SAFE foster family wins foster parents of the year!

Written by Emma Rogers

Four adults and three children pose for a photo. One adult is holding a plaque declaring Sara and Doug Mason this year's foster parents of the year.

May is National Foster Care month, giving our community an opportunity to recognize and celebrate the dedicated foster families who provide stability and support to children in foster care. And we’re honored to share that one of SAFE’s foster/adoptive families is being recognized as foster parents of the year!

Since SAFE launched our Foster & Adopt program in 2013, over 100 children have been placed with well-trained, loving adults who provide a home where they can begin to recover from the trauma they’ve experienced.

Each year, the Texas Council of Child Welfare Boards recognizes individuals and organizations whose accomplishments positively impact the Texas foster care community. This year, one of SAFE’s foster/adoptive families, Sara and Doug Mason, were named foster parents of the year!

While with SAFE, the Masons adopted three children and continued to provide foster care services for three other children as needed.

“I honestly believe I was made to do this, so I have a lot of joy in parenting,” Sara said.

“The Masons are an outstanding foster/adoptive family,” said Carol Strychalski, SAFE’s Compliance and Services Manager for Foster & Adopt. “Sara and Doug have chosen and continue to choose to pour their lives out in service to one another, their children, their country, birth families, other foster/adoptive families, and their community.”

In 2018, over 32,000 youth were in foster care in Texas, according to the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services. The Masons recognize the need for more families to offer safe, stable, nurturing homes to children who need temporary or permanent families, and frequently share their family’s story to help recruit additional foster/adoptive families. They also have a heart for keeping sibling groups together in the system, easing the children’s transition to a new home.

SAFE is grateful for the families who open their homes and make a lasting difference in the lives of so many children in our community.

Interested in becoming a foster parent? Attend one of SAFE’s monthly Foster & Adopt orientations to learn more.