(WGHP) — In today’s forever family, we learned what it takes to become a foster parent.

“So many of our birth parents, desperately love their children. They just don’t have the means and the capacity to meet their basic needs. Maybe because for most of their life, their basic needs were not met,” said Heather Still with Seven Homes foster care service.

“Kenneth Maxwell, Seven Homes: “As more and more kids come into the system, there is such a need throughout the state for foster families, to step up and say, ‘I think I can foster.’ Even if you are on the fence, come to an information session,” said Kenneth Maxwell with Seven Homes foster care service.

People interested in fostering would meet the staff at Seven Homes and get to ask questions about the experience.

“We recommend and encourage families to look at multiple different agencies. We like to say come join our family because we don’t see Seven Homes as an agency. We see Seven Homes as a family,” Maxwell said.

Still said the next step after meeting with foster home workers is to go into MAPPs training, which provides information on how to raise and connect with a child.

“And then walk through the paperwork to become a licensed family. At that point,…each of our families decides: ‘is this something that I feel capable of doing?” Still said.

“We both know how difficult, foster care can be. Three of my children who are adopted are teenage boys, but I am always saying that foster care should be fun. Challenging, but there is so much more experiences that you would never gain if you were not fostering,” Maxwell said.

You can learn more about adopting by contacting Forever Family in partnership with Seven Homes Family Foster Care.