
mean even before we adopted ourkids and we were just fostering.
(09:28):
When they see our kids, andthey're like, oh wait, these are
just kids, right, and theconcept is not so foreign and
they can see, you know, thefaces, the personalities of kids
or whatever.
I really do think that it makesa big difference as to make it
not such a foreign concept, butreally it brings it closer to
(09:51):
home, Absolutely.
Speaker 2 (09:52):
I mean, I can share the statistic that there's 400
plus kids in Georgia's fostersystem who are waiting for
adoption.
But you know when I share Aidenand Aiden talks about loving
football and how he really hopesthis particular video will help
him find a family, and he looksright into the camera and says
he wants to have a family bygraduation and then tells about
(10:13):
himself and that he's been infoster care for seven years.
It's a whole different.
It's a whole different thing.
It's personal and real.
So yeah, that's amazing.
Speaker 1 (10:22):
I love that you guys do that.
How did you get involved inthis work, like, how did your
heart get stirred towards fostercare or adoption?
Speaker 2 (10:30):
That's a great question.
Well, this job is the dream jobof my life.
It is the greatest honor.
We are an adoptive family.
We adopted internationally, weadopted internationally, and
when you start the adoptionprocess, you enter a different
culture of people within yourchurch, within your community,
(10:51):
you start being connected toother foster and adoptive
families.
So through that adoptionprocess, we ended up starting a
foster care and adoptionministry at our church and did
that for several years and justum, you know, lived up close and
personal and beside both fosterand adoptive families and it
(11:12):
just felt instantly like theseare, these are our people, this
is what God intends for our lifenot only to adopt but, you know
, on a grander scale, make animpact.
Um, I've done a lot of writingover the years about adoption
and when America's Kids Belongwanted to start a chapter in
Georgia, got the opportunity tolead their first I Belong
(11:35):
Project video shoot here, andthat was going to be a temporary
thing, but thankfully it issomething I've gotten to step
into and have helped start thechapter here in Georgia and help
launch our initiatives.
Speaker 1 (11:53):
That's awesome.
Well, you know, I hear youtalking about like starting a
community at your church, and Iknow that that's part of y'all's
mission too is really to createcommunities around foster
families and foster care.
So why do you think thatcommunity is so important for
foster families?
Speaker 2 (12:14):
Well, I think it is critical.
I think that families who arefostering kids, kids, are taking
in our most vulnerable kids inour society and I think there's
just so much to it that mostpeople aren't aware of and that
I really, really believe ittakes a village to serve these
(12:36):
kids and to carry the weight ofall of their needs.
So our other initiative, ourother initiative with Georgia
Kids Belong is our fosterfriendly initiative and the goal
of that is to rally communityaround foster families, because
we believe that these are ourkids, that, like I'm here and I
(12:57):
live in Ackworth, and I believethe kids here in Ackworth are
our kids and it's part of ourjob to to look out for them in
whatever way is possible.
And our foster families are onthe front lines.
I believe they are ourmissionaries, I believe they're
community servants, communityheroes, all of the things.
Again, they are serving ourmost vulnerable kids and it's
(13:19):
not a shift that they step outof.
At the end of the day, they areliving with these kiddos,
meeting all of their needs, fromacademic to medical, to
spiritual, to physical.
So I just believe it's a reallychallenging job and the
community should be charged withrallying around them.
Speaker 1 (13:40):
Yeah, I, you know, I always tell foster parents that
you know it's very different.
You may be used to doingmissions, you may be used to
being in ministry or whatever,but it's very different when you
can do ministry and then comehome to your safe space.
Then when that ministry movesinto your home and it's a
(14:01):
24-hour job, there is no spacewithout that.
Exactly, it's totally differentdynamic.
And so I mean I agree, and Ithink most people don't realize
just how taxing it is.
I mean doctor's appointments,visits, all kinds of stuff that
you have on your schedule.
(14:22):
People are coming into your homeconstantly.
People are critiquing how youdo everything and the way you
look and the way you smile andthe way you introduce somebody,
and I mean just everything iscritiqued.
And you know your home has tobe set up differently.
Cabinets have to be locked.
I mean there's just so muchstuff right, and so you know
your home has to be set updifferently.
Cabinets have to be locked.
