"Sarah, how do you know Jane?" This is the most frequent question I have been asked over the past week. The short answer is that my husband and I have been in Jane's corner for the past 5 years as she has traversed the broken foster care system.
My husband Todd and I first met Jane in 2018. In 2017 we became licensed for therapeutic foster care. We had just moved to Kansas and knew about the foster care crisis. We were looking to be able to support existing foster families by providing occasional respite care. We quickly learned that finding homes or shelters for teenagers in the system was the greatest unfilled need. A fellow foster parent named Suzy, who was literally just barely older than a teenager, convinced me (through her example) to say yes to the teenagers who were waiting for a foster home or shelter to open up. Any evening that I was available and not traveling for work, I accepted a teenager into my home. I committed to just one night at a time to help reduce the number of youth sleeping in an agency offices. This is how I met some of the world's most remarkable teenagers, including Jane.
Jane was just 13 years old. A transportation driver arrived with Jane at my door. Jane had with her only a change of clothes and a large teddy bear. She gave the driver a hug goodbye and Jane seemed familiar with the routine as she asked me what time she would be picked up in the morning and if there were any other kids in the home. Jane had been dropped off at many foster homes night after night. She had been to at least a dozen other homes.
I had only been given a few sentences about Jane before she arrived. But I quickly learned she is a good conversationalist, well-mannered, likes Cinnamon Toast Crunch and prefers to sleep with a fan on. I also learned that Jane hadn't been to school for more than 2 months and she had been split from her older sisters. She wanted to be in school and she was missing her sisters.
Jane continued to be brought back to my home night after night for nearly two months while we all prayed for a more permanent placement for her. During that time we convinced the agency to let us enroll Jane in school.
Here is Jane on her first day of 7th grade.
After the school year ended, Jane was eventually placed in a foster home together with her older sisters. We were so happy for her! We soon lost contact with Jane until about 2 years later. That's when I learned Jane had run away from that foster home and the home was being investigated for alleged abuse and neglect of Jane and her sisters. The abuse she experienced still haunts Jane.
Jane returned to the foster system and went back to bouncing from foster home to shelter back to a foster home and then again to a shelter over the next 18 months. Between those foster homes and shelters, Jane would stay with us until the next place became available and kept in contact with us throughout her time in each of those places.
During those 18 months, Jane was fortunate to experience some good foster homes. A loving foster family supported Jane in earning a GED and driver's license. That family even threw her a 17th birthday party and invited Todd and me. The party was cow-themed because cows are Jane's favorite! Here we are at the party.
At the beginning of 2022 Jane was placed in an independent living shelter. Independent living shelters are intended to provide foster youth some autonomy in order to prepare them for adulthood and being released from the foster system. It was during this time that Jane juggled multiple jobs in order to save money for her 2000 Jimmy GMC.
In September Jane turned 18 and told us that she would be released from foster care. There was a significant amount of funding cuts for aged-out foster youth at that time. And there was also much chaos and miscommunication. This left Jane homeless just before and also after she was officially aged-out . Jane tried to figure it out on her own and prove her independence. She resourcefully slept in her car and showered at truck stops. She even learned how to change tires herself. But as winter approached the nights became too cold. After changing a tire and the lugnuts not being tightened enough, a tire flew off while driving down the highway. Luckily a friend let her stay a few nights while she tried to devise a plan to tow her car on her own. Jane then realized she didn't have the resources to get her car towed so she reached out to Todd and I for help. But it was too late, her car had been towed and impounded by the highway patrol. Through a series of miracles and human kindness, we got Jane's car out of the impound and repaired. This is Jane's car being towed from the impound in December last year.
Jane agreed to stay with Todd and me until she got connected with a job and housing. Within just 3 months Jane is now working a great job and moved into housing! We have enjoyed seeing Jane have some wins. Here is Todd and Jane at Olive Garden celebrating her first day of work at QuickTrip.
We have always been amazed how Jane takes advantage of the opportunities presented to her. She has survived horrific experiences but she never allows that to hold her down for too long.
That's the full scoop on how I know Jane!
