Month in Review: May 2025

During National Foster Care Month, the work certainly didn't stop as we received 76 referrals for children needing homes. When reviewing this month's stats, I noticed an interesting trend - one that happens to be near and dear to my heart! Read on to find out what it was...

Age:

• 0-2: 16 children
• 3-5: 13 children
• 6-8: 10 children
• 9-11: 13 children
• 12-14: 16 children
• 15-17: 7 children
• 18+: 1 young adult

Sibling Groups:

• 42 single children
• 6 sibling groups of 2
• 4 sibling groups of 3
• 2 sibling groups of 5

Are you ready for the interesting trend with this month's referrals? It has to do with sibling groups - specifically, a very special kind of siblings: multiples! Yes that's right, for some reason we coincidentally had a lot of referrals for twins and triplets in May. Why is this near and dear to my heart? Because 7 years ago, in 2018 (also in May, funnily enough), I was a newly licensed foster parent and received the most surprising phone call of my life asking me to take a placement of preemie twin girls. I don't know why of all the possibilities I had imagined for my first placement, twins was absolutely never something I thought of. And yet, it makes sense. "Spontaneous twins," as they're called in the medical world, can happen in all kinds of families, so of course statistically some of those children will end up needing foster care at some point.

As a twin mom, I'm used to getting all kinds of unsolicited questions and comments from strangers in public, but everyone's favorite questions is, "Did you know you were having twins?" For so many of my twin mom friends, the news that twins were on the way was a complete and total shock. It may not have been what they were expecting, but they adapted, changed their plans, bought a second crib, and embraced the wild and special journey of raising multiples. As a foster parent though, my experience was a little bit different. I was every bit as surprised, but zero percent as obligated to adapt and roll with it. Like all foster care referrals, I was given the option to say yes, or respectfully decline, the opportunity to become a twin parent. I am SO glad I said yes to my now adopted kids, but I also understand why some foster parents may be hesitant to. Raising multiples is not for the weak. It presents a whole host of logistical challenges, and your attention is always divided between two (or three!) kids needing the same thing at the same time. This gets exponentially more difficult when one or both of the twins has special needs. It is a big ask for a family to take on a child with additional needs, let alone two or more of them.

One of the biggest heartbreaks I have in my work is seeing when multiples have to be separated. While we do everything in our power to prevent this from happening, there are times when it is simply unavoidable due to not being able to find a family who is able to manage the needs of all the children at once. And sadly, this happens more than people may think. I can think of several cases off the top of my head in which a county has been seeking a home for just one of a set of multiples, whether for short-term foster care or even for permanency. This hits especially close to home as I watch my own twins growing up together and the incredibly special bond that they share. I always say, life took away so much from them - but gave them the priceless gift of each other.

If you are a current foster parent open to placements, may I make a humble suggestion that you think through the idea of multiples and mentally prepare for the possibility in case it comes? And if you are open to becoming a foster parent and providing an opportunity for siblings, especially multiples, to stay together, we would love to talk more! If you live within a one hour radius of Allentown, PA, please contact us for more information.

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