What does it really take to open your home—and your heart—to a child in foster care? Licensed to Love is the podcast for future foster and adoptive parents who want to understand the foster care system, build trauma-informed parenting skills, and create safe, loving homes for children who need them most.
New episodes every 2nd and 4th Friday of the month on the JazzCast Pros Network.
Hosted by Lauri and Veronica—directors at Families Thrive Inc., a leading foster care and adoption agency in Rochester, New York—each episode blends real stories from foster youth, birth families, and licensed caregivers with expert guidance drawn from decades of experience helping children find permanent, loving homes.
Topics Include:
✅ How to become a licensed foster parent in New York
✅ What to expect during your home study and training
✅ Supporting teens and keeping sibling groups together
✅ The truth about family reunification and the Families First Act
✅ Navigating trauma, grief, and resilience
✅ Preparing youth for adulthood and aging out of the system
Whether you’re just starting to explore foster parenting, deep in the licensing process, or preparing for adoption, Licensed to Love gives you the tools, encouragement, and clarity to say yes—with heart and confidence.
Because love isn’t just a feeling—it’s a commitment. And every child deserves a place to belong.
About Families Thrive Inc.
Based in Rochester, NY, Families Thrive recruits foster and adoptive families for children in the foster care system ages 0 to 21. We place referred children in a loving home temporarily with a goal to return to a family member. When children cannot return or are waiting for a family, we provide pre-to-post adoption services and work closely with families through the entire process. Families Thrive offers services and training to our families and skill-building to the children. We host a Wendy’s Wonderful Kids recruiter on staff to find resources for children waiting for a family. With two sites in Rochester and the Finger Lakes, our mission is always to provide children with a kin family connection or find a permanent loving place to belong.
Donate at: https://givebutter.com/FamiliesThriveDonation
Connect with us on Social Media
Instagram
Facebook
Families Thrive, Inc,| LinkedIn
Music from #Uppbeathttps://uppbeat.io/t/evoli/vancouver
License code: OP7TONLRWONEVAYD
All content for Licensed to Love is the property of Families Thrive Inc and is served directly from their servers
with no modification, redirects, or rehosting. The podcast is not affiliated with or endorsed by Podjoint in any way.
What does it really take to open your home—and your heart—to a child in foster care? Licensed to Love is the podcast for future foster and adoptive parents who want to understand the foster care system, build trauma-informed parenting skills, and create safe, loving homes for children who need them most.
New episodes every 2nd and 4th Friday of the month on the JazzCast Pros Network.
Hosted by Lauri and Veronica—directors at Families Thrive Inc., a leading foster care and adoption agency in Rochester, New York—each episode blends real stories from foster youth, birth families, and licensed caregivers with expert guidance drawn from decades of experience helping children find permanent, loving homes.
Topics Include:
✅ How to become a licensed foster parent in New York
✅ What to expect during your home study and training
✅ Supporting teens and keeping sibling groups together
✅ The truth about family reunification and the Families First Act
✅ Navigating trauma, grief, and resilience
✅ Preparing youth for adulthood and aging out of the system
Whether you’re just starting to explore foster parenting, deep in the licensing process, or preparing for adoption, Licensed to Love gives you the tools, encouragement, and clarity to say yes—with heart and confidence.
Because love isn’t just a feeling—it’s a commitment. And every child deserves a place to belong.
About Families Thrive Inc.
Based in Rochester, NY, Families Thrive recruits foster and adoptive families for children in the foster care system ages 0 to 21. We place referred children in a loving home temporarily with a goal to return to a family member. When children cannot return or are waiting for a family, we provide pre-to-post adoption services and work closely with families through the entire process. Families Thrive offers services and training to our families and skill-building to the children. We host a Wendy’s Wonderful Kids recruiter on staff to find resources for children waiting for a family. With two sites in Rochester and the Finger Lakes, our mission is always to provide children with a kin family connection or find a permanent loving place to belong.