I mean there's just so muchstuff right, and so you know to
(14:42):
have community around, I thinkreally changes whether or not
people can continue to do it.
I mean, statistically,nationally, most foster parents
quit within month four to month,12.
And because it's hard.
And if we want stability for ourkids that are in care, that
(15:08):
need stability, that we need tosomehow create an environment of
longevity for these parents sothat they are able to do the
work for longer.
So I I love that you guys aretaking this initiative to really
rally around foster families.
(15:28):
Um, not everybody can foster,not everybody's in a place to
foster, but but everybody can dosomething, Everybody can play a
part to really support thecause as a whole.
Yes, absolutely so.
Tell me a little bit about theinitiative.
What does it do?
What is all involved in how youare creating community?
(15:52):
Thanks for asking so.
Speaker 2 (15:54):
The initiative is called Foster Friendly.
It's a statewide initiativeasking so.
The initiative is called FosterFriendly.
It's a statewide initiative.
We are working from border toborder to raise up businesses
who are willing to rally aroundfoster families simply by giving
a discount or some specialoffer for foster families.
Businesses don't always have anopportunity to step in.
(16:15):
Maybe they're asked for acorporate donation, something
like that.
But we are asking businesses touse their platform, their
influence, what they're doingevery day with their lives to
serve foster families.
So we have an app called FosterFriendly that's available to
all foster and kinship familiesin Georgia and we've been real
(16:37):
intentional to try to.
There's several things on theapp, but one being those
businesses.
We've worked really hard tomake sure that there are
businesses across the state andthat includes everything from
coffee shops, so a weary fostermom can go and grab a cup of
coffee and have a moment ofrespite.
Speaker 1 (16:56):
Hallelujah.
Speaker 2 (16:58):
Hallelujah, and get a discount on that and be able to
afford it and to be able towalk into a coffee shop and know
that that coffee shop is fosterfriendly, which is we call them
a foster friendly business.
They have agreed that they careabout foster families.
They want to play a role inhelping them thrive and are
offering some sort of a discount.
It can be a percentage off, itcould be a free cup of coffee,
(17:20):
it could be a buy one, get onefree all different things.
Businesses get to choose that.
But a foster parent could walkinto that coffee shop and
present the app there's anidentification on the app and
ask for that discount.
And there's lots of sweetstories of owners coming out and
just saying, hey, thanks forfostering, this is something
small that I could do.
Discount, and there's lots ofsweet stories of of owners
coming out and just saying, hey,thanks for fostering, this is
something small that I could do.
(17:41):
I make, I'm making, sell coffee, I can, I can help you have a
moment of rest, but with a cupof coffee.
So coffee shops, um jumpyplaces, as many family friendly
things as um as we can, uh,recruit um movie theaters, we
have therapists, we have cardealerships, we have car repair
(18:06):
places, we have salon hairsalons, pizza places, all manner
of businesses.
We think that that you know,our foster families need support
in lots of different areas,from that cup of coffee to help
with their vehicle that they'reusing to transport kiddos, so
let's, you know, give them adiscount on their oil changes.
(18:27):
Um to different attractionslike Pine Mountain Animal Safari
down in um, South Georgia,gives half off.
Wow, that's an expensiveattraction.
You know, taking a family outto any attraction is can be
challenging financially andespecially for a foster family
that welcomes in threeadditional kids and so they get
(18:49):
to go to Pine Mountain AnimalSafari and be seen by them and
shown appreciation and be ableto afford to have that outing
and shown appreciation and beable to afford to have that
outing.
So there are foster-friendlybusinesses all over the state.
We are identifying faithcommunities that are serving our
(19:09):
foster families and kinshipfamilies.
We identify those and they canbe working with any other
nonprofit, any other ministry.
They can be trained by all thedifferent ministries and
nonprofits that serve in thatarea.
We are looking for churches whodo at least two of three what
we call best practices and thatis, they have trauma trained
(19:32):
their staff.
They have an ongoingintentional ministry to serve
foster families.
That could be full wraparoundor it could just be a parent's
night out quarterly.
And then the third would bespeaking on foster care and
adoption from the pulpit atleast once a year.
So if a church does two ofthose three things, we call them
(19:54):
foster friendly and list themon the app.
