Every child and teen deserves a safe and supportive home, but for 5,550 youth currently in Kansas foster care, finding that stability can be challenging—especially for teens. Right now, 40.4% of youth in Kansas foster care are 13 or older, and one in five are between 16 and 18 years old. Behind these numbers are young people navigating pivotal years of their lives while facing uncertainties that no teen should have to endure.

Teens in foster care often face unique challenges, but they also have incredible strengths, resilience and potential. Opening your home to a teenager isn’t just about providing stability—it’s about sharing moments of growth, joy and connection.

Let’s dive into what it means to foster teens, the rewards that come with it and how you can make a difference.

Challenges Faced by Teens in Foster Care

Teens in foster care often face unique challenges, both while they’re in care and as they transition into adulthood. These challenges can include moving between homes more frequently than younger children, switching schools more often, struggling with mental health and having a hard time trusting adults. All of this can lead to feelings of uncertainty and frustration.

When teens enter foster care, many have already experienced serious trauma and may not have had the chance to build a strong, dependable support system. These challenges can make it harder later in life, leading to less education (including graduating high school and obtaining a 2- or 4-year college degree), fewer job opportunities and a higher risk of mental health struggles and suicide.

However, these challenges do not define their future. Teens in foster care are resilient, resourceful and full of potential. At KVC Kansas, we’ve seen countless teens achieve their dreams with the support of compassionate foster parents and kinship caregivers. These caring adults provide the love, stability and guidance teens need to heal and thrive. With the right support and opportunities, teens will build the skills and confidence to overcome obstacles and build bright, successful futures.

Meet Foster Parents Supporting Teens

Fostering teens is an incredible experience! Many foster parents choose to foster teens because they know how important this stage of life really is. For Katie, and for Dana and Jason, it’s been completely life-changing. Check out their stories!

Katie’s Story: From Respite Care to Supporting Spanish-Speaking Families

In 2019, Katie felt a deep desire to make a difference in the lives of others. After learning more about foster care and speaking with a KVC Kansas foster parent recruiter, she decided to become a respite care provider. Respite care allows trained and licensed foster parents to provide short-term support for children and teens in foster care, often during evenings and weekends. As a single woman with a full-time job, it seemed like the perfect way for Katie to help—until she met Elizabeth (name changed to protect her privacy), and everything changed.

“Meeting so many different kids and teens gave me a chance to understand the foster care system and learn more about myself—what I could handle and what I couldn’t,” said Katie.

From School Struggles to Success

One day, Katie received a call from KVC asking if she’d consider providing long-term care for a teenager. Although she had initially signed up for respite care, Katie felt compelled to help. When she met Elizabeth and learned her story, Katie discovered that Elizabeth’s history of long-term truancy had led to her foster care involvement, not abuse or neglect. Despite their love for her, Elizabeth’s biological family faced language barriers, as they spoke only Spanish, which made accessing the right support more difficult.

“When she came to my home, I just thought, this is a kid I can help,” said Katie.

Katie, fluent in Spanish and with a background in education, was eager to help. She partnered closely with Elizabeth and her family, supporting Elizabeth’s return to school and helping her build a foundation for a successful future.

Today, Elizabeth is thriving. She safely reunified with her biological family and is a proud high school graduate! Katie feels grateful to have supported Elizabeth during such an important time in her life. Katie enjoyed celebrating Elizabeth’s huge accomplishment with Elizabeth and her family.

“I feel blessed to have been involved in her life,” said Katie.

Caring for Elizabeth deeply impacted Katie and opened her heart to providing long-term foster care. Shortly after Elizabeth reunified with her family, Katie welcomed Lillian (name changed to protect her privacy) into her home. Now, a few years later, Katie continues to be Lillian’s devoted foster mom, creating a loving and supportive home that makes all the difference.

Dana and Jason’s Story: Healing Through Love and Patience

Dana and Jason’s journey to parenthood didn’t start the way they imagined. After struggling to have children biologically and facing challenges with private adoption, they decided to pause their efforts. Little did they know, their lives were about to change in an unexpected way.

