Township Resident Gets Foster Family of the Year Award

Washington Township resident Kristine Best has opened her home over the past 24 years to 16 special needs babies and adopted three boys that were in her care. For all her years of service to children in the foster care system, she was presented with the Foster and Adoptive Family Services (FAFS) Outstanding Foster Family of the Year Award last weekend.

Best said she first became a foster parent after helping a friend in Suffern, N.Y. with her foster children.

"I used to take one of her foster kids home all the time," Best said. "I figured I can do this on my own. So that's what I did." She said that child, who is now 28, is her godson.

Over the years, Best has adopted three sons: Corey, 20; Mikey, 15; and CJ, 13. She said she decided to adopt after her mother died. Her mother lived with her when she had her first foster child.

"It didn't look like marriage was in the works and I always wanted kids," Best said. "I thought I might as well keep some."

Being a foster parent can be difficult and Best gives love and care to little ones that need the most support. She provides temporary homes to babies that are drug addicted and have other special needs.

Best is equipped to take children with special needs because she is a neonatal intensive care unit nurse at Hackensack University Medical Center, where she works three nights a week from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m.

When asked how she juggles work and caring for her family and foster children, she said, "I don't get a lot of sleep."

She explained that while she is at work, her best friend takes care of the kids. Then when she comes home in the morning, she will care for the foster baby and then nap when the baby does. She said she then sleeps from 7 to 10 p.m. after putting the baby to bed.

Best's current foster baby is Isaac, who is six and half months old. He has a hole in his heart that will likely require surgery in the future. He is also missing one of the major bones in his arms, which are permanently bent, and has very small hands with one finger each. Best said Isaac requires physical therapy five days a week and medication for his heart twice a day. She expects Isaac to be returned to his father, who she will train about Isaac's care, in six to eight weeks.

Giving back the foster babies is difficult. "The longer you have them, the harder it is because the more personality they have," Best said.

She said giving back the babies is also tough on her sons, who have cried. "They get frustrated because I'm down for a couple weeks afterward," Best said. "That's why I say get me a baby right away."

Best said she gets some updates after the babies leave, but if they get adopted, the updates often stop. Recently Best connected with her first foster child, now 23, on Facebook. She said she had kept in touch through cards since he had moved to Texas.

"He's graduating college. He's doing great," Best said. "That was really cool."

Best said she likes to have a two- to three-week break between foster babies, but will always take a child that becomes available.

Because of Best's dedication to children in the foster care system, FAFS decided to give her the Outstanding Foster Family of the Year award, a statewide recognition.

FAFS Executive Director Mary Jane Awrachow, who is also a member of the Annual Recognition Awards Selection Committee, said the organization was happy to give Best recognition.

"[She] stood out for her willingness to use her professional experience and expertise in her personal life as a foster parent to ensure the children placed in her home receive the best medical care possible. In a sense, Kristine has chosen to work 24/7 without any overtime, vacation or holiday pay," Awrachow said. "Her dedication to the well-being of children made a deep impression on the Selection Committee, and we were pleased to honor Kristine with this award."

FAFS has been handing out awards to foster parents for more than 30 years. The group accepts nominations from the general public; foster, adoptive and kinship parents; and the staff of the Division of Youth and Family Services (DYFS). The awards are given in May because it is National Foster Care Month.