To be clear, the title of this article is not one of equity or opportunity regarding foster homes in the child welfare system. Rather, it is one of competency and confidence. It may come as a surprise to many, but there is not a significant deficiency in the number of foster homes looking for a placement in America. When I was the Assistant Director for a fairly large foster care and adoption program in Memphis, TN, I could fill a sports stadium with the number of foster parents who were ready to take an infant with parental rights already terminated and ready for adoption. Aren’t All Teenagers Angry? Yes, angry and hormonal teenagers are not unique to the foster care system. This was a fact that I often had to remind foster parents when they first received a teenage placement. Not every behavior is driven by the fact that the placement is a foster kid. In fact, I’d go ahead and make the unscientific claim that foster parents best suited to take teenage placement are those who have their own teenage kids with their own myriad of behaviors. That’s because they can recognize teenage behavior for what it is and they are not calling the office to complain the first time their foster kid drops a curse word in the house. Foster teens are not the first teens to sneak out of a window to meet up with a teen boy or a teen girl and they are certainly not the first teens to be caught with alcohol or marijuana. However, foster teens can often come with a history of trauma and lack of attachment that has been forged over years of involvement with the child welfare system. In fact, I found it rare that a teenager’s placement in foster care was their first brush with the system. As such, the teenage foster kid has more experience than the newly minted foster parent. The teens knew the rules and culture of foster care better than anyone and as such, they were not easy placements. For them to succeed, a special kind of foster parent was required and when those foster parents come around, they are worth 20 baby- seeking foster homes if I am being completely honest. As I said, not all foster homes are created equal. Training Does Not Make a Good Foster Parent Training is most certainly helpful when it comes to preparing new foster parents for what to expect. However, it is not the training that makes the average Joe foster ready to foster a teenage placement. Nor does compliance with every agency rule become the difference between a successful placement or a disruption. As long as they are not violating any of the safety protocols, I’ve found that foster parents who take ownership over their own home and scoff at some of the rules often compose some of the most loving and nurturing homes. Now, this is something I never would have told them at the time as a department administrator, but now that I’m out of the game I can speak the truth more freely.