For several children, the court room is a familiar and happy place. Two of the Culpepper children were officially adopted in a courtroom like in Washoe County.
"...gain two new personalities into our family that are so, so much fun and so much energy,” says Marcus Culpepper.
Marcus and Mary Culpepper, both teachers for Washoe County School District have one biological son, two adopted siblings and another son on the way. Mary started as a Court Appointed Special Advocate also known as a CASA, volunteers who work with foster families.
"A large part of my role as a CASA was to go into the home where the kids are and see what their situation is like, get to know the parents, get to know the kids,” says Mary Culpepper.
District Court Judge Cynthia Lu says, “So when we have the support that the court provides with the A, for these foster care children, they actually do better while they're in the system.”
Just in Washoe County, 900 children are in the foster care system, most because of neglect or abuse. The goal is to get these kids into homes like the Culpeppers, even temporarily.
"We felt supported the whole way and any questions we had were answered. We had people that came to work with the kids at our home," says Marcus.
Mary adds, "One of the things I really liked about fostering in Washoe County was the mentorship between foster parents an getting to know our own kids, foster parents before us and other foster families was really helpful as we were navigating the process."
There is currently a great need for more casas and foster homes in Washoe County. Training and support is available for those who qualify. For more information, click here.
