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Foster Parent Appreciation Month: The McPhersons

McPhersons

​This article is written by Sydney Edwards. It was posted on Nebraska.tv; Friday, May 18, 2018.


May is Foster Parent Appreciation Month and in Nebraska, thousands of kids are still looking for that parent figure.

One family has worked to make those numbers a little smaller by making their family a little bigger.

The McPhersons always wanted kids. When it didn't work for them on their own, they took in two children through foster care."

Little Miss Mia was even younger when Gena and Cedric McPherson adopted her.

Her little brother Brody was already apart of the McPherson family.

"We took on little Mr. Brody straight from the hospital and then miss Mia was already in foster care and we were able to have her move in with us as well and then eventually adopt them, so," said Gena.

Gena was not new to how the foster care system worked. She said her parents had fostered when she was younger.

Cedric however, said he was a little wary at first.

"I had some reservations of you know, not being able to take care of the kids or the kids were going to be so far troubled that you know, it was something that I couldn't handle," said Cedric.

After what took the family around six months of training and licensing, Cedric said fostering seemed less intimidating.

"It was nice to know when I got into the training and got involved with everything, just kind of took those first steps just to kind of check it out, was to know that I had a support system," said Cedric.

Little Miss Mia does not remember much about being in foster care, but she knows she was fostered once before the McPherson's and that she is now with her forever family.

"What would you say to a child that hasn't found theirs yet but is looking for their forever family," asked NTV News Reporter Sydney Edwards.

"Keep looking for your new parents," said Mia.

If you want to grow your family and fostering is something you have considered, the McPhersons said calling your local DHHS or Boys Town office and checking out your options can be a big help.

For a look into foster care from a child's perspective, you can check out Kloreace Linke's story.