There are countless good reasons to become foster parents. For Derek and Abby Bartron, it's the chance to make a difference in the lives of children that made them open up their hearts and homes to children in foster care.

"It's very satisfying to find that you can make such a difference in a child's life,” Derek says. "Seeing kids' attitudes change and seeing children do better in school and find hope is a wonderful experience."

For a little more than two years, the Bartons have been foster parents to children between the ages of 12 and 15 who could no longer live with their biological families. Children typically are placed into foster care due to serious family problems, such as abuse, neglect or a parent's inability to care for his or her children. Foster families provide loving homes for children in foster care who need a temporary home.

Youth Villages foster families like the Bartrons do even more: they help children who have developed emotional and behavioral problems learn to deal with past trauma and move on to a more hopeful future. Youth Villages foster families also help their foster children maintain contact with members of their birth family and reunify with their viable family members whenever possible.    
 
Many people decide to become foster parents after their own children leave home and they become empty nesters. Others become foster parents because they have friends or church acquaintances who have told them about the rewards of being foster parents. For the Bartrons, it was a family tragedy that pushed them to want to provide children and teenagers with the love and care they need to succeed.

“My sister suffered greatly at the hand of emotional neglect,” Derek says. 

She eventually committed suicide. 

Fostering has allowed the Bartrons to make sure that other children going through difficult times in their young lives experience the love and care they need to find hope and a brighter future. 

"Abby and Derek are wonderful foster parents" says Elisa Parham, Youth Villages foster parent recruiter in Nashville. "They help children find stability and love in a caring family. That's something most of the children who come to Youth Villages have never had the chance to experience."
 
But the Bartrons admit that the road for a child to heal and find hope can be rough. 

"The hardest thing is to break down the issues and then to build them up again," Derek says. 

"We know that these children need unconditional love above anything," Abby says. "And that's what we want them to experience in our home." 

Youth Villages provides foster families with free training, 24-hour support and reimbursements starting at $9,000 a year to help offset the costs of adding a child to their household.

To learn more about becoming a Youth Villages foster parent, call Elisa Parham today at (615) 250-7270 or send her an e-mail: elisa.parham@youthvillages.org. Being a foster parent may be the most rewarding thing you ever do.