So we have foster friendly faithcommunities on the app so that
if a family is looking for achurch to go to, if they move,
they're looking for, you know, aplace that will see them as a
family and want to serve them,then they can find those on the
app as well.
It also lists nonprofits.
(20:16):
So we've tried to identify allthe amazing nonprofits that are
doing incredible work across thestate, from foster closets to
mentoring, all manner of justdifferent beautiful and needed
things that our nonprofits aredoing and identify those on the
app so a family can find them aswell on the app, so a family
(20:42):
can find them as well.
So the app reads a user'slocation and it tells them
within their area where thefoster family businesses are,
where the foster friendly faithcommunities are.
It lists the nonprofits.
And it also a fourth thing thatlists is events for foster
families.
So that is statewide.
And then we go a little bitdeeper and we have started to
build foster-friendlycommunities, which is a deeper
(21:06):
dive within a community.
Speaker 1 (21:08):
That's amazing.
I know that.
I mean I'm not a current fosterfamily, I don't get any
discounts or anything like that,but we have a couple of
businesses in our area that arefoster friendly.
They do have the fosterfriendly sticker out and it
makes me feel seen, right, like.
(21:28):
It makes me feel like, okay, Iam important to this business.
This business sees me and seesmy kids and really acknowledges
that we're here and we're partof this community and I think
that's so huge.
I mean, even above thediscounts is just for foster
(21:51):
families, adoptive families, tofeel seen.
And I loved how you said thatabout the churches too.
You know, to be able to go onthere and to see that a church
is trauma, informed, that theyhave trained their staff, that
their staff knows and is goingto be able to help my kids and
(22:13):
meet the needs of my family,that I'm going to be seen and
feel comfortable and wrappedaround in that community, is
huge.
Speaker 2 (22:21):
Being seen is very, very powerful and can mean the
difference between a family, youknow saying.
You know I have communityaround me, I have people who
care, I am valuable, what I'mdoing is important and it's seen
.
You know, maybe I can do thisfor a few weeks longer, Maybe I
can take one more case, andthat's huge.
Speaker 1 (22:43):
Yeah, because so much of the work is behind closed
doors and so you don't.
Nobody sees what you're doing,nobody sees all the effort that
you are putting out, nobody seesall the things that you have to
do or the emotional load thatyou're having to carry.
Nobody sees the weight of allthe knowledge that you have
(23:06):
about what goes on in our worldand about what happens to kids,
right Like.
The weight of that burden isvery, very heavy and it's
something that nobody elsereally knows.
And, as foster parents, becauseof confidentiality and because
we're protecting our kids'stories, you know, even people
(23:29):
sometimes in our close circlesdon't really know some of those
things that we are carrying, andso to just have a community
wrap around its foster families,its foster children, and to say
I see you, you're doingimportant work, I think is huge.
Speaker 2 (23:46):
It really is huge.
So, basically, how our fosterfriendly community initiative
started was I again, I live inthe city of Ackworth and I went
to our mayor and at the time wewere just working on gathering
those foster friendly businesses, foster friendly faith
communities, identifying allthose nonprofits, which is
(24:08):
highly valuable Um.
But I went to him and um so Iwas asking if he knew this was
brand new to Georgia term.
Foster friendly was brand newUm.
So I went to him and just askif he knew of businesses in new
to Georgia term.
Foster friendly was brand newUm.
So I went to him and just askif he knew of businesses in our
area who become foster friendly.
And the more we talked um herealized him.
Our mayor realized himself thatour foster parents were not a
(24:32):
population that he had addressed.
And this is a beautiful man,this is a man who cares very
much about his community and allaspects of his community.
They've in the past have done alarge initiative for our
special needs population butreally in this conversation
realized that you know, our cityhad never focused on these
(24:53):
families.
He'd never had a meaningful,intentional conversation with
DFAC staff.
So in that conversation helooked at me and he said could
our whole community be fosterfriendly?
It sounds like we all need tobe foster friendly and in that
moment an initiative was bornthat literally has spread to
(25:16):
other cities in Georgia andother states across the country.
So our foster friendlyinitiative just took a step
deeper and said let's really tryto dig in as a community and
we've developed a process andsteps and some parameters around
what that looks like for a cityto become foster friendly some
(25:37):
steps and some goals.
But it's really been abeautiful thing and Ackworth has
been a great example of thataround what that looks like for
a city to become foster friendlysome steps and some goals.
