Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Sarah Becker. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Sarah, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. So let’s jump to your mission – what’s the backstory behind how you developed the mission that drives your brand?
A year ago, I said one of the hardest goodbyes of my life.
An adoption case changed at the last minute. The sweet little girl who was supposed to be mine went home. As a foster parent you hope for reunification, families restored. That’s the best thing for the child. But when one family’s restored, another family becomes broken. Mine became broken.
From the day she entered our home, my role was to create safety, stability, and love, to give her a place to heal. In a single moment, I had to turn that protection off. No more goodnight kisses. No more giggles between her and my son, who she called “brother.” I couldn’t comfort her when she woke from a bad dream, or tell her how deeply loved and valuable she was. In one day, I lost my child, except she’s still alive.
When she left, all the services and support left with her. The therapist. The social worker. The extended network. We were left with silence. An empty crib. Toys and clothes that would never be used again. No one came to help us navigate the complicated grief—the joy that she was home with family, and the devastating heartbreak that she was no longer ours.
The caregiving families are the backbone of foster care and adoption. They support children through some of the hardest moments of their life. They adjust their homes, hearts, and futures to show up every day for the kids in care and the kids families. And yet approximately 50% of first-time foster parents quit after their first placement, and children at times experience multiple moves in a single year—adding loss to the trauma they already carry.
From my experience fostering six children, and listening to countless others in this space, one thing became clear: support can change everything. The right resources can help keep a placement, can help families heal after loss. The right support can make the difference between staying and stepping away.
From these shared experiences Steadfast Foster and Adoptive Support was born. Created to support for the whole caregiving family through every stage of the caregiving journey, Steadfast offers education, community, mentorship, and support for foster, kinship, and adoptive families. We strive to act as a central resource hub in San Diego connecting families with groups that provide the services they need and filling the gaps with our own services that aren’t currently being offered. As we support the caregivers, our goal is to increase resiliency, reduce placement changes, and help families create lasting, healthy connections. And we’re just getting started.
To the Steadfast team, this isn’t just our mission—it’s personal. Because when families are cared for, they can keep caring. And when caregivers are steadfast, children have a safe place to heal and thrive.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
We are a brand new non-profit. We have quietly been supporting the community by running connect groups and supporting families with family support partners, and will be launching fully to the community this September.
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I grew up in a home where I felt safe and loved. I guess I always assumed that was the norm until in Middle School I read A Child Called “It.” That book changed everything for me. I remember thinking, Not every kid gets parents like mine, and that stuck with me.
In high school, I volunteered at an orphanage. I distinctly remember realizing how passionate I was about loving on kids who have experienced this type of trauma and loss. After that, I spent years learning and preparing. Reading everything I could, taking trainings, making sure my own home and heart were ready to support the kids in care.
Eventually, I felt ready and I became a foster parent, and then an adoptive mom. With all the preparation, I knew enough going into it that I knew I had no idea really what I was getting myself into, and boy was I right. In 5 weeks and during the peak of COVID, I became a single foster mom to 3 kids, first a 16 month old, and a month later also a 13 year old and 17 year old. My house became a house full of girls. I loved each girl with my whole heart and like my own, and was also stretched in more ways than I could have imagined. Single parenting was hard. Single parents 3 girls who had gone through significant trauma was even harder. Since then, I’ve had 3 additional placements, with one leading to the adoption to an amazing little boy. I was proudly a girl mom, and am now learning and loving the boy mom life. I’ve taken a pause from taking in new placements to get Steadfast off the ground, and will continue to foster down the road.
This journey has stretched me in ways I never imagined. It’s been beautiful and brutal all at once. Loving a child you know might leave. Watching your own kids make space in quiet, sacrificial ways most people never see. Hearing the pain in a child’s story and seeing that pain play out in their behavior, and then witnessing the strength they carry into healing—it’s humbling.
But the resilience? It’s breathtaking. These kids fight to laugh again, to play, to trust. And every time they do, it’s a win that what may have felt impossible. Seeing that spark return—the giggles, the curiosity, the light—that joy goes deeper than I ever expected. I’ve watched the teen girls grow into strong, confident, capable young women. Their endurance and strength inspires me.
The kids didn’t ask to be here, they’re navigating some of the hardest moments of their lives. They show strength and resilience every day, and deserve families that will do the same for them. It’s not easy and these families deserve the same support and care they show to the kids everyday so they can continue loving and caring for them.
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There are great resources available for the youth in care. What makes us different is we focus on the caregiving family—every member, at every stage. Before placement. During. After. Adoption. Reunification. We want families to have what they need to stay strong, stay together, and help the families and the kids in their care not just survive, but truly thrive.
Our programs are designed with the whole family unit in mind.
We offer:
• Connect Groups—like a single foster parent group, a men’s group for dads who foster/adopt, and a grief group run by a therapist to help people process the unique type of loss we go through.
• Family Support Partners—people who’ve been there and can walk alongside other families, offering personalized help and real understanding.
• The Family Fun Fund—a way to give caregivers moments of joy or rest, whether that’s tickets to a game or a night at a hotel so they can breathe again.
• Resource Hub (in progress)—a website for San Diego families that helps them find trauma-informed therapists, medical providers that accept agency insurance, and other services they might not know exist.
• Therapeutic Family Program (being developed)—a model designed not just for the child in care but for the whole family unit, because the whole family unit is impacted. We will continue support through adoption or if the child reunifies, so everyone can process, support, and heal.
How’d you meet your business partner?
Steadfast Foster and Adoptive Support doesn’t have a single business partner—it has a team of passionate people who came together with one shared goal: to support foster and adoptive families and the children in their care
We’re a new nonprofit, and everything we’re building is powered by volunteers who believe deeply in the cause. Some come from direct experience—foster parents, adoptive parents, even someone who grew up in the system. Others haven’t walked this path personally but care deeply about kids and families. Our team includes a lawyer who’s represented all sides in the child welfare courtroom, a retired child welfare manager, and people who simply heard the vision and said, “I want to help.”
The truth is, I didn’t meet a business partner—I made a connection, and that person connected me to someone else, and then someone else. And before I knew it, this idea had grown into a team of seven highly qualified board members and 11 dedicated volunteers on the leadership team. Each person brings their own lived experience and skills, and together, we’ve spent the past year quietly laying the foundation—offering support to families behind the scenes while preparing what’s necessary to start a non-profit to officially launch this September.
I’m incredibly proud of the team we’ve built. It’s not just about professional backgrounds; it’s about shared heart. Everyone came to the table not because they had to, but because they wanted to. Because they believe in caring for the people who care for kids.
Can you talk to us about how you funded your business?
Funding Steadfast: Where We’re At and Where We’re Going
We’re still in the early stages of funding Steadfast, and truthfully, it’s been eye-opening. We’ve found that a lot of grants are geared toward direct services for foster and adoptive youth, which are incredibly important—but there’s not as much recognition or support for the families walking alongside those kids every day.
Right now, we’re working with a grant writer to help us find opportunities that align with our mission: supporting the whole caregiving family. We’re also meeting with personal donors, sharing the heart and vision behind Steadfast—what we’re doing, why it matters, and the real impact it has on keeping families steady and strong.
We’ve realized that part of our job is education. The more we can help people understand the toll fostering and adoption can take on the caregiving family, the more we hope organizations will start to see the value in funding that support. Families are what keep placements stable. They’re what help kids heal. And when families are equipped, everyone thrives.
It’s a work in progress. But the passion is there, the need is clear, and we’re building something that we know will last.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.steadfastsupport.org
