Finding Family

Bailey and Joshua Hughes of West Palm Beach have been foster parents to 24 children and are now the adoptive parents of four little ones, all of whom have special needs. And yet, they believe the kids are the heroes.

“They’re the resilient ones,” says Bailey. “We get the privilege of fighting for them through all the good times and the bad.”

The couple turned to ChildNet when they decided to become foster parents. The private nonprofit agency, contracted by the state to manage the foster care system in Palm Beach and Broward counties, subcontracts with agencies that help abused, abandoned and neglected children and their caregivers.

ChildNet’s umbrella covers a range of services to meet the needs of the communities’ most vulnerable children, among them housing, physical and mental health care, education, employment, legal assistance and adoption. 

Bailey says ChildNet has been there every step of the way for her family. 

“Our son Jude had a long hospital stay and a lot of medical complications and the medical department within ChildNet and his case manager really stayed on top of everything and walked us through a lot,” she says. “When his needs became super-hard, they were able to provide financial stipends to help me be able to stay at home instead of returning to work.”

President and CEO Larry Rein, who’s been with ChildNet since its inception in 2002, says one of the biggest challenges is finding foster homes for teenagers. Most of the kids who enter foster care have been subjected to adult substance abuse or domestic violence, he says. 

“People have to remember that children don’t come into foster care because of something they did; it’s something an adult did. These children have been traumatized, but that’s where great foster parents step up to help.” The chief qualification of a good foster parent is love, Rein says, although ChildNet does make sure applicants have a clean background and a viable income. “Foster parents are you, your neighbor, your grandkids’ coaches. They are people who have an amazing generous spirit that you can’t even imagine. They look just as diverse as the community.”

People interested in foster parenting, adoption or donating can visit the website at childnet.us, or call (561) 352-2501 or (954) 414-6001.