But it's really been abeautiful thing and Ackworth has
been a great example of that.
In the beginning we were justidentifying.
We set a goal based on thepopulation of a certain number
of foster friendly businesses.
We wanted our foster familiesjust to see those businesses
popping up on the app and knowoh my goodness there is a car
repair shop and our pizza placeand our ice cream place on main
(25:59):
street gives discounts.
They care about me, um.
But then those businessesstarted to become aware of these
families more and they wouldcome out, as I said, and have
conversations with thesefamilies and started to follow
Georgia kids belong on socialmedia and just their overall
awareness grew.
So the community's awarenesshas grown.
(26:21):
We've developed and been veryintentional about looking for
faith communities within ourcommunity who would be willing
to take the steps to learn to befoster friendly.
We've also asked the city andall of our foster friendly
communities to recruit, alsoasked the city and all of our
foster family communities torecruit.
Something we realized inAckworth, which is most cities,
(26:42):
in most towns in Georgia, isthat there are enough foster
families.
There simply are not enoughfoster families, so we can take
steps to take care of ourexisting ones, but at the same
time, the city as a city needsto recruit.
Yeah, our churches cancertainly do that and they play
an absolutely key role, but thecity can take some steps there
(27:05):
too.
So it's just been a reallybeautiful thing to see.
We're about two and a halfyears into this now and it's
deepened, as more people in thecommunity are aware, and I will,
you know, meet somebody at thepark and start sharing about
what I do and they're like, didyou know?
They'll tell me.
Did you know?
Our city's foster friendly andit's a sense of pride and it's
(27:29):
really, really become abeautiful thing.
So our city has been havingrecruitment events.
We had a recruitment event lastweek that was called Ackworth
Cares and we got our food fromour foster-friendly businesses.
Our foster-friendly faithcommunities were sponsors.
We had nonprofits and DFACs andprivate agencies just having
(27:50):
conversation and being in thesame room, and so that was our
second year doing it.
And it got deeper in the secondyear because more people were
aware of foster care in ourcommunity and just all these
beautiful things happened.
We had a spa owner who alreadyis foster friendly, who was
there to represent her alreadyfoster friendly business, who
(28:13):
heard leadership in CobbCounty's DFACs talk about how
weary your case managers are,and she went up afterward to her
and offered a spa treatment,like to come to a meeting and
give a spa treatment.
So there's lots of thosebeautiful like it's happening
more organically now wherepeople are realizing, okay, I
(28:33):
own a spa, this is what I coulddo.
I, you know I'm a principal ina school spa.
This is what I could do.
I, you know I'm a principal ina school.
This is what I could do thateverybody truly, as you shared
earlier has a role to play andcan use their life, can use the
position that they're in toserve.
It's been a really beautifulthing.
And now we have other citiesexpressing entrance interest and
(28:55):
working on becoming fosterfriendly, so we've got five
cities now in Georgia who are inthat process.
Speaker 1 (29:03):
That's awesome.
We talked about this a littlebit before we started recording,
but my city, the city I live in, is in the process of becoming
foster friendly and it has justbeen really neat to see
businesses start to pop up withthe sticker and on the app and
stuff and just to know that ourcity really cares, that.
(29:25):
You know, going through thatprocess Well is.
So is the app itself just forGeorgia, or is it located other
places as well?
Speaker 2 (29:36):
It is an America's Kids Belong app it does it reads
by area.
So wherever you are in Georgia,if you're in Valdosta and you
open it, it will read within ahundred miles of you in Valdosta
.
But any of our states who arepursuing the foster friendly
initiative are using the app.
(29:57):
So another great feature isthat if a foster family in
Georgia travels to Tennessee,then they can.
If they go up to Nashville,then we have Tennessee Kids
Belongs.
There's lots of foster friendlybusinesses in Tennessee around
Nashville.
Speaker 1 (30:15):
Oh, that's kind of fun.
So, if you're traveling andyou're looking for fun stuff to
do, you could look on the appand see what are the foster
friendly businesses.
Speaker 2 (30:23):
Absolutely, and even we have.
The city of Jacksonville hasbecome foster friendly.
There's not a Florida kidsbelong, but the city of
Jacksonville reached out andwanted to become a foster
friendly community.
