In this episode we interview Chrystal Smith, the founder and CEO of Foster Village. This is a non-profit founded out of Austin that supports and serves local foster families. You will hear about her inspiration for starting this non-profit and how it is growing to support foster families across the nation. You will love Chrystal’s heart and thought behind everything that she does.

Foster Village Austin: https://www.fostervillageaustin.org/

Heart Gallery of Central Texas: heartgallerytexas.com

Foster Community: https://fostercommunity.org/

Texas Adoption Resource Exchange (TARE): https://www.dfps.texas.gov/Adoption_and_Foster_Care/About_TARE/Adoption/

Department of Family and Protective Services: https://www.dfps.texas.gov/

In this episode we interview Yareli, an adoptions case worker for DFPS. Yareli has been a case worker for 9 years, 7 of those being in the adoptions unit. She has walked side by side with children in foster care from first contact all the way to reunification or adoption. Join us for an inside look of the day to day as a CPS case worker with Yareli.

Heart Gallery of Central Texas: www.heartgallerytexas.com

Texas Adoption Resource Exchange (TARE): https://www.dfps.texas.gov/Adoption_and_Foster_Care/About_TARE/Adoption/

Foster Community (foster care and adoption resources): www.fostercommunity.org

In this episode we interview Ali, a motivated and caring 14 year old who has spent nearly half of her life in foster care. Ali loves sports and is driven to do well in school to secure her future. She has goals to have a career that makes a difference in other people’s lives since so many people have made a difference in hers. The big thing Ali is missing from her life is an adoptive family who will love her and support her through everything.

Ali’s Heart Gallery Profile: https://partnershipsforchildren.org/heartgallery/alissandra/

Heart Gallery of Central Texas: heartgallerytexas.com

Texas Adoption Resource Exchange (TARE): https://www.dfps.texas.gov/Adoption_and_Foster_Care/About_TARE/Adoption/

Foster Community (Foster care and adoption resources): www.fostercommunity.org

In this episode we interview Katherine Squires, a proud Baylor graduate who was adopted from foster care as a toddler. Katherine had a hard childhood, even after adoption, and once she was separated from her older sister, she had to navigate life on her own. Unfortunately, every adoption story is not all sunshine but you will hear how Katherine persevered and became her own best advocate, which lead her to attending and graduating from her dream college, where she studied to have a career helping children who were just like her.

Heart Gallery of Central Texas: heartgallerytexas.com

Texas Adoption Resource Exchange (TARE): https://www.dfps.texas.gov/Adoption_and_Foster_Care/About_TARE/Adoption/

Department of Family and Protective Services: https://www.dfps.texas.gov/

In this episode we interview Alexis Lira, a previous foster youth who was adopted as a teenager. You will hear about her early life and how it led to her being placed in Texas foster care and her journey from having no desire to be adopted, to then agreeing to be placed on the Heart Gallery website, and then meeting and being adopted by her parents. Her story is not without bumps along the way, but her resilience and that of her adoptive parents shines through the entirety of her story.

For more information on foster care and adoption, please check out the following resources:

Heart Gallery of Central Texas: heartgallerytexas.com

Texas Adoption Resource Exchange (TARE): https://www.dfps.texas.gov/Adoption_and_Foster_Care/About_TARE/Adoption/

Department of Family and Protective Services: https://www.dfps.texas.gov/

Foster Community:

www.fostercommunity.org

In this episode we interview the Vineyards. In the past 6.5 years Jon and Sarah Vineyard have fostered 7 children in Central Texas, adopted two and have legal custody of a third, along with their one biological child. You will hear their story from their first introduction to foster care, to becoming foster parents themselves, and the growth of their passion for advocating for foster youth.

Heart Gallery of Central Texas: www.heartgallerytexas.com

Foster Community: www.fostercommunity.org

Texas Adoption Resource Exchange (TARE):

https://tare.dfps.texas.gov/application/TAREPublic/logon

Department of Family and Protective Services: https://www.dfps.texas.gov/