Open Homes Initiative Podcast

We Opened Our Home to 16 Foster Kids: Here's What Really Happened

Justin and Chelsea Smith have opened their home to 16 foster children over eight years in San Angelo, Texas, and 94% of those kids have gone back to their biological families. That number runs nearly double the national average, and it reflects something very deliberate about how they approach the work. In this episode, they share the stories behind that statistic, including a two-year-old who arrived non-verbal and self-harming and left six months later saying "Daddy home," a mother who was incarcerated and fought her way back to her children in record time, and a Mother's Day Chelsea spent at the NICU holding a baby whose own mother was not coming back.This conversation also moves into something harder to articulate. Justin describes lying awake during a break from fostering, realizing that the comfort scared him more than the chaos ever had. Chelsea talks about learning to be "a good yes" for a child even when you are not their forever yes. Together they make a case that faith and calling rarely look like what we plan for, and they close with an honest word for anyone who has thought about fostering and quietly talked themselves out of it.CHAPTERS:00:00:00 Opening Highlights00:01:02 Welcome to Open Homes Initiative00:02:22 Meet Justin and Chelsea Smith00:03:46 How It All Started in 201600:05:29 Respite Care and Getting Licensed00:10:13 The Hard Parts They Do Not Skip00:12:09 The Boy Who Said Daddy Home00:19:30 Relationships with Biological Families00:24:23 Mother's Day in the NICU00:30:29 Their 94 Percent Reunification Rate00:34:17 How Fostering Shaped Their Family00:36:21 When Comfort Becomes the Warning Sign00:42:31 Advice for Anyone on the Fence00:47:27 Closing

From Foster Child To Foster Mom: Rebekah & Jaime’s Story Of Support, Trauma, And Big Love

Foster care isn’t an abstract idea for Jaime and Rebekah. It’s lived experience, hard decisions, kids leaving and coming back, gaps in the system, and people who chose to show up anyway. In this episode, they walk through what it’s actually like to grow up in foster care, become foster/adoptive parents, and keep saying “yes” to kids who aren’t “yours” by blood but are yours in every way that matters. Rebecca shares her story of entering foster care in the 90s, being separated from her siblings, and landing in what she calls “the best foster home ever” because of one thing: support. Church, school, a CASA named Judy, and parents with a strong faith and a strong community. Jaime shares how a decade in juvenile probation and a decade at West Texas Boys Ranch reshaped how he sees youth, trauma, and parenting. Together, they talk about their girls leaving and then coming back into care, their son joining them later, birth order dynamics, trauma-informed parenting, and why the Weekly hands-on Independent Tutoring (WHIT) program matters so much for kids who are always a few steps behind through no fault of their own. If you’ve ever wondered, “Could I really foster?” or “How could I help if I can’t take kids in?” this conversation is for you. Show Links: WHIT Program: https://www.whitprogram.org/ [https://www.whitprogram.org/] West Texas Boys Ranch: https://www.wtbr.org/ [https://www.wtbr.org/] Open Homes Initiative: https://openhomesinitiative.com/ [https://openhomesinitiative.com/] CHAPTERS: 00:00:00 Loving Beyond Blood 00:00:49 Why Support Matters 00:01:28 Stories Behind The Stats 00:02:32 Meet Jaime And Rebecca 00:05:23 Rebecca’s Foster Care Story 00:10:38 Adoption Identity And Belonging 00:14:59 Becoming Foster Parents 00:17:01 Girls Return And System Gaps 00:19:08 Reuniting Siblings At Home 00:21:50 Kids Thrive And Give Back 00:24:10 Hard Things Grow Us 00:25:57 From Probation To Purpose 00:27:40 Boys Ranch Family Work 00:29:06 Trauma Informed Parenting 00:31:59 Birth Order Dynamics 00:35:09 WIP Tutoring Explained 00:38:46 Why Volunteer Tutors Matter 00:40:49 Love Makes Family 00:44:19 Ways To Get Involved 00:45:25 Final Wrap And Thanks

