May is Foster Care Month, a time to recognize the vital role foster families play in supporting children and strengthening communities across Nebraska. Behind every placement is a story of connection, resilience and hope.

For Cathi, foster care has been part of her life for decades. From experiencing foster care in her own home as a child to becoming a dedicated foster parent herself, Cathi brings a unique, deeply personal perspective to what it means to care for children and support families. Her journey reflects both the challenges and the profound impact of fostering — and offers an honest look at how one person can make a lasting difference. Hear Cathi’s inspirational story.

Meet Cathi: A Nebraska Foster Family

Cathi was just 11 years old when her parents started providing foster care in Nebraska. She remembers how difficult it was at first. “In those days, you didn’t know the family, and they didn’t know you,” Cathi explains, sharing how hard it was to say goodbye to the first baby her family fostered, knowing they wouldn’t be able to see her again or find out how she was doing.

But those challenging experiences didn’t stop Cathi from becoming a foster parent herself. Many years later, Cathi and her husband at the time started providing respite care in emergency situations, like when a parent was hospitalized. Later, Cathi went on to become a full foster parent. 

Over her many years of foster care, Cathi has experienced all kinds of approaches to foster care while living in Nebraska, Arizona and Wisconsin, and has been grateful for the support she has received in Nebraska with KVC. “KVC is really one of the better organizations I’ve ever known for support and really caring about you and your experiences,” says Cathi. As a divorced single parent with two children of her own, Cathi has leaned on KVC’s training, support and resources to continue serving children in Nebraska.

A Lifetime Perspective on Caring for Families

Throughout her decades of experience, Cathi has witnessed many changes in how foster care and family services support families and resource families. In the past, biological parents were kept very separate from foster parents and even from their children throughout their time in the foster care system. Nowadays, Cathi describes the approach as “pro-family,” with the goal of reunification whenever safe and possible.

“There’s nobody that can love and raise that child more than their own family,” says Cathi. “Foster care should understand that there’s something better. You hope that a better situation does come for them, and you hope it can be long-term.” 

In her Nebraska foster care experience, Cathi has seen fostering “end” both ways: through reunification and through adoption. Whatever the result, Cathi agrees with the KVC Nebraska foster parent approach, focusing on individualized care and doing what is best for the child.

KVC Nebraska’s emphasis on connection and support extends into community resources for parents of children in foster care, making reunification even more attainable. Through our intensive in-home services, we provide families with crisis management, in-home therapy, skill-building and connection to other community resources that can strengthen families and help parents get the tools they need to feel supported and reunify with their children. As Cathi puts it, “It’s a hard world, and it’s only growing harder.” KVC ensures that parents always have someone on their team in difficult times.

How KVC Supports Foster Families

KVC supports and equips foster families, ensuring they have the confidence and practical tools they need to serve children and families in Nebraska. Cathi emphasizes how well the training prepares prospective foster parents for the many challenges they will face. Through KVC, Cathi provided care for a boy with significant mental health challenges. Thanks to the training from KVC Nebraska, she felt she could really relate to him and understand what he was going through.

Going into something as life-altering as foster care can feel overwhelming, and Cathi has a word of encouragement to potential foster parents. If you’re feeling ill-equipped or not up to the task, that’s normal. In fact, Cathi thinks this hesitation is a good thing! “I think it’s better than feeling like you can do it all,” says Cathi, pointing out that children in foster care feel even more anxious going into a new home than you do receiving them.

Through training and ongoing communication with a foster care specialist, Cathi reassures anyone considering becoming a foster parent that they are not in it alone. And she speaks directly from experience! Whether it was having her car stolen by a youth in her care or having furniture broken during challenging behaviors, Cathi has always been able to rely on KVC to give her the direct support she needed.

The Impact Fostering Has on the Whole Family 

Just as children in foster care learn and grow from their foster parents, so too are foster families impacted by the youth who become members of their family, whether short or long term. Cathi has seen this transformation the most in her own children, who were a bit resistant at first and unwilling to share their belongings or their space. 

Similarly, Cathi noticed how much youth in foster care appreciate something as simple as having a room and a cozy bed to themselves, especially if they were previously unhoused. “It makes you appreciate all that you have to give,” she says.

While Cathi made a point of ensuring her children always had their own space, she also encouraged them to understand the perspective of the youth coming into the home.

“We all have problems,” says Cathi. “At any time, any one of us could be in need of some extra assistance. It’s been a good situation to realize you can be a part of helping others.”

One Family Can Change Lives

Stories like Cathi’s demonstrate the impact one person can have on the lives of others. Through fostering with KVC Nebraska, Cathi has helped children create positive childhood experiences, even in small ways, like going to the movies for the first time or fostering independence. She has seen her impact change the lives of children, like one youth she fostered who had been in prison four times and now has turned her life around to become a youth advocate.

Foster families can make a meaningful difference in the lives of Nebraska’s youth while becoming part of a more connected community. Interested in becoming a foster parent in Nebraska? Learn how you can support youth and families by becoming a foster parent with KVC Nebraska.