National Adoption Month: Osterhues Family: Opening their Hearts and Home to Children in Need of Love and Stability

Carolyne and Mark Osterhues always planned to build a family through adoption. They considered using a domestic or international agency, but found there were challenges associated with these approaches, such as high cost, long wait times and potentially lengthy legal processes.

In 2002, when a friend suggested the couple consider becoming licensed foster parents, they were open to the idea, but hesitant. Hesitation is a common hurdle that keeps individuals from becoming foster parents. Carolyne says, “I was worried about getting too attached, but that is exactly what these children need. They need someone to model healthy attachment and parental love.”

After much discussion, the couple decided to move forward with the process. Their first placement was a baby girl; she stayed with Carolyne and Mark for only a weekend before being reunited with her biological father. The couple’s second placement was another baby, Colby. They instantly fell in love with Colby and ultimately adopted him through the state’s foster care system when he was 3-years-old.

This was the start of their foster care to adoption journey. Over more than 20 years, the Osterhueses provided a safe and supportive home to 22 children, making it a permanent home for five: Kyle, Colby, Emily, Lamar and Megan.

While they are finished building their family, today the Osterhueses provide respite care through Safe Families for Children. The organization aims to support and strengthen families, prevent child abuse and neglect and reduce the number of children unnecessarily entering the child welfare system.

“There is a misconception that children in the foster care system have a host of social, emotional and physical problems, but reality is they are strong, resilient warriors who simply want a safe, loving home,” says Carolyne.

In Illinois, there are nearly 20,000 children in foster care and more than 1,000 waiting for a permanent home. Adopting from the foster care system in Illinois is free, and parents are offered numerous resources, such as home study services, support groups, advocacy programs, counseling services and a stipend.

“If we don’t take care of these kids today, we put them at an increased risk of experiencing negative outcomes like homelessness and incarceration,” says Carolyne.

The Osterhues encourage their children, who range in age from 26 or 7, to ask questions about their family history and connect with their biological relatives.

Carolyne credits her faith and big family (she’s one of nine kids) with instilling a commitment to serving others and placing a strong value on family. A longtime volunteer with Let It Be Us, Carolyne currently serves on the organization’s board of directors.

November is National Adoption Month, a time to increase awareness of adoption, bring attention to the need for adoptive families for teens in foster care and emphasize the value of lifelong connections.

For more information about foster care to adoption, visit www.letitbeus.org.

About Let It Be Us

Let It Be Us is an Illinois 501(c)3 and licensed child welfare agency dedicated to changing the landscape of foster care and adoption in Illinois. The mission of Let It Be Us is to provide collaborative, innovative solutions of effective recruitment and placement for children in Illinois foster and adoptive care. The Let It Be Us vision is for all children in the Illinois child welfare system to achieve educational equity, employment equity, and overall well being through the incorporation of Let It Be Us Programming into statewide advancements in foster care adoption recruitment and placement. For more information about Let It Be Us, visit www.letitbeus.org.