We’ve Had 20 Foster Kids… And No Regrets | The Rowlands

We’ve had 20 foster kids and we haven’t regretted a single one. Not even the 18‑month‑old who showed up two weeks before our newborn. It’s been the hardest thing we’ve ever done, and we’re still choosing to break our hearts on purpose over and over again for the sake of the gospel. In this episode, Logan and JC share what that’s actually looked like in real life: six kids in the house, constant goodbyes, a front yard full of toys, and an ongoing awareness that they are absolutely not the heroes of the story.We talk through the fears (what this will do to our bio kids, feeling totally inadequate, drowning in the chaos), the impact on their daughters, how their view of biological parents has radically shifted, and why they now see fostering as one of the clearest ways to live out the gospel. We get into how the church has shown up, how hard it is to learn to receive help, what happens when kids leave, and the small rituals and anchor scriptures that keep them going. If you’ve ever thought, “I’d get too attached,” or “I’m not enough,” this conversation sits right in the middle of that tension and points to the only place our adequacy really comes from. CHAPTERS:00:00:00 Intro 00:01:54 Meet Logan And JC 00:03:40 First Placement Whirlwind 00:04:22 Life With Six Kids 00:06:19 How The Call Began 00:08:31 Orientation And On Board 00:11:34 Fears And What Ifs 00:17:58 Impact On Bio Kids 00:19:24 Grace For Birth Parents 00:26:15 Inadequacy And Not Hero 00:32:34 Acts 17 Rest And Trust 00:34:32 Trust Not Cop Out 00:35:20 Complexity And Dunning Kruger 00:36:07 Hope Justice Made Right 00:38:10 Church Support In Practice 00:39:50 Helping Bio Families Upstream 00:43:05 Learning To Receive Help 00:45:34 Need More Foster Community 00:49:45 Heartbreak And Gospel Goodbyes 00:53:52 Rituals When Kids Leave 00:55:54 Encouragement For Future Parents 01:00:48 Moments Of Grace That Sustain 01:03:19 Final Thanks And Wrap Up

From Grief To Kinship: Shannon’s Story Of Saying Yes with Shannon Aguirre

Shannon lost her husband and took in a nonverbal autistic relative within a month. No training, no long runway, just a phone call, a lot of prayer, and a simple conviction: “I could not let him go into foster care. I wouldn’t be able to live with myself.”In this conversation, we walk through what kinship care actually is, how it’s different from “traditional” foster care, and what it looks like to step into that role while carrying your own grief. Shannon talks about behaviors at home vs school, how trauma stacks on top of autism, the power of stability and routine, and the very practical ways her kids, church, and community have shown up, from home repairs to hot meals. We also get into safety plans, the legal side, why proximity to these stories matters, and how God had been preparing Shannon for years through her work with IDD long before this little boy ever moved into her home. CHAPTERS:00:00 Intro01:22 Podcast Welcome02:18 Kinship Versus Foster03:35 Meet Shannon04:56 Taking The Call07:14 Early Days And Behaviors09:50 Communication And Stability13:20 Safety Plan Explained16:21 Advocacy And Meetings20:59 Faith And Support22:32 Adoption Home Study23:03 Community Help Network23:52 Meals That Make It25:30 Equipped For The Call26:42 School Behavior Struggles30:04 Kinship Family Dynamics33:42 Adoption Hope Ahead34:34 How To Support Kinship37:26 Autism And Trauma40:58 Patience And Daily Routines42:22 Final Encouragement And Thanks

They've Seen the Worst of the System. Now They're Changing It.

Most people talk about foster care in theory. Tim and Esther have lived it for over a decade: teens, newborns, reunifications, adoptions, heartbreak, and now tiny homes for kids aging out of the system. This conversation is raw, specific, and very real about what it actually costs and why they still say it’s worth it.We walk through their first placements, the shock of how deep the need really is, and the surprising impact on their own daughters. You’ll hear about a mom threatening to “get her back just to abandon her again,” a teen kidnapped across state lines to avoid CPS, newborns labeled “failure to thrive” who just needed human contact, and an 18‑year‑old who gleefully left as the whole family wept on the porch. Then we pivot to where their calling has landed now: eight tiny homes for aged‑out and unaccompanied youth, the Hive space, and why serving this “forgotten right side of the system” may be one of the most strategic ways to push back homelessness, addiction, and generational brokenness in our communities. CHAPTERS:00:00:00 Intro 00:05:21 The first nudge toward foster care and aging‑out ministry 00:15:14 First foster teens, CPS reality, and their oldest daughter 00:19:06 Newborns, reunification, and the cost of letting go 00:22:59 How big the need really is and why 1% could change it 00:30:29 How early neglect shapes the teen years 00:36:33 The Hive and the vision for eight tiny homes 00:41:12 Looking ahead: building, partnering, and what’s next