Voigt Family Story

Becoming the Parents They Needed

Brandon and Britney Voigt have been foster parents in Clay county for seven years.

“I have known since I was young that I would not be able to easily conceive a child naturally, so from a young age I’ve thought about how I would build my family, and foster care always stood out to me,” said Britney. “I’ve always been drawn to be able to help kids in crisis. I come from a background of abuse, and when I was younger I always said that I’d grow up to be the person that I wanted and needed as a kid.”

Britney and her husband had talked previously about becoming foster parents, but it took her husband hearing a radio spot to really finalize that decision. “My husband was the cable man in the town we lived in, and he was driving around when he heard a radio ad saying that there was a desperate need for foster parents. That was his final straw.”

The Voigt’s made the initial phone call to become foster parents in November 2009, and started STARS and Spaulding Training in January. Then on June 1, 2010, they received the call for their first placement – two sibling girls.

When they first received the call, Britney recalls feeling every emotion you can imagine being rolled into one — excited, scared, nervous of the unknown. “We really liked the idea of being short-term mom and dads. We could fill in the gap for kids who needed support right away … We were so excited to become parents — at least for a little while,” said Britney.

Since receiving that first phone call, the Voigt family has welcomed 16 children into their home over the years. During this time, they’ve established a strong relationship with our home finding center and its team members.

Since 2014, Cornerstones of Care’s home finding center has been connecting with available foster parents throughout 30 counties in Northwest Missouri. Our team of specialized social workers notify foster families if a child, or sibling group, needs a foster placement in their area. This service provides a single point of contact for foster families waiting for a placement.

Now, when the Voigt family gets a phone call from our home finding team, they trust that the placement will be a good fit for the child or siblings, as well as their family. “When Mary in home finding calls me, I joke that I’m probably going to say yes to the placement. She knows what’s best for my family and for the children that need us.”

Britney and Brandon are also certified trainers to license other individuals and families to become foster parents. “I am really passionate about sharing my journey through foster care,” says Britney. “I’m passionate about recruiting foster parents and the good that we can do. Plus, after being a foster parent for seven years, I can share my knowledge with others.”

Her first piece of advice for new foster parents is, “Just know that no matter what, you made a positive impact in a child’s life, but to do that, you have to go to bed every night knowing that you advocated to your best ability that day. You have to advocate for yourself, for the children, for the birth parents, and for the workers who might be overwhelmed but are just trying to do their job. Be an advocate for everyone. These kids are hard, and the system is hard, and some days you might not feel overly bubbly about that day, but remember that we have the ability to impact the next generation … We got into this not to do the easy work, but to do the right work.”