While browsing online, Jason found a resource about foster care that also shared profiles of youth in Kansas foster care looking for adoptive families. Inspired by the idea of fostering with the hope to adopt. They decided to take the first step and dreamed of opening their hearts and home to one preteen.

This led them to contact KVC Kansas and enroll in foster parent training classes. Through these classes, they not only learned about the licensing process but also about the different types of foster care, including long-term care and respite care. After thoughtful conversations, they decided respite care would be the best place to start.

Soon after becoming licensed foster parents, Dana and Jason welcomed two sisters, a teenager named Sam and a pre-schooler named Carol (names changed to protect their privacy), into their home for a weekend of respite care. What started as a short stay quickly turned into something much greater when, just weeks later, the girls’ previous foster parents could no longer care for them. Without hesitation, Dana and Jason stepped up to provide Sam and Carol with the stability and love they needed as their long-term foster parents.

Building Trust and Connection

While overjoyed to welcome these two siblings, this was not Jason and Dana’s original plan — instead of one preteen, they suddenly had both a young child and a teenager in their care!

“Both girls, but specifically the oldest, had been through significant trauma,” Dana explains. “It took a lot of patience and understanding to learn her triggers and how trauma impacted both her mind and the way her body felt.”

Sam often coped with challenges by shutting Dana and Jason out, making communication and connection difficult. “We learned alongside her,” Dana says. “There were moments that were fantastic, and other moments when we said, ‘what have we done?’”

English was the sisters’ second language, especially for Sam, which added to the communication challenges. But it also gave Dana and Jason a chance to build trust with Sam and Carol, learning to connect through patience and care.

Over time, as trust grew and communication improved, their bond strengthened. Now, a few years later, Sam and Carol are thriving.

“Sam is graduating in a few months,” proudly said Jason. “And Carol will be going to a new middle school in the fall. They’re stable, happy and thriving.”

They’ve explored their passions, including art, trombone, painting and dance, and found a safe and loving home where they can heal. Dana and Jason’s decision to open their hearts not only changed Sam and Carol’s lives—it gave Dana and Jason the opportunity to grow into the parents they always hoped to be.

The Rewarding Reality of Fostering Teens

Every child and teen in foster care has a unique story, often shaped by trauma. While this can certainly bring challenges, it also creates moments of incredible joy and connection. Jason, Dana, and Katie share heartfelt truths, shatter misconceptions and reveal the rewarding reality of fostering teens.

Rebuilding Trust After Trauma

Teens in foster care often carry the weight of their past experiences, which can shape how they behave and react. While some behaviors, like pushing boundaries or being rebellious, are typical for most teenagers, they can also be tied to deeper fears and trauma. While responding to these behaviors can be challenging, foster parents have the opportunity to help teens feel safe, supported and secure.

Jason explains that some of the more difficult behaviors teens may show, like acting out or being aggressive, often come from their fear of disruption and moving again. Many believe that testing boundaries might lead to another change, creating a cycle of fear and insecurity.

“While these challenges were hard,” Jason shares, “they also brought us closer together. Each moment helped build another layer of trust—trust that the girls were safe to test boundaries and know we weren’t going anywhere.”

Discovering Hidden Strengths and Joys

Having provided respite care for several youth as a licensed foster parent, Katie reflects on how every child and teen she has met has been so much more than their written profiles—descriptions meant to share information about a child or teen in foster care.

“I discovered that most profiles capture the absolute worst day of a child’s life. But these teens are so much more than their worst day,” Katie explains.

Katie recalls one teen whose profile described her as exhibiting aggressive behavior. “But in person, I found she was very soft-spoken and liked to read!” That experience opened Katie’s eyes to the richness and complexity of these young lives.

Katie believes real change and connection happen when foster parents approach youth with patience, kindness and compassion. She shares that the joy of getting to know these teens far outweighs any challenges.

