extracted from the DCYF Caregiver Connection newsletter
Gabriel and Holly Gregory have been licensed foster parents since August 2013. During this time, they opened their home to foster children with a wide array of care needs and have been champions for keeping sibling sets together, increasing emotional and behavioral stability for children and supporting successful permanency plans (both reunification and alternate options).
Ruth Hagerty, a Social Service Specialist 5 at the Mount Vernon office, and Kari Jellison, the FTDM Facilitator, explained the two foster parents have made their home available, not only for children throughout the region in need of placement, support and stabilization. “They were our first licensed foster family to collaborate with parents in the process of reunification,”
The couple has always been open to parents attending medical and school appointments for their child, arranging for visitation, special celebrations like birthday parties and providing parents with the critical day-to-day information they need to be successful in the reunification process. The Gregory family has also worked with the children’s tribe and relative caregiver on coordinating phone calls and weekend visits to assure that they continue to maintain their family relationships.