Natalie Ruvalcaba
Hello, my name is Natalie Ruvalcaba, and I have been a foster parent for about nine years. My journey into foster care began when my cousin came to visit from out of state with her two adorable children, whom she and her husband were planning to adopt. After her family returned home, my husband and I learned about Utah Foster Care and decided to become li
censed foster parents. We wanted to have children in our home and felt that fostering was the best option for our family. While we were open to adopting foster children, we also understood that adoption might not happen or could take a long time. I remember thinking that once we were licensed, we would quickly receive a placement. Instead, it felt like nearly a year passed before we were contacted about our first placement. Our first placement was two sweet boys who came into our home, and after about seven months, we were able to adopt them. After that, we fostered two girls and two more boys. The last boy we fostered remained with us for about twenty months before we adopted him. In addition to fostering, we have also provided respite care for other foster families. When my husband and I first started fostering, there were questions and challenges that came up, but we didn’t know who to ask for help, so I decided to become a mentor. I wanted to share what I have learned, support others through challenges, and be someone they could talk to when they needed guidance or encouragement. I have mentored families that have eventually adopted, experienced loss from their placements returning home, and other needs for those families.
