Kathie and Dominic have helped countless children through All For Kids’ foster care and adoption program and have passed the passion to help others onto their own children. Their family now consists of four sons, three daughters and 10 grandchildren—their oldest daughter and her husband have fost-adopted two girls. Read the family’s story below to learn about their journey with All For Kids.
CB: How did you find All For Kids and why did you choose to foster or fost-adopt through this agency?
While working for the school district, I learned some things about foster care, not knowing what it was prior. During this time, I learned the need for resource parents and shared this information with my husband, Dominic. We were then given All For Kids’ name to contact to check further into becoming resource parents.
CB: What was the process of becoming a resource parent and how long did it take?
After attending an information meeting, we knew it was our calling to help children and their families reunify when possible. The process of becoming resource parents consisted of 18 classroom hours of training, which included rules and regulations of the foster care system, CPR/First Aid, then a background check, and concluded with a family assessment. This process took us approximately three months to complete and become approved.
CB: What inspired you to become resource parents and how has it changed your life?
One thing that inspired us was seeing the need to help others in our community. During our training, we learned more about the needs of the children in our community and their families. We have always wanted to give back to our community and found it very rewarding to help others. It has changed our lives tremendously and shown us that we can make changes in the lives of children for the better. That, in itself, is so rewarding. It has opened our eyes to see the needs of children in foster care which gave us the ability to give them a stable family, even if it’s only for a short time in some cases.
CB: How did you feel about fostering siblings? What was the difference between fostering one child to a sibling set of two?
The difference between fostering one child to fostering two or more, in our experience, would be that fostering siblings was sometimes easier because they had a familiar face with them, which helped comfort them going into another family. On the other hand, one child was sometimes easier since you have one set of emotions and feelings to focus on compared to having multiple children. We also gave the parents support to stay positive and focus on what they needed to do to have their children rejoin their family when possible.
CB: How have you helped the children transition back to their families? What was that like for you?
One way that we helped the children transition back to their families was by taking them to their court hearings and weekly family time. It was very rewarding when families reunified. Some birth families accepted our support and were successful in reunifying with their children, while some did not. Today we are still in contact with quite a few of the families and their children. We have also kept in contact with foster children that are now grown and have their own children. It is such a blessing.
CB: What were the birth parents/family like and how much contact do you have with them?
Our first adopted son, Adrian, has three biological sisters that were adopted into another family. We have always kept them in contact with each other throughout the years, whether it was sleep overs, movies, dinner, amusement parks, special occasions, etc. It was a joy to see them build relationships with one another.
CB: How has All For Kids helped you on this journey?
Through our journey with All For Kids, we received amazing support throughout our transitions whenever needed. They have always been there for us in all aspects of our journey, which made the experience of fostering possible. They are family. We have and would always recommend All For Kids to all our family and friends. We now have three amazing sons that we have fost-adopted due to the awesome staff at All For Kids. Our family now consists of four sons and three daughters, 10 grandchildren, and my mother Gregorita who currently lives with us.
Tell us about your children today and their interests:
Our oldest daughter, Krystal, and her husband Carlos, have also become part of the All For Kids family. They have foster-adopted two beautiful girls (Sophia and Charlie). We also have a younger daughter Dominique and older son Kevin that have given us six more grandchildren.
Our son Adrian is now 21 and is currently in the workforce. He loves anything to do with cars, new and old. He and his dad are currently restoring a 1965 Chevy truck. He is also an avid snowboarder.
Our son Christopher is a senior in high school where he is enjoying being on the Cross-Country team. His plan after high school is to join the Navy or continue his education at Antelope Valley College, where he wants to eventually attend a university to study engineering.
Our youngest son, Tommy, is currently a junior in high school and is also enjoying being on the Cross-Country team. Tommy is currently waiting to join the California Highway Patrol Junior Explorer program, where he hopes to some day become a CHP officer or something within that field.
Throughout the years, they have enjoyed softball, soccer, and singing in the church youth group. They are also big sports fans and enjoy going to the 49ER, Rams, and Dodger games. They also enjoy collecting football and baseball cards.
We have been very blessed to have such a beautiful family and to have had the opportunity to touch so many other lives.