
The Tarjick Family, Massachusetts
For our family, foster parenting is having a 12 passager van, never being bored and always having a friend to play with. It's watching kids come with nothing but leave with a heart full of love and a bag of new belongings. It's happy hellos and difficult goodbyes. I am the oldest of nine, six of which have been adopted through foster care. My parents have been doing foster care for as long as I can remember and it has truly shaped who I am, how I see the world and what I do. Foster care and child welfare has not only become my passion, but for both biological brothers as well. One is pursuing a law degree to help kids in the court system and fight for children's and foster parents' rights and the other is pursuing a degree in criminal justice. Foster parenting and being a part of a foster family has led me to graduate with my MSW as well as become a foster parent myself. Foster parenting not only changes the lives of every child who comes into your home, but it changes the lives of everyone in your family.