So right there on the borderthere's a city that is with all
kinds of businesses popping up.
Speaker 1 (30:42):
That's amazing.
So how can businesses getinvolved, or how can folks begin
the process of making their owncity a foster-friendly city?
Speaker 2 (30:52):
Great question.
Any business can apply.
We have an application form onour website can apply.
We have an application form onour website.
Those applications come to usand we can approve them.
Of course, we're looking forbusinesses that are appropriate
to be on the Foster Friendly app, but it's as simple as saying
you know, I can do something.
And opening up that link andsharing their logo, sharing
(31:15):
their offer, thinking, okay, Iown a pizza place, I could do,
you know, half price pizza orfree drinks.
Or you know, the offers arewide and all kinds of things,
but thinking about what offerthat they could make.
(31:36):
And then submitting that.
And then they appear on the appand we follow up with
information on how to onboardtheir employees and we stay in
communication with themregularly because, as I shared
earlier, we're also looking toelevate their awareness.
We want them to be fosterfriendly and then our hope is
that their awareness will beginto build and that they'll
continue to take steps and to godeeper.
(31:56):
We've had businesses offerinitial discounts.
Maybe they'll say we'll do 10%,and then some foster families
come in and they haveconversations and they get
inspired and they realize youknow this matters because most
of our foster families arewalking into this business
saying it is really cool to findour local Main Street ice cream
(32:18):
store on this app, thank youfor being foster friendly.
And then we've had businessescall and say you know what?
Let's bump it up to buy one,get one free ice cream, or
something along those lines.
So that's been a really coolaspect.
So any business can apply Umfor cities that are interested
in being foster friendly.
(32:38):
They can reach out to usdirectly by email, through our
website or social media.
Um, we are a small team and withbig dreams and with these two
big initiatives that havemassive momentum.
Um, so, of course, like anynonprofit, we're working on
fundraising, so we're alsolooking for partners who are
(32:58):
willing to help fund thismission and help fund Georgia
becoming foster friendly,because it is an investment of
our time and our capacity islimited, because we really want
to dig in.
We're not interested in havingcommunities say they're foster
friendly in name.
We want them to meet specificgoals and then we want them to,
(33:19):
you know, meet specific goalsand then we want them to
continue to go deeper, like,okay, you've reached your limit
of, or your goal of, number ofbusinesses, let's go deeper,
let's recruit, you know.
So it's really a timeinvestment.
We want to really be in it withour cities, so, um, we are
developing that capacity umthrough, but need to fundraise
(33:39):
to do so but we would love toyeah Y'all.
Speaker 1 (33:41):
Just so you know, I got uh an email from Rebecca 415
this morning.
Speaker 2 (33:48):
That is very true.
Speaker 1 (33:50):
Yes, so they are working all hours of the day
trying to get this done.
Yes, I kind of hope people don'tnotice that, but yeah, yes, no,
but I mean I think that showsyour heart for the mission and
that you guys are not juststanding back and going here fix
this right, but you're reallydigging in with cities, You're
(34:12):
really digging in withcommunities, you are really
helping, you know, bringawareness to foster care and the
kids that need adoption and howto support foster families like
really how to support, you know, foster care as a whole, and I
think that's huge.
So I mean, I think it'simportant that people know that,
(34:34):
because I think that this is aninitiative.
These are things that peoplewill want to invest in right
People want to invest in peoplethat are really pouring their
heart out for this mission.
Speaker 2 (34:47):
We hope so, and we need them to because we have a
lot of cities that are startingto reach out.
I'm like this could happen inany city in Georgia.
As we were standing in thatAckworth Cares event and seeing
all these beautiful connectionsbeing made from government
leaders to DFACs, to privateagencies and nonprofits and
business owners and fosterparents, it was just a beautiful
(35:09):
thing and our team was lookingat each other like this should
be the case across Georgia, butwe do need people to rally
around and invest in the missionAbsolutely.
Speaker 1 (35:22):
Well, and I mean I think it's beautiful that you
know, a lot of times thoseagencies different private
agencies and the state anddifferent businesses that may be
foster friendly but a lot oftimes are working in silo.
