What does it truly mean to build a “village” for a child?
For National Center for Children and Families (NCCF) foster parents Kim and Coleman Jenkins, it means opening your heart, working as a team, and ensuring that no child navigating the foster care system ever has to feel alone.
We are incredibly proud to share that our very own Kim and Coleman were recently featured on Good Morning Washington! They sat down to share their inspiring journey as part of the NCCF foster care community, offering a beautiful look at the profound impact dedicated caregivers make right here in our community.
A Calling to Care
The spark to become foster parents began years ago. Witnessing her mother’s dedication as a public school nurse, Kim grew up knowing she wanted to care for children. Years later, after seeing a challenging situation affecting local youth, she and Coleman decided it was time to step up. They submitted their paperwork around the holidays, completed their training, and embarked on a journey of love and mentorship.
Today, the Williams-Jenkins family has been fostering for 16 years and has opened their hearts and home to 67 children.
Expanding Horizons and Building Resumes
For Kim and Coleman, providing a stable home is just the beginning; they are dedicated to giving youth well-rounded, life-changing experiences. Every year, they make it a priority to travel to a new U.S. state or territory with their foster children, creating unforgettable memories in Puerto Rico in 2023 and Alaska in 2024.
Closer to home, they are fierce advocates for ensuring their foster children have access to critical educational supports like tutoring, alongside life-enriching extracurriculars. Whether it’s sports teams, dance lessons, or art classes, they believe every child deserves the chance to explore their passions—and build strong resumes for college.
In fact, Kim took this advocacy straight to local leadership this month, appearing before the DC Council to speak about her experiences and champion increased city financial support so that foster youth can access the same activities and experiences as their peers.
Part of a Professional Team
One of the most common misconceptions about fostering is that you have to do it by yourself. The Jenkinses emphasize that fostering with NCCF means becoming part of a deeply supportive, professional family.
“A team is made up of the social worker, the educational attorney, the therapist, and you’re in constant contact with them… Everybody’s focused on the betterment of the children.” — Coleman Jenkins
This collaborative community extends to fellow foster parents, too. When caregivers need a moment of rest, other families within the NCCF network step in to provide respite care, forming close-knit bonds and showing the children firsthand what a supportive adult community looks like.
Supporting the Whole Family
A central pillar of NCCF’s mission is maintaining strong connections between foster children and their birth families. Kim and Coleman embrace this wholeheartedly. From their very first meeting with a child’s biological family, they make their stance clear: “We work for the child, and we work for you.”
They actively coordinate birthday parties, phone calls, and fun family outings at local libraries or malls. This intentional co-parenting dynamic creates a profound sense of emotional security. As Kim shared on air, children feel significantly safer and more secure in a foster home when they see that everyone is working together on the exact same team.
Join Our Village
The need for compassionate, dedicated foster parents in our region is ongoing. If you have ever considered opening your home to a child in need, remember that you don’t have to walk this path alone.
To learn more about how you can join Kim, Coleman, and our incredible community of care, visit the NCCF website today to explore our foster parent training and support programs.
