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About us: We both come from humble beginnings and have worked hard to create for ourselves a comfortable life. We are at a point in our lives where we can provide for a family and give them the things we couldn’t have. As a family, we will see everything from sumo wrestling, ballet, and opera to heavy metal. As you get older you can go to college (if you want), become a doctor, or maybe an artist. Regardless, we’ll encourage your dreams and support them along the way.

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19) Alicia & Lianne - Marquisha vs. Jakeob , Jesus

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19) Alicia & Lianne - Marquisha vs. Jakeob , Jesus

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About us: While we cannot possibly begin to understand what you are feeling we want you to know that our paths have crossed for a reason, and we are hopeful that it is to walk this journey together. Though we have two children of our own, we want to assure you that we are in this wholeheartedly. We will be that stable, loving, comfortable, and reliable constant for you. We will remain all of those things while embracing the downs, the scraped knees, the temper tantrums, the schoolwork, and the heartbreaks. Our jobs as parents will never be over and we will give our all throughout our time. Our families are loud, crazy, and a little bit unconventional but full of love and laughter and it is something worth sharing

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About me: I will be a single mom and I hope that does not scare you. While I do hope to find a partner in life one day, I feel more confident in myself than I ever did when I was younger. I feel totally capable of being both mother and father to a foster child, and I am lucky to have many supportive friends and family members so I will not be truly on my own and neither will you. I have reached a point in my life where I have an abundance of everything, and I look forward to sharing my life and my heart with you.

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17) Esam & Hannen (Carol, Wendy, Connor- siblings)

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17) Esam & Hannen (Carol, Wendy, Connor- siblings)

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About us: We would love to have more children and have a sibling for our daughter, Laila, who is very family-focused. Her favorite place to travel is to Colorado, where she gets to spend time with her cousin. We have been given so much and would love to share our life, our love, and our traditions with you. We grew up in larger families and both of us have two siblings. We have large extended families and see them often so you will have plenty of attention, love, and fun.

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About us: We are excited to be foster parents for the first time. It excites us because we know that any child/children we foster will always be surrounded by people who love him/her and will have answers to all his/her questions. We hope there will always be communication and love. We will always be available. We will always speak with love and respect about the process, and everyone involved. And that we will always be there to hold his/her hand as we walk this journey together.

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About us: We like to think we have a simple life. We enjoy spending time with each other, our friends, and our family. An average workday starts off with singing Matilda awake and a quick breakfast before heading off to school or work. On the way home, we usually sing or talk about our days and drive past the cows. Believe it or not, there is a little cow farm right in the middle of town. If the weather is nice, we might stop by the park for a while or go for a walk. At home there is playtime or activity, then dinner, bath, and bedtime. After Matilda is asleep, we often play games ourselves, like Flux, Dresden, or something else. On the weekends we like to put the house back in order, then it’s time to play. We might go outside to play with friends, go to the zoo, or hang out with our friends. Once a month a group of our adult friends comes over for a game day.

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About us: We have been foster parents over the years and fostered 3 boys in our home. Our son Felix is almost 4 years old and has been with us since he was 1. We have been his foster parents for the last 3 years and feel so blessed to have been able to adopt him in 2020.  He is so smart, loving, and funny. We feel like he was meant to be part of our family. He loves to play any sports and dance to music. He started preschool just recently and loves to sing us songs that he learned and talk about his day. We are so excited to grow our family and Felix talks about being a big brother all the time.

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About us: Hello! We would be honored to have a chance to share our lives and love with you. We promise to work tirelessly to provide a wonderful life filled with abundant opportunities including a close and loving extended family, fun travel, lessons to promote talents, and, most of all, unconditional love!

We live in a comfortable home on a quiet street at the foothills of the Wasatch Mountains. We are active members in our church which provides great teachings focused on strengthening the family. We both grew up in homes where honesty, integrity, hard work, and respect for self and others were modeled, valued, and expected. It is our goal to teach those same traits to you.

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About us: We both accept people of all races and cultures. If a child is from another culture, we want them to be able to experience it. We'd look for books, movies, and TV shows that reflected their heritage. Even if our children share our cultural heritage, we want to make sure they are tolerant and accepting. We already have friends from various cultures, but we'd like to develop more friendships with people from our child's background, so they feel accepted and have role models from their own culture to look up to.

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About us:  We love our multi-cultural, multi-generational home. We are thrilled to be able to welcome a child with a unique story, background, and culture into our home.

We intend to respect their heritage and seek out role models who can help them grow into their own selves. We hope to share our current family culture, including raising them bilingually, while creating new family traditions.

Our current community is also very diverse. Every day, we see and celebrate families of all ages, ethnicities, and cultures. We are looking forward to building new relationships in our new home and community.

