What are the biggest challenges facing foster care in America today? Is it finding enough foster parents, changing public perceptions or supporting the professionals working tirelessly behind the scenes?

In this episode of The Kingswell Conversations, Richard Kingswell steps back from the day-to-day realities of fostering to explore three significant challenges facing the US foster care system, drawing on more than 30 years of experience in child welfare.

From recruiting foster families to retaining experienced social workers, Richard shares his perspective on the issues that continue to shape foster care and what agencies, communities and individuals can do to help.

The first challenge is finding people who have the potential to become wonderful foster parents, many of whom may never have considered fostering as something they could do.

Richard explains why recruitment is about much more than advertising. It's about building relationships, reaching into communities and giving people the information and confidence to explore whether fostering could be right for them.

The second challenge is overcoming the myths and misconceptions surrounding foster care. Richard discusses how assumptions about eligibility, family structures and parenting experience can discourage people from enquiring, even when they may have so much to offer a child.

Finally, the conversation turns to a challenge facing the child welfare workforce itself: staff retention, professional burnout and the importance of maintaining stable relationships for children and families.

In this episode, we explore:

• Why finding and recruiting foster parents remains such a significant challenge.
• How foster care agencies reach potential families through online and community outreach.
• Why many people don't recognise their own potential to foster.
• The damaging impact of foster care myths and stereotypes.
• How films, books and honest conversations can help change perceptions.
• Why social worker retention and burnout matter to the wider foster care system.
• The importance of professional development, manageable workloads and continuity of care.
• How individuals and communities can contribute to improving foster care.

Richard also shares how Extra Special Parents and FosterVA approach these challenges in Virginia, from connecting with prospective foster parents to supporting staff throughout their professional careers.

And while the conversation focuses on the United States, Richard closes with an important reminder: children need safe, loving homes in communities across the world.

Whether you're a child welfare professional, an agency leader, a prospective foster parent or simply someone interested in the future of foster care, this episode offers an experienced perspective on the challenges facing the system and the people working to make it better.

Continue the Conversation

📘 FREE DOWNLOAD | The Comprehensive Guide to Foster Care and Adoption

Looking to deepen your understanding of foster care and adoption? Richard Kingswell's free 45-page comprehensive guide is a valuable resource for anyone wanting to learn more about the children, families and systems at the heart of child welfare.

Download your free copy here: https://www.fosterva.org/

Connect with Richard Kingswell

With more than 30 years of experience in child welfare, Richard is passionate about sharing knowledge, challenging assumptions and encouraging better conversations about how we support children and families.

Connect with Richard on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/richardkingswell/

🎧 Enjoying The Kingswell Conversations? Follow the podcast on Spotify or Apple Podcasts and share an episode with someone who cares about improving outcomes for children and families.

Do you have to be married or own your home to foster? Are foster parents paid to care for children? Does fostering always lead to adoption? And can you become a foster parent while working full-time?

There are plenty of misconceptions surrounding foster care, and some may be preventing people from taking the first step towards becoming foster parents.

In this episode of The Kingswell Conversations, Richard Kingswell puts five common foster care myths under the spotlight, separating fact from fiction and explaining what fostering really involves.

Drawing on more than 30 years of experience in child welfare, Richard challenges assumptions about who can foster, why people choose to become foster parents and the children who enter the foster care system.

He also addresses one of the most damaging misconceptions of all: the idea that children in foster care are somehow bad, troubled or responsible for their circumstances.

Richard explains why children should never be defined by their experiences and why understanding trauma, family circumstances and the purpose of foster care is so important.

The five myths we explore:

Myth 1: You must be married, wealthy or own your own home to foster.
Richard explains why family structure and homeownership aren't the deciding factors, and why financial stability matters more than wealth.

Myth 2: Foster parents are only in it for the money.
We explore the purpose of foster care allowances and why fostering is a commitment to caring for children, not a way to earn a salary.

Myth 3: Children in foster care are bad, damaged or juvenile delinquents.
Richard challenges harmful labels and explains the many different circumstances that can lead to a child entering care.

Myth 4: Foster care always leads to adoption.
We discuss why reunification with birth families is the primary goal of foster care, alongside the different pathways to adoption and foster-to-adopt.

Myth 5: You can't foster if you have a job.
Richard explains how working foster parents balance employment and family responsibilities, and why having a realistic childcare plan is essential.

The conversation also explores whether there is an upper age limit for foster parents and why a person's ability to provide a safe, stable and loving home matters more than fitting a particular stereotype.

