Annette's family

Annette’s always had a soft spot in her heart for children, particularly the abandoned and abused. Even as a child, she dreamed of working in an orphanage. But her dream turned into so much more.

Now a Licensing Supervisor with CHS, Annette protects children by finding loving foster families to provide the guidance, structure and stability they desperately need. But her calling is more than professional – it’s personal.

“I love having kids around, I love trying to give them a better life,” says Annette. “I like to show them what a family’s supposed to be, to give them some stability.”

As a foster parent, she’s nurtured more than 50 children over the past decade; though she knew she was to provide only temporary care, some children could never return home. But once in Annette’s family, they were home.

Annette remembers picking up Johnny from the neonatal unit – her first foster newborn – on her birthday. They bonded during his drug withdrawals, and she vowed to love and protect him, to shield him from ever again feeling such pain. After adopting him, she was determined to keep her promise.

When 18-month-old Jayna arrived at Annette’s, she was to stay for only a short while. Though Annette quickly fell in love, Jayna grew even more attached. Again, Annette began the adoption process. And when young Deondrae joined their growing family, Annette provided the patience and stability he needed. Years later, he, too, joined Annette’s forever family.

Finally came Freddie; after Annette brought him home from the hospital, she says, “he never left!” While Annette supports and mentors foster parents, Freddie was the last child she fostered (and later adopted). “I was afraid I’d keep them all!” she says.

While Annette’s family has grown by four, the difference she’s made in the lives of local children can never be measured. And because she’s experienced the challenges and rewards that accompany fostering, she relates well to the parents she guides. “You want everybody to be part of a family,” Annette says. “At work, I try to place kids in a family, and when I go home, my kids are finally in a family. At the end of the day, all is well.”