By Keanna Grigg, Communications Intern at Cayuga Centers
Frances Martino has always loved children and had a nurturing spirit. Even after her children grew up and moved out, she found herself missing the energy and joy that kids brought into her life. With an empty nest and a desire to make a difference, Frances decided to become a foster parent. She knew that many children in foster care needed a loving and stable home, and she felt called to provide that for them.
Over the years, Frances welcomed many children into her home, each leaving a lasting impact on her heart. Some stayed for a short time, while others have become a permanent part of her family through adoption. Through it all, Frances has found fulfillment and purpose in being a foster parent, knowing that she is making a positive difference in the lives of children who need it most.
Frances has personal experience with foster homes. Frances’ mother tragically passed away when she was a little girl. She lived with her grandmother in an informal kinship placement. When her grandmother could no longer care for her, Frances’ godmother pursued certification as a foster parent and Frances was placed with her, which is what we now call a fictive kinship placement.
After her experience as a former foster youth, Frances knows the importance of fair treatment in foster care.
Frances works hard to give kids the amazing lives they deserve because she can relate to their experiences and hardships. In the past, she has dealt with caregivers who did not treat her fairly.
“I know what it is for a foster parent to drink bottled water and tell you go to the sink and get water,” Frances recalled. “I know what it is for you to eat certain food and tell that child go get a can of food. I know what it feels like.”
Caring for youth in need
Frances wasn’t new to the concept of opening her home to children in need before she became a foster parent. Frances was a young adult in Brooklyn, New York during the 1980s crack epidemic. She witnessed many people struggling to take care of their children properly.
“My doors was always open, and I used to tell the young ladies in the area, ‘Look, don’t throw that child away. Bring that child to my house, I’ll take care of them,’” she said. “At the end of the day, I’ve always been a neighborhood mom.”
Reflecting on her experiences, Frances shares what it means to be a foster parent and believes that youth who have experienced foster care deserve and need love. All kids in foster care have different experiences. Some of them have experienced pain that some adults couldn’t even fathom.
Frances believes that a foster parent must accept kids as they are and support them in any way possible. Potential foster parents sometimes get caught up in what they see on paper. Frances believes that welcoming the child into your home and getting to know them makes everything worth it.
“Once that child comes into your home, and you take care of that child, you’d be surprised,” Frances said. “I encourage everyone to become a foster parent because we have kids that need each and every one of us.”
The journey from foster care to adoption
Oftentimes, siblings in foster care are separated. Frances knows the importance of keeping siblings in foster care together and takes pride in accepting large sibling groups into her home.
She has gone above and beyond by recently adopting two young brothers, Jaylen and Jahmir, whom she was fostering. Frances says it was important for her to keep the boys together, not just because the boys are family, but because they influence each other as they grow.
The Martinos’ journey from foster care to adoption was unique. Frances was the second foster parent to adopt Jaylen and Jahmir.
Frances had to wait for their previous guardian to give up her rights over the boys. Unfortunately, the first adoption was disrupted and the boys returned to foster care. The boys stayed at a shelter for foster youth while a foster home was located. They later entered Frances’ home as a foster care placement and have been with her ever since.
One of the first things Frances did after the adoption was finalized, was to take the boys on a cruise. The family loves to travel and take part in activities together.
Since Jaylen and Jahmir entered Frances’ care two years ago, the family members get along splendidly and the love the boys have for their mother is evident. Frances, also known as the “Neighborhood Mom”, told us that Jaylen and Jahmir had a positive impact on her life as well.
“I would just be in my room. Go to work, come home, take a shower, go to bed. No life,” she laughed. “They brought the life to me.”