At the heart of this episode is an encouraging message: many people who assume they cannot foster may actually have the qualities and circumstances needed to begin the journey.

Whether you're considering becoming a foster parent, supporting someone who is, or simply want to understand the realities of foster care, this episode offers practical answers to some of the most common questions and misconceptions.

Continue the Conversation

📘 FREE DOWNLOAD | The Comprehensive Guide to Foster Care and Adoption

Looking to deepen your understanding of foster care and adoption? Richard Kingswell's free 45-page comprehensive guide is a valuable resource for anyone wanting to learn more about the children, families and systems at the heart of child welfare.

Download your free copy here: https://www.fosterva.org/

Connect with Richard Kingswell

With more than 30 years of experience in child welfare, Richard is passionate about sharing knowledge, challenging assumptions and encouraging better conversations about how we support children and families.

Connect with Richard on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/richardkingswell/

🎧 Enjoying The Kingswell Conversations? Follow the podcast on Spotify or Apple Podcasts and share an episode with someone who cares about improving outcomes for children and families.

You've completed your training, received your approval and welcomed a child into your home. But what happens next? Who do you turn to when you have questions, need advice or find yourself facing an unexpected challenge?

Becoming a foster parent is only the beginning of the journey, and the support families receive after placement can make an enormous difference.

In this episode of The Kingswell Conversations, Richard Kingswell takes us behind the scenes of Extra Special Parents in Virginia to explain how foster families are supported from the moment a child enters their home and throughout their time in care.

Richard talks about the importance of communication before a placement, how foster parents are introduced to their ongoing caseworker and why having one consistent point of contact helps families feel supported rather than overwhelmed.

He also explains the different layers of professional support available, from regular home visits and 24-hour crisis assistance to specialist training, administrative guidance and practical help with children's individual needs.

And importantly, Richard reminds us that foster parents are people too. They need encouragement, understanding and support, particularly when caring for children who have experienced difficult circumstances.

In this episode, we explore:

• What happens when a child first arrives in a foster home.
• How foster care agencies prepare and support families during placement.
• The role of caseworkers, clinical specialists and supervisors.
• What 24/7 crisis support looks like in practice.
• How foster parents receive help with paperwork, payments and administration.
• Why ongoing training remains important after approval.
• How additional training can be tailored to a child's specific needs.
• Practical support such as transportation and maintaining school connections.
• Why supporting foster parents is essential to creating stable placements.

Richard also shares how Extra Special Parents manages caseworker workloads to ensure families receive meaningful attention and how the agency works alongside local Departments of Social Services to support children without creating unnecessary complications for foster parents.

At the heart of this conversation is a reassuring message: foster parents are never expected to have every answer.

With the right relationships, training and professional support around them, families can focus on what matters most: providing children with the safety, consistency and care they need.

Whether you're considering fostering, currently caring for a child or working within child welfare, this episode offers a practical look at what ongoing foster parent support really involves.

Continue the Conversation

📘 FREE DOWNLOAD | The Comprehensive Guide to Foster Care and Adoption

Looking to deepen your understanding of foster care and adoption? Richard Kingswell's free 45-page comprehensive guide is a valuable resource for anyone wanting to learn more about the children, families and systems at the heart of child welfare.

Download your free copy here: https://www.fosterva.org/

Connect with Richard Kingswell

With more than 30 years of experience in child welfare, Richard is passionate about sharing knowledge, challenging assumptions and encouraging better conversations about how we support children and families.

Connect with Richard on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/richardkingswell/

🎧 Enjoying The Kingswell Conversations? Follow the podcast on Spotify or Apple Podcasts and share an episode with someone who cares about improving outcomes for children and families.

Do you have to be married to foster? Can you become a foster parent if you're single, have a disability or have a criminal record? And do you need a big house with a separate bedroom for every child?

These are just some of the questions that stop people from exploring foster parenting, often because they assume they won't meet the requirements.

In this episode of The Kingswell Conversations, Richard Kingswell draws on more than 30 years of experience in child welfare to explain what foster care agencies are really looking for in prospective foster parents.

And the answer may be more encouraging than you think.

Richard challenges the idea that foster parents must fit a particular family structure, background or lifestyle. Single people, married couples, LGBTQ+ couples and people from many different walks of life can all have something valuable to offer a child who needs a safe and loving home.

But becoming a foster parent also comes with important responsibilities. Richard explains why personal stability matters, how health conditions and criminal histories are assessed, and what agencies consider when evaluating a family's home and circumstances.

He also discusses the foster parent approval process and why making an initial enquiry doesn't mean committing to fostering before you're ready.

