(LEX 18) — Kathy Castle's connection to foster care runs deeper than her professional role as foster care and independent living director. She and her husband became foster parents and eventually adopted their two youngest daughters, making the cause deeply personal.
"My husband and I were foster parents and then we got to adopt our two youngest girls, so it is near and dear to my heart for sure," Castle said.
Castle has witnessed the harsh reality facing children who age out of the foster care system without finding permanent families. From her earlier work in child protection during the 1990s, she remembers children who grew up in foster care without being adopted.
"When I worked at child protection a long time ago in the 90s, they did grow up in foster care, and they didn't get adopted and they aged out and they had no permanency. They had no family and they were out there floating in the wind and it's sad," Castle said.
This reality affects thousands of children across Kentucky, many waiting years for a place to belong. Sunrise Children's Services works daily to change these outcomes for the state's most vulnerable children.
Dale Suttles, president of Sunrise Children's Services, explained the organization's comprehensive approach to helping children who have experienced trauma.
"Sunrise does a lot of things for Kentucky's most vulnerable children, so we take care of children 24/7 in our residential services. These are kids that need therapy due to traumas that they've experienced with their home life," Suttles said.
Since launching its foster-to-adopt program in 2006, Sunrise has successfully placed more than 720 children into permanent homes. Despite this success, the demand for foster families continues to grow.
"We always need foster families and there's a severe need, a severe need for folks to open up a home to kids," Suttles said.
The impact of finding permanent homes extends far beyond the initial placement, according to Suttles. He sees the long-term transformation in children who find stability and support.
"You fast forward and you see, you know, the child has the confidence to go to school to learn a trade, to have a job, to have a paycheck, to be a good mommy, to be a good daddy, to have a home, to have a car, to participate in community. That's what that is," Suttles said.
The benefits of foster care and adoption work both ways, transforming not only the children but also the families who welcome them.
"This can not only transform the child, but I can promise it will transform you or your family," Suttles said.
For more information on how to foster or the foster-to-adopt programs, you can visit their website here.
