Important Principles for Foster, Adoptive, and Blended Families

I make my living as a lawyer, but what I do is take care of other people’s children. For more than 40 years, I have been working with children, starting when I was a preteen helping my parents with their summer camp and church ministries.  In the years since, I have served as a juvenile court probation officer/social worker, group home parent, criminal prosecutor, non-profit volunteer and Board member, and attorney defending youth-serving organizations.

‍My most important roles have been foster parent and stepparent. I never had biological children, but I have managed to collect 7 children and 10 grandchildren. Along the way, my foster children, stepchildren, and grandchildren have taught me the life lessons that are the core of my speaking and writing — the lessons that I wish I could have learned from a parenting manual rather than trial and error.

Raising other people’s children has been the greatest challenge and the greatest joy of my life. I have made many mistakes, but I cannot imagine my life without my children. Most important, I know that if I can do it, anyone can.

I started in social work, burned out, and went to law school. I channeled my social worker passion into volunteering with youth organizations and fostering abused children and teenagers. Two long-term placements became part of my family. In my 40s, I married and joined my husband’s family with 5 stepchildren.

For more than four decades, my life has revolved around caring for other people’s children. This began during my pre-teen years when I would help my parents with their summer camp and church ministry work. As an adult, I served as a juvenile court probation officer/social worker, group home parent, criminal prosecutor, nonprofit volunteer and Board member, and attorney defending youth-serving organizations.

When I became a foster parent and stepparent, I learned invaluable life lessons from my foster children, stepchildren, and grandchildren.  These lessons are the core of my work today as an author and as a speaker.

Raising other people’s children has been my greatest joy and challenge, and I cannot imagine doing anything else. 

Although I’m a lawyer by profession, this website focuses on my roles as author, speaker, and online instructor.

Learn how you can protect children.