So to be able to pull all ofthose people together in
together, to work together, toget to know each other, so that
(35:43):
everybody's moving in one accord, I think is huge as well,
because there are so many kidsthat don't have homes and they
don't have a place to go, and sothere needs to be more
awareness so more people standup.
I was on the phone with a DFAXworker earlier today about a
child that's in a hotel and hasbeen in a hotel and without
(36:10):
place to go right Because therearen't enough places available
to take kids in.
Speaker 2 (36:17):
Yeah, we don't need to be a barrier for those kiddos
by hanging out on our silos.
We need every nonprofit, weneed every agency to figure out
their unique role and to play it, and so one of the goals of the
Foster friendly app is to pointout other things that are
(36:39):
happening.
We don't, we don't want.
It's a Georgia kids belonginitiative.
It is funded the app is fundedby Georgia kids belong but we
want to point to foster closets.
We want to point to all theother nonprofits.
We want all the nonprofits andfaith communities who are
hosting things for fosterfamilies to put it on the app so
that our foster families don'thave to search, so that they can
(37:01):
open up this app and realizethat there are businesses, faith
communities, nonprofits andevents all around them wanting
to work together.
You know, we there's no likecharge for a nonprofit to be on
the app, please.
We want to point you out yes,there's no like charge for a
nonprofit to be on the app,please.
We want to point, point you outyes, you are fundraising too.
We are all nonprofits and we'refundraising, but we fully, you
(37:25):
know, we are people of faith andwe believe that, um, that there
is funding for all of our foreverybody, and it's not, it's
not a fear of ours, um.
So we, we want to point to, wewant a foster family to be able
to open up an app and see wherethe closest foster closet is.
We want them to find a mentor,we want them to find tutors.
So, absolutely, we absolutelyhave to build bridges to move
(37:51):
forward because, you know, beingworking in silos has been an
obstacle, another obstacle forkids in care for far too long.
Speaker 1 (37:59):
Absolutely, absolutely.
Well, one of the other thingsthat I have seen as a result of
the app and businesses becomingfoster friendly is foster
parents building community withone another.
So my daughter works at a localChick-fil-A and that is foster
(38:19):
friendly and they have fosterfriendly night on Monday night.
And I will tell you, I heardsome foster parents talking the
other night and they're like ohwell, our Monday nights are
booked because we go toChick-fil-A on Monday nights.
But part of the reason they'reso intentional about going on
(38:40):
Monday nights is because theyknow that all the other foster
parents are going to be thereand they have really built
community with one anotherbecause they're all there on
Monday nights.
Very true, yes, and so I mean Iknow that's probably been great
for Chick-fil-A, but it's greatfor these foster parents too,
(39:03):
not just to be seen byChick-fil-A, not just to get the
discount on their kid's meal orwhatever, but really to be able
to have a gathering place wherethey're all coming together and
getting to know one another andsupporting one another.
Has been huge and so fun towatch.
I mean, I think that has been ahuge benefit of.
(39:23):
You know, our cities becomingfoster friendly and more
businesses becoming fosterfriendly is because these foster
parents are gathering togetherin these locations.
Speaker 2 (39:34):
Absolutely.
That makes us, that makes mevery happy to hear, and we're
hearing that.
We're hearing great storieslike that.
We have a children's museum ofAtlanta is doing a free day
quarterly and we're hearing thesame thing.
Families are going because theyget to go for free to the
children's museum when theymight not be able to go
(39:55):
otherwise.
But they're also saying we just, we're going also just to be
with all the other fosterfamilies and what a blessing it
is at the end of the day to sayI connected with this foster
family who can relate to youknow XYZ part of foster care,
and it's definitely an excitingaspect.
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (40:12):
Well.
Speaker 2 (40:13):
I just think that's community.
Speaker 1 (40:14):
That's community.
It is community and I thinkit's been marvelous.
I mean, I've seen thedifference that it's made in
your area and in my area.
I've seen the difference thatit's made in these communities
and in these foster families,and so I just applaud you
because I think that you guysare really teaching people how
(40:36):
to build community and how tobuild bridges well, so that
we're all working together forthis cause.
So where can people find youand how can people support
Georgia Kids Belong.
Speaker 2 (40:49):
Thanks for asking.
We are on social media, ofcourse.
We are on Instagram andFacebook and LinkedIn.
We have a website.
America America's kids belonghas a podcast called the foster
friendly podcast as well.