In this episode, we explore:

• Who can become a foster parent in Virginia.
• Whether you need to be married or have previous parenting experience.
• Why personal and financial stability matter.
• How disabilities and health conditions are considered.
• Whether a criminal record automatically prevents someone from fostering.
• Bedroom requirements and sharing arrangements for children.
• What qualities foster care agencies value most.
• How long the approval process can take and why every family's journey is different.

Perhaps Richard's most important message is that curiosity is a good place to start. Asking questions, researching the process and taking time to consider whether fostering is right for you are all positive steps.

You don't have to have everything figured out before speaking to a foster care agency. The right support starts with that very first conversation.

Whether you've been thinking about fostering for years or have only recently begun exploring the possibility, this episode will help you better understand the requirements, challenge some common misconceptions and consider your next step with greater confidence.

Continue the Conversation

📘 FREE DOWNLOAD | The Comprehensive Guide to Foster Care and Adoption

Looking to deepen your understanding of foster care and adoption? Richard Kingswell's free 45-page comprehensive guide is a valuable resource for anyone wanting to learn more about the children, families and systems at the heart of child welfare.

Download your free copy here: https://www.fosterva.org/

Connect with Richard Kingswell

With more than 30 years of experience in child welfare, Richard is passionate about sharing knowledge, challenging assumptions and encouraging better conversations about how we support children and families.

Connect with Richard on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/richardkingswell/

🎧 Enjoying The Kingswell Conversations? Follow the podcast on Spotify or Apple Podcasts and share an episode with someone who cares about improving outcomes for children and families.

What does a typical day look like for a foster parent? Is it very different from raising your own children, and how much additional responsibility comes with fostering?

In this episode of The Kingswell Conversations, Richard Kingswell takes us through an ordinary day in the life of a foster family, from morning routines and school runs to after-school activities, family meals and bedtime.

And his message might surprise you. At its heart, foster parenting is simply parenting.

Of course, there are additional responsibilities. Foster parents may attend meetings, support family visits, manage medical appointments or advocate for services that a child needs. But Richard explains how these responsibilities fit around everyday family life and why foster care agencies play such an important role in supporting families along the way.

Drawing on his experience leading Extra Special Parents and FosterVA in Virginia, Richard explores why consistency, routine and predictability are especially important for children who may have experienced uncertainty or trauma.

He also discusses the importance of maintaining connections with birth families, helping children remain in their existing schools wherever practical, and ensuring they have opportunities to enjoy the same activities and experiences as other children.

In this episode, we explore:

• What a typical day looks like for a foster parent.
• The importance of routines, consistency and building trust.
• The additional responsibilities involved in foster parenting.
• How foster parents advocate for the children in their care.
• Supporting family visits and working towards reunification.
• Keeping children connected to their schools, friends and activities.
• How therapeutic foster care agencies support everyday family life.
• Why you don't need to have raised children before becoming a foster parent.

Richard also challenges the idea that foster parents need to be extraordinary people with extraordinary parenting skills. What children need most is a safe, loving and consistent home, with adults who are willing to learn and ask for support when they need it.

Whether you're considering becoming a foster parent or simply want to understand what fostering involves, this conversation offers a practical and encouraging look at the realities of everyday foster family life.

Continue the Conversation

📘 FREE DOWNLOAD | The Comprehensive Guide to Foster Care and Adoption

Looking to deepen your understanding of foster care and adoption? Richard Kingswell's free 45-page comprehensive guide is a valuable resource for anyone wanting to learn more about the children, families and systems at the heart of child welfare.

Download your free copy here: https://www.fosterva.org/

Connect with Richard Kingswell

With more than 30 years of experience in child welfare, Richard is passionate about sharing knowledge, challenging assumptions and encouraging better conversations about how we support children and families.

Connect with Richard on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/richardkingswell/

🎧 Enjoying The Kingswell Conversations? Follow the podcast on Spotify or Apple Podcasts and share an episode with someone who cares about improving outcomes for children and families.

Finding the right family for a child in foster care takes more than good intentions. It takes trust, communication and strong partnerships between the people responsible for that child's future.

In this episode of The Kingswell Conversations, Richard Kingswell explores the relationship between Virginia's Departments of Social Services (DSS) and private foster care agencies, sharing why collaboration is so important to achieving stability and permanency for children.

Drawing on nearly 20 years of leading Extra Special Parents and more than 30 years in child welfare, Richard explains how local DSS teams and therapeutic foster care agencies work together, why finding the right match matters so much, and how trust and integrity are built through years of working alongside one another.