Her message is clear: teens in foster care are more than their past experiences, and with the right support, they can thrive in ways that may surprise even those caring for them.

Independence and Guidance

Fostering teens has unique benefits, though these may be unknown to some. One of the biggest is how independent and capable teens can be compared to younger children. These qualities not only make caregiving easier in some ways but also create opportunities for foster parents to focus on building meaningful connections. For Katie, fostering teens has been especially rewarding for this reason.

“I appreciate the amount of independence that teens come with,” Katie explains. For example, she doesn’t have to worry about potty training or other early childhood needs, which lets her focus on helping teens with their personal growth.

Jason and Dana also noticed this independence in Sam. After years of helping care for her younger sister, Sam had developed a strong sense of responsibility and self-sufficiency. Even so, Jason and Dana worked to find the right balance—trusting Sam’s abilities while also giving her the space to just be a kid. They provided the guidance and boundaries she needed to feel secure, build trust and make positive choices.

This mix of independence and support helps teens in foster care feel safe and valued, creating an environment where they can truly thrive. If you’re ready to make a difference, consider fostering teens and discover how rewarding the journey can be—for them and for you.

Celebrating Milestones

One of the most rewarding and often-overlooked joys of fostering teens is the chance to be there for pivotal moments in their lives. Teens are at an exciting stage of life where they’re figuring out who they are and what their future holds. As a foster parent, you get to support and celebrate their milestones—both big and small.

From teaching them how to cook a favorite meal to helping them get ready for a school dance, everyday moments create lasting memories and meaningful connections. Then there are the big milestones, like cheering them on when they get their first job or watching them walk across the stage at graduation.

Katie fondly remembers helping plan a quinceañera for a teen girl in her care—a day filled with joy, tradition and pride. Another cherished memory was hosting a graduation party for a teen who worked hard to earn their diploma. These are the moments that not only shape the teens’ futures but also leave a lasting impact on the hearts of foster parents.

Being there for these moments shows teens they are supported and valued. It’s a chance to celebrate their resilience and remind them they’re never alone as they grow into young adults.

How Fostering Teens Impacts Foster Parents’ Lives

When you choose to foster teens with KVC Kansas, you’re not only making a lasting impact on their lives—you’re also changing your own life! For Katie, becoming a foster parent has brought a deep sense of fulfillment and connection. The teens she’s cared for have become an important part of her life and community.

“I never intended to be a long-term, full-time foster mom,” Katie shares. “But these kids have become like family here in Kansas, and I didn’t anticipate that.”

Jason and Dana approached foster care with an open heart and a long-term mindset. While fully committing to the children and teens in their care, they also embraced the ultimate goal of foster care: reunification.

“I know it’s hard and scary,” Jason admits, “especially when you’re welcoming somebody into your home, knowing they may only be there for a short time. But even if they return to their biological family, it’s still a connection that can last forever.”

Katie, who has provided foster care in many forms—from short-term respite care to years-long commitments—agrees wholeheartedly.

“Foster parenting is for life,” Katie explains. “It’s not just embracing this one kid. Their entire family, community and culture comes along with them.”

Become a Foster Parent

There’s a child or teen who needs someone just like YOU – and at KVC Kansas, we make sure the opportunity to foster is open to all people. You can become a foster parent at any stage of life, regardless of your relationship status, gender identity, income level or where you live. What matters most is how much you care. We have options that work in your life, right where you are – for exactly who you are.

Being a foster parent can be an immensely rewarding experience. It’s sharing the small moments, like eating a nutritious meal together at the family dinner table. And the big moments, like celebrating safe family reunification, developing positive relationships and high self-esteem. Above all, it’s about helping youth flourish and grow into confident, contributing community members.

Ready to make a difference? Want to foster teens with KVC Kansas? Start your journey today by learning more about becoming a foster parent with KVC Kansas. Visit kvckansas.org/foster to take the first step!