“You have no idea how unbelievable and amazing this journey we have as parents, two fathers of two adorable, beautiful boys. When we look back in last three and a half years. We are grateful to accept older foster, especially Deaf, children. Our household primary language is American Sign Language, and both of our boys are Deaf. Each of our journeys happen at the right time, right place.
We couldn’t stand to ignore the needs of older foster children as they still have plenty of opportunities to be successful just like other kids, with the support of a family. Unconditional love is essential and key in our family. We love each other very much! We are no different than biological families or other type of families. We are family. Our sons each have their own biological families, and we love getting to know their brothers, sisters, and even biological parents. All that matters right now is that we are our boys’ parents. Love!” –Dr. Kevin and Mr. Charles Reed
The Sound Mental Health Foster Care Program provides therapeutic care to foster youth by maintaining safe, structured, and nurturing homes. We place children and youth ages six through eighteen who may be dealing with issues related to abuse, abandonment, and neglect. We provide comprehensive mental health services tailored to meet the specific needs of each youth we serve.
Our primary goal is to help a young person learn to live within a family system, and our program acts as an advocate to enable foster parents to focus their time and energy on the child. Foster parents are respected and valued as integral members of the team whose insights and observations are essential to the process. Individualized treatment plans are created for foster youth that assess needs, develop strengths, and address growth and development. Our teamwork approach brings together all of the significant people in the youth’s life to increase understanding of relevant issues, to enhance communication, and to provide ongoing support.
We strive to provide our foster parents with quality training, accessible staff, and meaningful support. The families in our program create a community of people who come together to make a difference by problem solving and sharing ideas. Our goal is to have stable home environments that offer safety, consistency, and respect. Foster parenting is an important job that can be a rewarding experience for foster parents and it can create a successful impact on a child’s life.
“Working with youth in the foster care system through Sound Mental Health has showed me what a significant impact devoted caregivers can make in the lives of children and teens working toward stability in their lives.” — Abby Harrison-Buck, SMH Therapeutic Foster Care Case Manager
Interested? For More Information, please contact Shannon at (206) 302-2968 or email shannonm@smh.org.
