There are several acts in today’s society that most people find noble but in which few want to take part. Foster parenting is one of them.

Some people, however, are not afraid to take on the responsibility. For Ames residents Mike and Sharie Shupp, the experience was rewarding and fulfilling.

It started many years ago with their first foster child, a young Cambodian boy who stayed with them for three years. Although he left long ago and now has a little boy of his own, he still keeps in touch with his foster parents.

“His little boy calls us grandma and grandpa,” Sharie Shupp said, thinking back to the experiences she had during the 10-year period when they took in foster children.

Family foster care is 24-hour temporary care for children unable to remain in their own homes, while also offering services to families and children in order to implement plans for permanent placement, according to the Web site for the Iowa Department of Human Services (DHS).

To those who actually participate in the family foster care program, it is much more than that. “It’s hard work, but it’s also rewarding,” Shupp said. “It was a positive experience for us.”

The experience of foster care involves counseling and therapy, social skills development, restorative living skills development, family skills development, behavioral management for children in therapeutic foster care, and supervision, according to DHS.

“We were on an emergency list,” Shupp said. “We got calls in the middle of the night.”

The Shupp family had about 16 foster children come and go during the period they were licensed for foster care. Some stayed a few weeks or months, and some were with them for years.

The average length of stay for children in a foster home is 15.2 months, and most stay within a distance of 30 miles from their real homes, according to DHS.

Other DHS statistics show that 75 percent of foster children are Caucasian, with an even number of males and females from newborn to more than 16 years of age.

The primary reason for removal of children from their homes is parental issues, although issues with the children, abuse and delinquency are causes as well.

Foster parents don’t always know initially why a child is with them.

“Sometimes we took kids, then later found out the details,” Shupp said. She said in one emergency situation, a child came to her family because the mother was out at a bar and left the child home alone.

She said in some situations children would come without adequate clothing or even a toothbrush or pajamas.

“You just get things or have things on hand,” she said.

Although there are some expenses involved with foster parenting, Shupp said it is not as costly as one might think.

“We didn’t find it was a real detriment,” she said.

Kim Combes, a foster parent from Colo, and former DHS social worker, said the state reimburses foster parents for some expenses with a monthly stipend.

Combes left the social working business and decided the only thing he hadn’t really done to help children was to be a foster parent himself.

“I met a kid at one of the shelters and he had no place to go,” he said. Combes took him in and has been a foster parent ever since. “That was the genesis of my decision,” he said. He is licensed for five children and currently has five teen-agers staying in his home. He said foster children are assigned to homes based on personality matches and specifications by the parents for ages and levels of disability or need. House size and family size are also taken into consideration.

Although there is always need for more foster homes of any specification, Combes said right now homes are needed primarily for teen-agers.

“Very few want to take on the responsibility of a teen-ager,” he said.

“Little kids are easier,” said Jim Weires, foster care/adoption program coordinator for Youth and Shelter Services (YSS) at 420 Kellogg Ave. “They are more charming and endearing,” he said.

Weires said he understands why many foster parents would rather take care of small children, but he also sees benefits to taking in teen-agers.

“In a lot of respects teen-agers are a lot tougher,” Weires said. “In other respects they are more able to communicate and understand.”

Many people associate negative behaviors with teen-age children, but Weires said he tries to point out the advantages so prospective foster parents keep an open mind when specifying their age preferences.

“There are a lot more things you can do with an older child,” he said. “Younger children require foster parents to be at the child’s beck and call.”

Weires said YSS has an active collaboration with Lutheran Social Service of Iowa (LSS), also known as Beloit, at 1323 Northwestern Ave.

“We work together and try to recruit foster parents,” he said.

They also work to retain the foster parents they already have.

Governor Terry Branstad, along with governors from several other states, deemed May as Foster Parent Appreciation Month, Combes said.

“We had a nice meal in Boone with gifts and prizes,” Weires said.

The dinner was an effort to recognize and support the foster families that YSS and LSS serve.

“It’s always kind of nice to be honored in that way by the agencies who place the kids with you,” Combes said.

To get involved with foster parenting, Combes said LSS, YSS and DHS are the places to contact. The foster care worker takes information about prospective foster parents and the process requires a lot of paperwork. Criminal record and a person’s history of abuse are also checked.

“Just because you have [a criminal record] does not mean you cannot become a foster parent,” Combes said. Combes said once the checks are okayed, social workers look at the home and speak with neighbors and other people for a social history and personality profile.

There are also training requirements that must be met initially and each subsequent year the foster care license is still valid.

Despite the hard work that goes with foster parenting, Combes said the rewards are numerous.

“We’d like people to consider doing it,” he said.

Shupp said there is always a need for foster families.

“People’s life situations change or they burn out; they just need a change,” she said.

Some foster parents end up adopting children they took in as foster children. Shupp said they would have adopted a newborn baby that stayed with them for eight months, but the biological mother didn’t want to relinquish her rights.

“It’s a hard situation, but children still love their families even though they can’t live with them,” she said.

Shupp’s family requested having foster children around the ages of her own children, Peter and Carrie, but at times that was hard to deal with as well, she said.

“We’ve talked to [our children] about it over the years, and it was generally positive,” she said.

One 4-year-old girl stayed with them over Christmas when Shupp’s daughter was six. It was difficult for her to share the holiday and the attention of relatives with another little girl, Shupp said.

“The foster children needed time and attention, too,” she said.

Shupp said they stopped taking on children when their own kids got older. “We wanted to focus on them and their teen-age activities,” she said. “We needed a break from it for a time, too.”

Shupp said there were several times during their term of service that they would get a call to take in a child and would turn the offer down.

“It didn’t fit with the family or it wasn’t the right time,” she said. “We had to trust that someone would help.”

To ensure that another foster family would always be there, the Shupps tried to recruit new foster parents.

“I encourage people to think about it,” she said. Shupp said her family was recruited by a friend with Lutheran Social Service.

“There is always a need for new people to get involved and be aware. If it doesn’t touch your life, you’re not aware of it,” Shupp said. For more information on foster care or becoming a foster parent, contact YSS, LSS or the local DHS.