The conversation also introduces AdoptionFlip, an innovative digital resource Richard developed to help child welfare professionals identify potential adoptive families more easily.

Rather than focusing on photographs and profiles of children waiting for adoption, AdoptionFlip turns the traditional approach around by showcasing approved families who are ready to welcome a child into their lives.

Richard explains the thinking behind this approach, including his concerns about children's privacy in an increasingly digital world and his belief that technology should help make adoption matching more informed, efficient and respectful.

In this episode, we explore:

• How Virginia's Departments of Social Services work with private foster care agencies.
• Why trust, integrity and communication are essential to successful placements.
• The differences between fostering through DSS and a private agency.
• How agencies work together to find suitable families for children.
• The challenges facing busy social workers across Virginia.
• Why Richard created AdoptionFlip and how it supports adoption matching.
• The importance of protecting children's privacy in the digital age.

At the heart of the conversation is a simple idea: when professionals share information, trust one another and work towards the same goal, children have a better chance of finding the safe, stable and loving families they deserve.

Whether you're a child welfare professional, prospective foster or adoptive parent, or someone interested in improving the foster care system, this episode offers a valuable look at the partnerships and innovations helping children find permanency.

Explore AdoptionFlip

Are you a child welfare professional working with children awaiting adoption? Discover AdoptionFlip and register to receive the monthly edition featuring approved families across Virginia.

https://www.adoptionflip.org

Continue the Conversation

📘 FREE DOWNLOAD | The Comprehensive Guide to Foster Care and Adoption

Looking to deepen your understanding of foster care and adoption? Richard Kingswell's free 45-page comprehensive guide is a valuable resource for anyone wanting to learn more about the children, families and systems at the heart of child welfare.

Download your free copy here: https://www.fosterva.org/

Connect with Richard Kingswell

With more than 30 years of experience in child welfare, Richard is passionate about sharing knowledge, challenging assumptions and encouraging better conversations about how we support children and families.

Connect with Richard on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/richardkingswell/

🎧 Enjoying The Kingswell Conversations? Follow the podcast on Spotify or Apple Podcasts and share an episode with someone who cares about improving outcomes for children and families.

When a child has experienced trauma, their behaviour often tells a story that words cannot.

A child who hoards food may be frightened that another meal won't come. A child who reacts with anger may actually be scared. And a child who struggles to trust adults may have very good reasons for feeling that way.

So how can foster parents recognise what lies beneath these behaviours and respond in ways that help children feel safe?

In this episode of The Kingswell Conversations, Richard Kingswell explores what trauma-informed care really means and why understanding a child's experiences before entering foster care is essential to supporting their future.

Drawing on more than 30 years of experience in child welfare, Richard explains how trauma-informed training equips foster parents with practical tools to create safe, predictable and nurturing homes. He also takes us through the foster parent approval process, the importance of matching children with the right families and why preparation and ongoing professional support can make such a difference.

The conversation moves beyond individual foster homes to explore the wider network of social workers, clinicians, educators, medical professionals and community advocates who must work together to support children and families.

In this episode, we explore:

• What trauma-informed care means in everyday foster parenting.
• Why fear, uncertainty and past experiences can influence a child's behaviour.
• How foster parents are trained to respond to trauma.
• What the foster parent approval and licensing journey involves.
• Why matching and placement stability are so important.
• The role of reunification and adoption in achieving permanency.
• How collaboration between agencies, social workers and other professionals supports better outcomes for children.

Richard also shares why he believes that stability is one of the greatest gifts we can offer a child in foster care. The goal isn't simply to find somewhere for a child to stay, but to create the conditions where they can feel safe, build trust and begin to heal.

Whether you're considering fostering, already caring for a child or working within child welfare, this conversation offers a compassionate, practical introduction to trauma-informed foster care.

Continue the Conversation

📘 FREE DOWNLOAD | The Comprehensive Guide to Foster Care and Adoption

Looking to deepen your understanding of foster care and adoption? Richard Kingswell's free 45-page comprehensive guide is a valuable resource for anyone wanting to learn more about the children, families and systems at the heart of child welfare.

Download your free copy here: https://www.fosterva.org/

Connect with Richard Kingswell

With more than 30 years of experience in child welfare, Richard is passionate about sharing knowledge, challenging assumptions and encouraging better conversations about how we support children and families.

Connect with Richard on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/richardkingswell/

🎧 Enjoying The Kingswell Conversations? Follow the podcast on Spotify or Apple Podcasts and share an episode with someone who cares about improving outcomes for children and families.