Help America's Special Needs & Autistic Infants

My wife and I are both registered nurses and have worked in the hospital for several years, unaware that a special, underserved population needed our nursing knowledge and skills; medically fragile babies/children in foster care. The program that allows preferential placement of medically fragile children into the homes of nurses was introduced to us by a friend. To our delight, we learned that the founder of this amazing program lived close to us in Southern CA.  Linda West, a registered nurse and the founder of Angels in Waiting (AIW). Ms. West is a strong advocate for medically fragile children and took her time to clearly explain the process and the steps that we needed to take for the approval to become a resource family home for these vulnerable at-risk children. The law for preferential placement of medically fragile babies into the homes of nurses was passed in California following the advocacy work of AIW under the leadership of Ms. Linda.

One day my wife received a call that every nurse foster parent awaits, with both anxiety and expectation. Every baby is unique, has specific psycho-social factors, unique medical diagnoses, and a myriad of other factors that make these calls very special. Fortunately, in our case, the social worker called about a 3-month-old baby whose identity was uncertain and his birth history unknown. The little Angel had been named John Joe! No one had claimed him, and no one had any information about his health history. His biological parent gave him up for adoption discretely. The baby boy suffered from failure to thrive issues and had severe abdominal complications. He needed a gastric tube to meet his nutritional needs at two days of age. My wife listened to the caller intently. She was faced with an immediate dilemma; was the family ready to take on another baby? Was the baby too ill to thrive or survive? Was the family prepared for the emotional roller coaster that comes with the lack of information, health history, or family dynamics? She requested time to discuss the options with me, promising the social worker a response by the end of that day. After careful consideration and prayer, we decided to explore the potential with hope and optimism. We made arrangements to meet the baby "John Joe," whose name was more of a placeholder than an identity.

It was a Sunday afternoon when I,  my wife, and our oldest biological daughter visited the baby at the hospital for the first time. It was love at first sight! Our hearts were open, right along with our home for the medically fragile foster care population. It was no longer a difficult decision; he was meant to come home with us. His demeanor was one of optimism, love, and charisma. He was happy; despite his painful abdominal abnormalities, he was a smiling, joyful, an enchanting little angel- who needed us. We could not resist. We knew we would adopt him right there and then -if we got the opportunity. Given the fact that his biological birth family was absent, he was already up for adoption.

We began the process for adoption, which involves consultations with the doctors, the department of children and family services, social workers, and specialty providers. We continued to visit our little Angel as his health stabilized enough for discharge from the hospital. The bonding started before his hospital discharge and will continue throughout his life. The adoption process takes a long time. As we follow instructions and work with the social workers, we care for Angel John Joe as his nurse-foster parents. He turns four years old this December, and we eagerly await for the adoption process to be complete. We can't wait to give him his forever family and our family's last name!

We have age-appropriate honest discussions regarding his history, foster, and adoption journey. Even at this tender age, he knows he is loved, safe, and cared for. He has been an absolute blessing to our family. He blended in and attended all family affairs, including local and international trips. One of the family hobbies is traveling, and all our children have traveled more than most other kids their age. We took vacations to Hawaii, a Safari in Kenya, and several other local tourist destinations. John Joe is an excellent travel companion, despite his constant need for close monitoring and tube feedings. He receives therapy and other supportive interventions to foster optimum growth and his developmental milestones. He participates in age-appropriate social and family activities and is overall a thriving child.

You might ask where does Angels In Waiting come into play with all this? AIW is committed to recruiting nurses and supporting them as nurse foster parents. The approval process is rigorous and cumbered with bureaucracy. AIW holds the nurses' hand to ensure they receive correct and timely information on their approval progress. Sometimes AIW receives referrals for the children/babies who need the specialized care of a nurse, and AIW attempts to match the children with the most appropriate family. 

AIW continues with advocacy work to expand the program to more counties in California. AIW is a 501c3 organization and heavily relies on donations to carry out its mission. When you give to AIW, you participate in ensuring the most vulnerable humans in foster care are matched with the appropriate, well-prepared foster homes of nurses. The nurse provides parental and nursing care needed to reduce prolonged hospitalizations or placement into institutions. The program has resulted in higher adoption rates and shorter stays in foster care.

