Be the Village: A Foster Parent’s Perspective on Protecting Kids
Each April, The Children’s Center of Medina County brings the community together for our annual Community Pinwheel Walk during Child Abuse Prevention Month—a time to raise awareness, stand in solidarity with children and families, and inspire action that protects and empowers children in our community.
This year, we were honored to welcome Layne Hedden, Foster Parent Recruiter for Medina County Job and Family Services and a long-time foster parent herself, as one of our speakers. Layne shared what it truly means to be the village for a child. She reminded us that protecting children isn’t the responsibility of just one agency or one family—it’s a shared commitment, like the careful balance of a Jenga tower, where every piece matters.
Whether you’re a foster parent, teacher, caseworker, or community member simply looking for a way to help, Layne’s message is a powerful reminder of how we all can—and must—be part of a child’s support system.
We’re proud to share Layne’s full speech below. We hope it inspires you as much as it inspired us.
Good afternoon and thank you for coming out to the Pinwheel Walk! My name is Layne Hedden. I am the Foster Parent Recruiter for Medina County Job and Family Services and also a foster parent — along with my husband and three sons.
What Fostering Has Taught Me About Community
I have been a foster parent for almost 9 years, and I’ve learned a lot about caring for children from tough places and the foster care system. One of the most eye-opening things I’ve learned is how many people it takes to care for just one child.
You can see my t-shirt says “Be the village,” which refers to the African proverb: “It takes a village,” meaning that raising a child requires the effort of an entire community. A child’s growth and development are influenced by the interactions and support they receive from various people within their community, not just their parents. Nowhere has that concept been more evident to me than within the Foster Care system.
The Many Hands Behind Every Child’s Journey
From the very first JFS staff member who answers the call of concern and gathers all the necessary information… to the case worker who goes out to investigate… and the team who evaluates the situation to make a decision about a child’s safety… to the placement team who assesses the available information and searches for the very best placement for a child… to our foster and kinship caregivers who open their hearts and homes to provide a loving family for those children while their parents are working toward reunification… and the many, many supports that fill in all the gaps – the case aides who transport children to and from visits and manage the stacks and stacks of necessary paperwork… the legal team who works tirelessly to make the very best recommendations for the children… the medical professionals, and school staff, and mental health professionals – and of course the amazing community organizations, like The Children’s Center, who support our agency and our kids and families in so many ways.
The Jenga Analogy: Why Every Piece Matters
We like to play a lot of games in our home and one of our favorites is Jenga – you know, the tumbling tower game where you take turns removing a piece from the tower and trying to keep it from falling. We have a lot of kids coming and going from our home with a variety of abilities across a range of ages, so Jenga seems to be a game that just about anyone can play.
When I think about what it takes to protect and care for kids, it reminds me a lot of a Jenga tower. All the pieces are necessary to make the tower whole and the most stable it can be. When you start to remove pieces – even that very first piece – the Jenga tower is immediately less stable and more at risk.
All the people who work together toward protecting children are necessary pieces in the equation. When a child has a full team of individuals and organizations working together, that is when they are most whole and most stable.
Becoming a Part of the Village
When we say “Be the village” or “It takes a village” it’s not just a cute saying for us to put on a t-shirt. It truly takes the hard work and dedication of each of these individuals and organizations to work toward keeping kids safe in Medina County. So for each person here today who is a part of that village, thank you so much for being a critical piece of a child’s success.
And now for my shameless plug. As I mentioned at the beginning, I am the foster parent recruiter for Medina County Job and Family Services. If you are not yet a part of this valuable and rewarding work of protecting vulnerable children and would like more information on how you can be part of a child’s village, please talk to someone today! Ashley and the amazing staff at The Children’s Center are here and we’d love to talk with you as well. We need foster parents here in Medina County and we’d love to talk with you more about that!
Thank You for Supporting Kids in Medina County
Thank you again for being here today and for being an important part of protecting kids in Medina County.
