In Her Footsteps: Daughter Follows Mother’s Path as Foster Parent
May is Foster Care Awareness Month and many children won’t be able to see their moms this Sunday for Mother’s Day due to restrictions from the COVID-19 pandemic. Foster families are doing what they can, including Elbow Lake foster family Katelyn and Connor Grytdahl, who are taking care of four siblings between the ages of 2 and 10, alongside their own 7-month-old and 2-year-old.
Katelyn was inspired to become a foster parent by her own mom, Jackie Wandersee. “My three little sisters started out in foster care and then my parents adopted them,” she says. “I love kids in general, but after seeing that with my little sisters and then continuing to watch my parents do foster care over the last six years, really kind of showed me that it’s something I really wanted to do as a family as well.”
Jodi Raidt, statewide program manager for the LSS Therapeutic Foster Care Program, says foster families play a critical role in the lives of children who have to go through difficult times.
“Our foster families are really the key to mitigating the challenges that the children are experiencing and helping to build resilience. They are critical to meeting the needs of children and families during a really difficult time in their lives,” she says.