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That call from the special medical placement social worker almost always starts the same way, "Hi Mary, there is a baby that might be a good match for your family…. would you be interested in meeting her?" My last one was not any different.

The social worker attempted to summarize the story of Baby Sara, but about 2 minutes into the call, I knew little Sara had to come to our home. I knew she was a perfect match for our family. I answered yes. Sara needed a safe home. She needed to be cuddled and a good dose of love.

Most importantly, she needed a nurse. Her recovery was going to be a long road with potential twists and turns. She needed me.

Sara was an 11-month-old little girl who had been in the children's hospital for two months prior to the call. She had suffered non-accidental trauma, which is a nice way to describe physical abuse and violence. Sara suffered from brain damage from abusive head trauma, multiple fractured ribs, a fractured femur, and a lacerated liver. She was severely malnourished and very underweight. This precious angel had spent three weeks in the intensive care unit and four weeks in acute rehab. She was finally ready to be discharged from the hospital after two head surgeries to evacuate fluid and several abdominal surgeries. She had hydrocephalus. She had Incision wounds on her scalp that needed daily cleaning and dressing. She had lost almost all milestones. Sara could no longer sit independently or support her head upright. Her head was large in comparison to the rest of her tiny body. She could no longer suck on a bottle and was dependent on G-tube for nutrition. Sara was behind on her vaccines. Her recovery would require an intense, well-coordinated rehab program involving several specialists and therapists, including neurologists, gastrologists, and rehab medicine.

Before the trauma, Sara was developing like any other baby. She was crawling, starting to pull up on furniture to stand, bubbling and giggling. She was feeding from a bottle.

After Sara was born, she was discharged to her father. The mother had tested positive for drugs throughout the pregnancy. The father did not have a stable home and was staying in a motel. An altercation between the parents led to violence, and Sara was removed from the unsafe environment and placed with an aunt. Sara's abuse happened while in this first foster placement with a relative.

It sounds like a straightforward placement of a vulnerable child to a foster home, right?

Well, it has not always been so. It was not always a particular medical placement social worker calling a home of a pediatric nurse. It certainly was not straightforward 18 years ago when Sammy was born at 23 weeks gestation. But, it's nothing short of a miracle that he survived. And no, there was nothing like a law enabling preferential placement of medically fragile children to foster parents who are nurses!

Linda Conforti, founder and CEO of Angels In Waiting (AIW), did not get such a call. She just happened to be a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) nurse who was friends with the owner of the group home where Sammy was placed after 20 months of hospitalization. However, the events surrounding Sammy's health and adoption by Linda's family led to an epiphany. She knew that she needed to find other dedicated nurses to help her save as many medically fragile foster babies as possible, and Angels In Waiting was born.

Before AIW, it was incredibly difficult for CPS Social Workers to find appropriate foster placement homes for medically fragile children who need nursing care outside of the hospital. As a result, this led to prolonged hospital stays and placement into institutions. AIW recruits nurses who can provide both parental and nursing care to the children in a loving home until they are medically stable or find an appropriate permanent home. Many of these extraordinary nurses end up adopting the children. It has taken the focused and persistent advocacy work of Angels in Waiting to create a law that requires preferential placement of a medically fragile child to a foster home of a nurse. As a result, the medical social workers from the counties represented get access to the certified nurse foster parents that are licensed to care for these vulnerable children. AIW has collaborated with adoption and foster care agencies and the department of children and social services. To recruit nurses, train them, and create a system where the most vulnerable of babies who fall into the unfortunate state of needing to be in a foster home are matched and preferentially placed in a home of a nurse who is a parent as well as the child's nurse.

AIW, being a 501C3 organization, sorely depends on donors to support the ongoing recruitment, training, advocating, and support of nurses willing to be foster parents. But, unfortunately, they are often forced to take leave or stop working altogether to care for these children.
Your donation will be utilized in the ongoing projects that include and are not limited to:

Expansion of AIW's program is needed in more counties throughout California. We are recruiting and training more nurses. Marin County, located in the Northwest part of the San Francisco Bay area, has reached out and requested more nurses. Your donation will allow more nurses to confidently answer "yes" when that call comes.