Meet Kerri Hankin, Courage Community Foster Care

Since the age of 19, Kerri Hankin has worked in the field of child welfare-in abuse prevention, community organization, and sexual abuse. However, for the past 10 years, she has concentrated her practice in foster care. “This is my passion,” states Hankin. “There is not a day that goes by that I don't think about how we can do it better-how we can help make a better life for every child in care we are blessed to serve.”

Hankin earned her Bachelor's Degree in Social Work at California State University (Chico), and her Master's in Social Work at the University of Denver. “My real test did not come in getting those letters behind my name; rather, it was years of soul-searching and dedication to find answers that have informed my practice.” She began looking for answers when she grew tired of seeing foster children treated as 'disposable'- it was common to receive referrals for children who had been in 5, 10, sometimes even 20 or more different placements. “That will never be acceptable to me,” states Hankin.

In 2012, she decided to create her own foster care agency—“Courage Community Foster Care” (www.fostercourageco.org). It is small and locally based by design, and everything that she does is centered on teachings from Dr. Bryan Post and the Post Institute. The Post Institute (www.postinstitute.com) is an organization that leans heavily on teaching caregivers about brain development in children with a trauma history, and on promoting love-based parenting as opposed to traditional parenting techniques with foster children.