Services to Families

In the world of child welfare, Regina Johnson wears a lot of hats. She is a PS-MAPP trainer. A resource family recruiter. A support specialist. A foster parent. And a mother to seven children, all adopted either through foster care or private adoption.

Many LSI staff in Iowa's recently redesigned child welfare system are playing multiple roles, from support and licensing for foster care to working on contracts related to skill-building services or safety and permanency services. As an LSI staff working within Iowa KidsNet, the statewide collaboration of agencies that recruits foster and adoptive families, Regina said those multiple roles are an advantage.

"It all flows together," she said. "There's more understanding, and the more understanding any foster parent can have of the system, they are better able to do their job as a professional and a member of the team."

Regina and her husband Michael adopted their first son, Marcus, in 1991, as an infant from an adoption agency in Kansas.

"I didn't know anything about adoption agencies at the time," she said. "I opened up the yellow pages and called the first agency I saw. The next thing we knew the application was in the mail, and we were already on our way. A year and a half later we adopted. Later we moved to Iowa and wanted to adopt again. We started thinking of all those kids in foster care who needed families."

Today, their son Marcus has six younger siblings, all adopted from the foster care system starting in 1999. All the kids the Johnson family adopted from foster care were adopted in sibling groups of two.

The Johnsons recently renewed their foster care license for the ninth year and now plan to do foster only for ages infant to two years old.

"It will be fun to help transition them back home or to an adoptive family," Regina said.

As a resource family recruiter for Iowa KidsNet, Regina guides prospective resource families through the foster care process. Starting this summer, she will also assist families as a support specialist, particularly with families needing post-adoptive services.

"It's like being on two legs of a relay," she said. "You provide a certain level of support being a recruiter, and then pass the baton to the support specialist role."

Regina said the support role was what excited her the most when Iowa KidsNet was created.

"When I heard support was part of the new system, that was great. You often build a relationship with the worker attached to a child placed in your home, but when that child moves on, it's not possible to continue that relationship," she said. "They move on with the child. Iowa KidsNet support workers are assigned to the resource family, and can help make strong foster homes that lead to less disruption. It's just about having someone consistently there for you."

So, what's it like to play five parts in the fast-paced child welfare world?

It's hectic, Regina admits.

"The tough part is making sure I'm wearing the right hat for the right opportunity and for the right discussion," she said. "But the reward is in talking to people interested in foster care and adoption, as someone who lives the life they're thinking about, and to answer their questions on a real-life basis."

And living the life of a foster parent is one role Regina will be playing for a long time.

"It's in my blood. I don't know if I'll ever quit, even after my own are gone."

(The photo has been changed for privacy.)