When families open their homes to children from hard places, they often do so with love, commitment, and hope. But love alone doesn’t erase trauma, and navigating those realities takes support, not judgment. This letter was sent to us by a parent who wanted to share her experience with Taproot’s Red Deer Family Intervention Program, in the hope that other families won’t have to wait until crisis hits to get the help they need.

June 10, 2025

To anyone who has the ability to influence change within the Child and Family Services arena,

Good day.

I am forty-two years old. My husband and I have four beautiful children. We love them unconditionally and want them to thrive now and in the future. All four are adopted. At the time of this writing, they are 14, 13, 11, and 9. Children’s Services had been involved with their birth family since our oldest was born.

In July 2018, they were placed with us under Kinship Care due to chronic neglect. We officially adopted them in February 2022. Even before placement, we began preparing. We sought training, read books, and accessed parenting strategies. Things seemed to be going okay until they weren’t.

On January 1, 2024, our eldest ran off again. He was thirteen. We were in the middle of what can only be called an adoption breakdown. We called our Supports for Permanency Worker and Child and Family Services. We described the threats, the physical and emotional harm, and even death threats made to me. We were dismissed as dealing with “normal teenage behaviour.”

Eventually, our worker told us about a program that would work with our entire family, not just the parents. That was the turning point.

The program was Taproot Community Support Services, previously WJS Canada. They met with all of us to understand our family before offering any advice. To say this helped would be an understatement. It saved our family. They didn’t come in with judgment, but with real help. They understood that parenting children from trauma is one of the most challenging things a parent can face.

They helped us see our role not as fighters in the ring, but as the coaches calling a timeout. They helped our kids understand that our parenting was not rejection. It was love. And that love looks different in every family.

Within months, our Parenting Consultant helped us reconnect with our child. Conversations no longer ended in explosions. We received book and podcast recommendations, informal psychologist meetings, and guidance that matched our needs.

So, I ask: why is this kind of support not available from the start?

Why isn’t it provided immediately when a child is placed in a foster, kinship, or adoptive home?

Child and Family Services offers training, but in our experience, it was too generic and often judgmental. Taproot offered understanding, hope, and tailored support. CFS reacted. Taproot prevented.

This kind of support should be required. Monthly sessions with a Taproot consultant could replace most CFS training. Families wouldn’t need to guess what might help. They’d get what they need, right from the start.

Taproot didn’t just help us. It saved us. It helped prevent further trauma for our children. I believe it could even help keep some children in their biological homes if used early enough.

Please consider making Taproot a standard part of support for families. Children and caregivers deserve nothing less.

Sincerely,

[Name withheld]