While we may not fit the traditional definition of a family, we are grateful to live in a time and place that values all families.

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Age: 6 years old

Ethnicity: White

Grade:  1st

Health: malnourished, needs corrective lenses

Background: Conner has a lot of energy and loves to play outside. He is very protective of his two younger sisters and readily helps to feed and care for them. He will speak for his sisters when adults ask them questions. Conner has a great sense of humor and loves playing with kids his own age. He wants to do gymnastics, cheer leading, or drama when he gets older and his sisters don’t need as much attention.

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Age: 2 years old

Ethnicity: White

Siblings: Carol (6 months), Conner (6yrs)

Health: malnourished

Background: Wendy is a very quiet child, possibly speech delayed. She is not yet toilet trained. She prefers a bottle over a sippy cup or a straw. She chews on her knuckles and avoids making eye contact. She does not enjoy hugs but allows her brother Conner to put his arm around her shoulders. Wendy is fond of the color yellow.

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Age: 6 months old

Ethnicity: White

Siblings: Wendy (2yrs), Conner (6yrs)

Health: malnourished

Background: Carol has just entered the foster care system with her brother Conner and her sister Wendy. Carol cries often and is not easily comforted by anyone other than her brother Conner who holds her often and shows her his toys. She particularly likes the large soft blocks at the case worker’s office.

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Age: 4 years old

Ethnicity: Black or African American

Health: Seasonal allergies, takes seizure medication

Diagnosis: Asthma, epilepsy

Background: Florian was born in Haiti. He has no previous ties to his family or culture with the exception of a children’s book written in French that he has memorized. Florian is very bright and loves to learn. He is friendly and easy going but does need extra attention around bedtime to calm and go to sleep.

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Age: 3 years old

Ethnicity: Two or more races

Background: Susan recently entered the foster care system and has been placed in emergency care until a suitable home can be identified. Susan is a very curious child and enjoys puzzles and investigating outdoors. She has a Winnie the Pooh blanket that she keeps with her at all times for comfort. She is not fully toilet trained – she wears pull-ups and knows how to ask to use the restroom, but still needs some help there.

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Age: 14 years old

Ethnicity: Asian

Grade: 9th

Health: Family history of platelet disease, underweight, allergic to gluten

Diagnosis: dyslexic, R/O eating disorder, non-specified

Background: Luke enjoys playing soccer and generally does well in school when given proper accommodations. He is generally quiet and can take some time to warm up to new people. He enjoys drawing and sees a therapist weekly. Has not voiced a preference for adoption and has been placed in two different foster homes over the past year.

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Age: 15 years old

Ethnicity: Hispanic

Grade: 9th

Health: Obese, wears glasses

Diagnosis: prehypertension, generalized anxiety disorder

Background: Jesus has been a foster child for 7 years. He has wanted to find a home and be adopted but has not been placed yet with a family that is willing to adopt an older child. He is hardworking and often offers to do chores around the house. He is looking forward to turning 16 so he can get a regular job and start earning some money for himself. He doesn’t do very well in school. His attendance is regular, and his grades are generally low and he has been held back a grade. He has had to move schools several times.

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Age: 4 years old

Ethnicity: Two or more races

Health: Frequent ear infections and stomach aches, possible food allergies

Diagnosis: Attachment disorder not otherwise specified

Background: Maryann enjoys coloring, especially with only 2 colors at a time. Her diet needs to be carefully monitored as she is prone to stomach upsets, but the cause has not been determined and she has not had a regular pediatrician to follow up on initial symptoms.  She is sensitive to environmental pathogens, such as cigarette and marijuana smoke, and gets ear infections easily. Maryann enjoys spending individualized time with caregivers but does not enjoy the company of other children and will sometimes isolate herself when too many people are around.

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Age: 10 years old

Ethnicity: Black or African American

Grade: 5th

Background: Marquisha recently entered the foster care system and is in need of a foster family until biological family members can be contacted and vetted for permanent foster care/guardianship. Marquisha gets average grades in school and has a few close friends with whom she likes to skate with on the weekends. Her favorite food is hot dogs and she enjoys reading books about historical figures.

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Age: 12 years old

Ethnicity: White

Grade: 7th

Health: Wears glasses

Diagnosis: Oppositional Defiant Disorder

Background: Jakeob has been in a group home for high-care foster youth for three years. He is about to graduate from their behavioral program. He is resistant to adoption as he has not had much luck getting along with foster families in the past and looks for an escape route as soon as he feels things are not going to go well. He generally expects things are not going to go well. He is intelligent and earns high grades in school, but doesn’t have any real friends and is often sent to detention or the principal’s office for defiant outbursts. He also feels he is too old to be adopted and rather “bide his time in the system” than try to get close with anyone.