Um, and in terms of support, mynumber one ask actually is that
people who are following Georgiakids belong and see so our I
(41:10):
belong project, as I shared,we're um sharing videos of kids
who are waiting to be adopted.
The sharing of those videos andthe interaction with those
posts help those kids be seenand kids are finding families
because they are sharing,because people share videos.
It happens all the time thatsomeone will say my friend, my
(41:35):
high school friend, shared avideo of this kid and I saw it
and I couldn't stop watching andends up becoming their family.
So my number one request, firstof all, is always for the kids
is to consider sharing some ofthose posts of the kids in
Georgia who are waiting to beadopted.
We, of course, need more fosterfriendly businesses, so if
anybody listening has aconnection to a business who
(41:57):
they think might consider it,you can find that information on
our website or you can contactus and we will connect with you
or that business.
We'd love to add your faithcommunity.
If you're going to a faithcommunity that you think is
foster friendly or would like tobe, then let us know that as
well, and we certainly, as Ishared, do need people to help
(42:18):
fund our initiative.
We need people who can rallybehind the Foster Friendly
Georgia initiative and help makethat possible, both financially
and then just with connections.
Speaker 1 (42:31):
Yeah, well, I love that and, rebecca, this
conversation has been so goodand I think it will give people
ideas on how to start buildingcommunities in their own areas
as well, because I do think itmakes a big difference for our
foster families and for kids incare, ultimately that we are
able to really provide what theyneed long term.
Speaker 2 (42:54):
So thank you for being here.
Speaker 1 (42:56):
I'm so glad that we finally got a chance to catch up
and have this chat.
Speaker 2 (43:01):
Absolutely Very grateful for the time.
Thank you so much.
Speaker 1 (43:04):
All right, friends.
That's a wrap for today'sepisode.
I hope you're walking awayfeeling encouraged and inspired
and maybe even thinking abouthow you can lean into supporting
foster families in your owncommunity or, if you're a foster
family, really rallying yourcommunity around you guys as a
group.
Before you go, I want to sharea couple of super practical
(43:27):
things that you can do to make adifference.
First, go check out the workthat Rebecca and her team are
doing and spread awareness bysharing some of their videos and
helping others to see the needsthat exist.
I will put all of her contactinformation and website
information in the show notes.
And then, if you haven'tdownloaded the Foster Friendly
(43:49):
app yet, be sure to do that.
It's such a great resource forfinding foster-friendly
businesses in your area or evenonline businesses you can
support from anywhere.
It's an easy way to beintentional about shopping with
companies that support fosterfamilies.
And guess what?
Right now, on the FosterFriendly app, I'm offering a
(44:10):
free wellness coaching sessionexclusively for foster parents.
Yep, you can find me on thereby searching Nicole T Barlow
Coaching.
I know wellness isn't alwaysthe most exciting topic.
Believe me, I get it, but thisis different.
I mix self-care, wellness,trauma-informed parenting and
faith into one plan.
(44:31):
That's all about supporting youas you parent kids from hard
places.
So go check it out.
It's completely free and I'dlove to connect with you there.
All right, that's it for thisweek.
Don't forget to share thisepisode with a friend and, if
you haven't already, leave aquick review for the podcast.
It means the world to me.
Have a beautiful week and I'llsee you back here next time.
(44:55):
Now let me pray for us as wewrap up today.
Heavenly Father, I just thankyou so much for the work that
Rebecca and the team that sheleads is doing here in Georgia
and what America's Kids Belongis doing nationwide, lord, to
spread awareness for kids thatneed homes, to spread awareness
(45:18):
for foster care and the need forfamilies.
To spread awareness, lord,about how people can get
involved and support the fosterfamilies that are stepping up.
Lord, I right now am asking youfor more foster-friendly cities
, more foster-friendlybusinesses, lord, more people to
(45:41):
support these families that arestanding up.
Lord, I ask that you use thesefoster-friendly businesses to
build up foster parents, to helpthem to feel seen and supported
in all of the hard work thatthey're doing, because, lord, I
know it gets hard on them.
(46:02):
Lord, we thank you for how youare pouring into foster families
.
We know that you are theircomfort and you are their
strength.
Help them to lean into you aswell.
We love you and we trust you,lord, in Jesus' name amen.
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