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Homeschooling and Foster Care
BY FOUR OAKS FAMILY CONNECTIONS
Iowa has a huge need for more foster families that are willing to
come alongside a struggling family and care for children while
birth parents work toward meeting goals and ultimately being
reunited with their children. Each year, in Iowa, there are approxi-
mately 4,000 children displaced from their homes and in need of a
safe, temporary home.
In 2012, Heather Welch decided to foster. She reached out to Four
Oaks Family Connections, one of two organizations that provides
training and licensure for prospective Iowa foster families. Once a
licensed foster family, the Welches said “yes” to caring for a sibling
set, and eventually adopted those children. Four years ago, Heather
felt that public school was no longer the best fit for their adopted
children, and she began homeschooling. The Welch family continue
to say “yes” to foster care. They have had several children live with
them since and have also been able to provide respite for other local
foster families.
The State of Iowa requires all children in foster care to attend pub-
lic school in order to give the children more consistency in their edu-
cation when transitioning in and out of a home. The Welches have
found that they can balance homeschooling their adopted children
while having their foster children attend public school. Children in
foster care have often been through traumatic experiences and may
need extra support, which can mean extra appointments for sup-
port services, appointments with social workers, etc. Additionally,
children in foster care typically have regular visits with their birth
families to help kids and families maintain connections. How do
the Welches manage this schedule? Heather says, “Homeschooling
provides a lot of flexibility.” She has the time to meet the needs of
her homeschooled children during the day, which frees her up to be
available tomeet the needs of her foster children in the evenings. No
one gets left out.
Some children in foster care may have experienced neglect or
trauma, causing some delays in development. Gaps in education can
occur if children were not consistently attending school or bouncing
around from school district to school district. Heather says that being
a homeschool parent has given her the tools and skills to better meet
the educational needs of foster children that have come into her
home. She shared about a child that was placed in their home that
came to them a little behind in school. Because of her experience
with education and her access to homeschool resources, Heather
was able to partner with teachers to get him back up to grade level.
Foster parents are commonly asked, “How does fostering impact
your family and the children living in the home?” The Welches’ ad-
opted children range in age from eight to seventeen, and Heather
states,“They have become more well-rounded individuals that aren’t
just focused on themselves.” Some of her children hope to become
foster parents themselves one day. Welch says that fostering has
taught her children to be flexible, to be culturally aware, and to be
more open to other people’s perspectives. She also states that fos-
tering “has made them more sensitive to and aware of the needs of
people in their community.” The Welch family sees that with foster
care comes loss and hurt, and this makes the kids want to get more
involved in serving the community to prevent foster care from ever
happening in the first place. Heather says,“We don’t want families to
be split up. We want to support and prevent that. “
Although Heather has adopted a sibling group that was previ-
ously in the foster care system, she has also fostered children that
were reunited with their birth families. The goal of foster care is al-
ways reunification. This, of course, can be a loss for the foster family,
but the Welches say they are happy for children when birth families
get healthy and children are able to go home. They sometimes even
throw a reunification party! All foster families are encouraged to
form positive relationships with birth families, when possible. There
are so many benefits for children when they see that their foster
family and their birth family are working in partnership. It allows
children to form healthy attachments to both and not feel as if they
must choose a side. Heather shared that they’ve had some positive
experiences working with birth parents and, in some cases, has been
able to maintain connections with families and continue to see the
children even after they move on from their home.
Welch states, “In the foster care community, you have tons of
support. You have a group of people that are willing to help you navi-
gate the foster care world and get through it together, to share the
struggles, but also the blessings and joys.”
One of those supports for Iowans is Four Oaks Family Connec-
tions. Four Oaks Family Connections provides licensing, training,
and ongoing support for 69 of Iowa’s 99 Counties. There is a huge
need across the state for more foster families. The greatest need is
for families that can foster sibling groups, teens, and children with
trauma-related behaviors. If you have considered fostering and want
to take the next steps or if you are thinking about it for the first time
and would like some more information, you can go to the Four Oaks
Family Connections website at
and register for virtual orientation session. Four Oaks Family Con-
nections staff hopes that you have enjoyed this story we shared and
would love to answer any questions you may have!