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Behind Every Foster Family:

A Community That Cares

Most days, Katie Welch juggles swim meets, tutoring sessions and dinner at a crowded kitchen  table. But amid the noise of family life, she’s quietly building something powerful. Three years  ago, Katie launched Foster Light, a nonprofit that offers behind-the-scenes support to foster  families across Kansas City. 

Welch, a former inner-city art teacher and now mother to six, knows firsthand the emotional  chaos and beauty of foster parenting. “Foster Light was born out of my own experience,” she  explains. “Foster care is taxing work. Fifty percent of foster parents quit within the first year. For  the majority it is because they don’t have the support and resources they need to survive  mentally, emotionally, physically and spiritually.” 

Foster Light is a direct answer to that need. It is not just about helping foster kids, though it  certainly does that—it is about keeping good foster parents in the game longer, so children  experience fewer moves and more stability. 

Foster Light’s mission is simple but transformative: keep foster parents steady so children don’t  have to keep moving. Because the stakes are high. Katie recalls a young woman she interviewed  who had lived in 40 different homes during ten years in care. “That’s a new home every three  months,” she says. “Within four years of aging out, nearly half of foster youth are incarcerated or  homeless. And the more homes a child moves through, the more likely they are to become part  of those statistics.” 

“Kids can’t thrive if they’re constantly being moved around,” Katie continues. “The key to  changing the trajectory is helping foster parents stay and to do that they need real, practical  support.” 

Foster Light provides something known as “wraparound care,” a holistic model of support that  begins with mandatory therapy—for the foster parents. “Foster kids often get therapy, but we  realized our own mental health was falling apart. We were absorbing so much trauma and didn’t  know how to parent through it. Therapy made all the difference,” Welch says. 

From there, the care plan becomes personalized. Foster Light sends in professional organizers,  creates chore and routine charts, provides Instacart memberships, monthly gift cards, cleaning  services, laundry help, lawn care—every overlooked need that quietly wears down a foster  parent. “The most popular service? Cleaning,” she laughs. “Almost every family signs up for it.” 

The goal isn’t to pamper foster parents. The goal is to preserve them. “As a mom, if I don’t have  to worry about laundry or grocery shopping, I can be more invested in helping a child acclimate  to new norms, help them learn how to regulate their behavior and emotions, and sustain a healthy  family unit,” Katie says. 

When Katie and her husband Nick’s biological sons were just five and two, their home expanded  overnight with three young girls—ages four, two and four months. “We had five under five. It 

was insane,” Katie remembers. Three years later, the girls’ birth mom had another baby girl, who  joined their home. 

She is honest about the overwhelming stress and the need for strong partnership. “Nick is  amazing and shares the responsibilities. He took over cooking this year, which is my dream come  true. We really try to run a tight ship. All the kids have chores.” 

Their backyard, however, tells another story. “It’s full of weeds right now,” she admits. “But I  have six kids who are thriving. I know from the outside it may not be pleasing, but we are  growing something beautiful and vibrant. For now, my kids have needs and we are choosing  them.” 

The irony isn’t lost on her. Foster Light is designed to aid in exactly these situations, picking up  the pieces so foster parents can focus on the deeper work of healing. It’s about creating homes  where kids can settle in and where everyone can thrive. 

At its core, Foster Light is about dignity. Dignity for the parents trying their best. Dignity for the  children learning, often for the first time, what it means to have their needs met.  

“Every child deserves clean clothes, a safe space, and someone who looks at them like they’re  the most important person in the world,” Katie says. “We’re not trying to change the whole  system. We’re just trying to keep families healthy enough to stay cohesive—and that might  change everything.” 

To learn more, please visit www.fosterlight.co.