Donate at: https://givebutter.com/FamiliesThriveDonation
Connect with us on Social Media
Instagram
Facebook
Families Thrive, Inc,| LinkedIn
Music from #Uppbeathttps://uppbeat.io/t/evoli/vancouver
License code: OP7TONLRWONEVAYD
Ep. 2 For Monique Burney, the desire to become a foster mom came from personal experience—she grew up in foster care herself and understood the power of keeping siblings together. What she didn’t know was whether she qualified to do it on her own as a single parent.
In this heartfelt episode of Licensed to Love, Monique shares how her path to fostering began with that question—and how a conversation with Families Thrive’s Director of Program Services, Veronica Black, helped her see that love, patience, and stability are what truly make a family. Joined by Executive Director Lauri McKnight, Veronica also breaks down the first steps of the foster care journey, explaining what to expect at an informational meeting, what the training process involves, and the biggest myths they work to debunk every day.
🎟️ Join the Movement:
Celebrate foster and adoptive families at the Families Thrive Heart & Home Gala — November 1st at 6 PM at the Rochester Riverside Convention Center.
Reserve your seat today at 👉 www.familiesthriveinc.org
💛 Key Takeaways:
What really happens at an informational meeting
The training process for becoming a foster or adoptive parent
How Families Thrive matches children with foster families
The truth about single, same-sex, or non-traditional foster parents
How love and structure can change a child’s life
Chapters:
0:00 Why I Said Yes to Becoming a Single Foster Parent
4:21 The Informational Meeting
7:02 Holistic Foster Placement: Matching Child Needs With Family Dynamics
10:23 Investing in Their Future
16:18 Blessings and Challenges of Foster Care
22:17 Fears and Misconceptions in Foster Parenting
24:34 Families Thrive Provides Comprehensive Support for Foster Parents
28:38 Fostering Journeys: Challenges, Commitments, and Transformations
34:54 Impact of Nurturing and Building Relationships on Children
39:57 Heart & Home Gala November 1
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Licensed to Love
What does it really take to open your home—and your heart—to a child in foster care? Licensed to Love is the podcast for future foster and adoptive parents who want to understand the foster care system, build trauma-informed parenting skills, and create safe, loving homes for children who need them most.
New episodes every 2nd and 4th Friday of the month on the JazzCast Pros Network.
Hosted by Lauri and Veronica—directors at Families Thrive Inc., a leading foster care and adoption agency in Rochester, New York—each episode blends real stories from foster youth, birth families, and licensed caregivers with expert guidance drawn from decades of experience helping children find permanent, loving homes.
Topics Include:
✅ How to become a licensed foster parent in New York
✅ What to expect during your home study and training
✅ Supporting teens and keeping sibling groups together
✅ The truth about family reunification and the Families First Act
✅ Navigating trauma, grief, and resilience
✅ Preparing youth for adulthood and aging out of the system
Whether you’re just starting to explore foster parenting, deep in the licensing process, or preparing for adoption, Licensed to Love gives you the tools, encouragement, and clarity to say yes—with heart and confidence.
Because love isn’t just a feeling—it’s a commitment. And every child deserves a place to belong.
About Families Thrive Inc.
Based in Rochester, NY, Families Thrive recruits foster and adoptive families for children in the foster care system ages 0 to 21. We place referred children in a loving home temporarily with a goal to return to a family member. When children cannot return or are waiting for a family, we provide pre-to-post adoption services and work closely with families through the entire process. Families Thrive offers services and training to our families and skill-building to the children. We host a Wendy’s Wonderful Kids recruiter on staff to find resources for children waiting for a family. With two sites in Rochester and the Finger Lakes, our mission is always to provide children with a kin family connection or find a permanent loving place to belong.
Donate at: https://givebutter.com/FamiliesThriveDonation
Connect with us on Social Media
Instagram
Facebook
Families Thrive, Inc,| LinkedIn
Music from #Uppbeathttps://uppbeat.io/t/evoli/vancouver
License code: OP7TONLRWONEVAYD
