Preparing You for "All of It"

PCHAS is grateful for people who want to be the safe, nurturing family kids in foster care need. It’s a highly rewarding venture but rarely characterized as easy because every child in foster care has experienced trauma, and they need families who can offer them stability and love. We care about your family's future (and every family we meet), so we have at least one Home Development Coordinator on each of our Texas Foster Care & Adoption teams who focus solely on helping potential families understand their role and complete the verification process.

Gabrielle Smith is the PCHAS Home Development Coordinator for families in the Houston area. She is a native Houstonian who works with our team in Cypress, TX.  She earned her bachelor’s degree in social work at Prairie View A&M University and master's in social work at The University of Texas at Arlington.

Smith worked as a preschool teacher and a restaurant server before completing an undergraduate internship with a Child-Placing Agency as part of her bachelor’s degree. She enjoyed the experience and could envision working in the field someday. When she finished school and was looking for full-time work in the fall of 2020, she saw PCHAS’ job posting for a Home Development Coordinator. The role was the perfect fit because it used her gifts, talents and strengths to positively impact children in foster care by preparing and assessing the families who want to care for them.

Gabrielle said, “I like to talk to people, I like to teach, and I feel really proud when families get all the way through the process.” It isn’t easy, and it takes months (not weeks or days) to complete everything required for verification. Gabrielle checks in with her families regularly and offers support if they feel stuck or overwhelmed. She said, “It’s my job to help families stay organized and finish all the steps. Sometimes they need a cheerleader or motivator, and I always tell them I can come to their home to help them work on things. We can also meet online, and I’m always happy to help them make a plan to get it all done.”

There is a huge need for families to foster and adopt in Texas, especially for sibling groups and children who are school-aged. PCHAS approaches each family with respect and gratitude, and our team works hard to ensure families are well-supported to give kids in foster care the stability they need. Nonetheless, not every family who begins the verification process will complete it. We asked Gabrielle to share why families do not become verified, and she said, “The #1 challenge for families is life! The process can take about 6 months. During that time, families may have a job change, financial challenges, new work commitments or kids’ sports schedules, and they are also thinking through everything they are learning.” Gabrielle’s empathy for families and all the things they must navigate was evident as she shared. She is a problem-solver, adding, “I love that we break down our process into phases. I don’t want to overwhelm anyone with all of the documentation at one time.” She advises families who experience a setback or need time to work through what they are learning: “Reach out! Let’s assess the situation and make a plan together. We want to know how we can help.”

We also asked Gabrielle to share her advice for families considering fostering and/or adopting. She quickly said, “Come to PCHAS!” and then added: “Learn all you can about kids and trauma and what parenting kids from hard places is like. Really think about how parenting the kids we serve will fit with your life and lifestyle. Then, attend an Online Info Session and talk to our team.”

Gabrielle wrapped our time with some words for prospective foster and adoptive families: “We prepare you for ‘all of it.’ You may not need everything we teach you right away, but we want you to be prepared to give kids everything they need to heal in a safe, nurturing family.”

We are so grateful for incredible team members like Gabrielle, who go the distance to prepare families to meet the needs of kids in foster care.

If you’ve ever thought about fostering or adopting, take Gabrielle’s advice and sign up for an Online Info Session or connect with a Foster Care & Adoption Guide at 281-324-0544 or fosteradopt@pchas.org. You can be family for children who need one.