The love for kids is what keeps Elk Mound couple working in foster care

by Cara Dempski

It is safe to say that Karla Jenson wasn’t anticipating the late April phone call she received from social worker Emily Jaquish of Eau Claire County telling her to check both her email and her phone’s voice mail. Jaquish nominated Jenson and her husband Steve for the Governor’s 8th Annual Foster Care Awards. When she learned that the couple had won one of the awards, she tried to get in touch with the two right away.

When she was unable to connect with Karla right away, Jaquish called the couple’s eldest daughter at work. “Steph (Jenson’s daughter) called and told me I needed to call Emily right away,” laughed Karla.

The Jensons traveled to the State Capitol on May 2, where they received their award from First Lady Tonette Walker and Secretary of the Department of Children and Families, Eloise Anderson.

“I was so surprised,” said Karla. “I never expected to be receiving recognition for this.” Her husband, Steve, added that neither of them is involved in foster care to win awards. “We’re providing some safety and structure at a time when children and youth need them most,” he said. Safety and structure are two things the Elk Mound couple have been providing since well before they became licensed foster care providers nearly 23 years ago.

Describing themselves as high school sweethearts, Karla said that her dates with Steve when they were teenagers mostly involved babysitting for other families or providing care for younger siblings. When asked, both husband and wife agree that children have always been an important part of their lives, whether it’s been their three daughters or the over 100 children for whom they have provided care.

As a young girl, Karla was charged with taking care of her two younger brothers after her mother’s death. Though she and her brothers lived with another Elk Mound couple, LaVerne and Beverly Ausman, she always felt the need to be looking out for both of her siblings. She said this period in her life is what drives her to help sibling groups remain together.

“They didn’t let kids stay together at that time,” she said. “It’s hard to think what my life would have been like if I hadn’t been able to stay with my brothers.” Eventually her father remarried and Karla and her siblings returned to their father’s home.

Steve agrees with his wife’s desire to help sibling groups stay together, recognizing that it’s important for the children they come into contact with to know that, while he and Karla are “Ma” and “Pa” for the time the children are in their home, there’s always a strong family connection with the people they were born to.

This desire to help families stay together is also what inspired the Jensons to become licensed foster parents. Both remember the day their middle child, Heather, came home from a babysitting job and informed them that the children she had just been providing care for might be broken up because their mother had died and their stepfather was not sure he would be able to remain as legal guardian. Karla and Steve talked it over, and decided that it would be best for the children to stay together and that they would pursue foster care licensure to assist the family in maintaining its structure. Even though the stepfather of the children Heather babysat was able to remain the children’s legal guardian, the Jensons decided to remain an option as foster care placement for children. It wasn’t long before they were providing care for three adolescent boys.

Karla laughed at the memory. “It was definitely a change,” she stated. “We went from just having our three girls to having mostly boys. It was a total change in mindset.” All three boys were teenagers at the time, and Steve said that it was a great group to start with because they were so different from having three girls in the house. They were more rambunctious, but good-hearted and kind, and flourished under the couple’s care.

The Jensons work with children from elementary school all the way through high school. They continue to keep in touch with the children they provided care for as those children become adults. It’s part of why Emily Jaquish nominated them for the award they received from the state. Once the children have been in the home, they become a part of the family, being treated just as if they were born into it.

“I’ve never treated any of the kids any differently than one of my daughters,” says Karla. “If I buy a pair of brand-name jeans for one of my girls, then the children living here with us will have a pair of brand-name jeans too.” This provides a sense of family that may often times be lacking in the lives of the children the Jensons provide care for.

“They come here feeling scared and hopeless and in a few weeks, they just blossom,” Karla said. The couple has seen numerous children come into the home from situations of abuse or neglect where for many days the children wouldn’t speak beyond common courtesies, if at all. It’s always been interesting to Steve to watch the children relax and learn the routines of the home to the point that they will start talking about what had happened in their lives and how it made them feel.

While there’s often a lot of mischief at first as children learn the boundaries and rules of their new home, it often gives way to creativity and fun. One of the couple’s favorite stories is about two young boys who came to their care who had been doing things like skipping school, running away from home, and using drugs. When the two boys first arrived, they were often reluctant to interact with each other, but as time passed, both Karla and Steve watched the two start to spend more time together.

One day, Steve noticed the boys combing through materials from farm equipment and wood piles on the farm he and Karla own. It wasn’t long before they both saw the boys building a wagon using the materials scrounged from around the farm. They duo called it the “gypsy wagon” and the Jensons laughed as they recalled the “parades” the two would have around the farm with some of the animals and involving other children at the home or in the neighborhood.

The fun and positive experiences don’t mean that there haven’t been hard moments for the family. Often the most difficult moments are meeting new children by picking them up from the homes they occupied with parents or caretakers who were no longer able to safely care for the children. Steve sighed and said, “That’s always tough, and it’s not something you really ever get used to.” On the other hand, it’s not always easy to see the children go once they can safely return to their parents or caretakers. “They leave a hole,” said Karla.

“Ma” and “Pa” remain sources of advice and support for many of the children they provided care for, even though a significant majority of those children are now adults with families of their own. Steve stated that they never want to take the place of the parents of the children, but that regardless of whether a child was with them for a few weeks or a few years, that child would always be one of “their kids.” This was one of the reasons listed for their having been presented a Foster Care Award, along with their willingness to work with parents to provide new skills working with children and their ability to provide time with animals, with family, and with education and structure.

“I remember one who came here and was so upset that he ran outside and stood by the back corner of the house, crying because he didn’t want to be here,” Karla said. She recalled that he came to them from a treatment facility and had been expecting to return home. After a while, the family’s dog approached this child and after a few minutes the child started petting the dog. After a few minutes, Karla watched as the boy “just melted.” He relaxed and sat on the ground with the dog, still crying, but petting, scratching, and eventually hugging the dog.

During a visit with this young person’s grandmother, she noted how well the boy responded to Steve and Karla’s parenting style, and stated that they were doing much better managing his occasional angry outbursts and behavioral issues than she would be able to. She told the couple that they were doing so well with him, she wondered if they’d like to keep him. After thinking about it, the Jensons said they would and are in the process of adopting this child.

When the dog that had greeted him and helped comfort him on the first day in the home died last year, Steve and Karla knew that he had to be the one to help pick a new dog to greet the new faces in the home. It was obvious watching them interact with this boy that he’s their son, despite his not being born to them. The love and affection was just obvious when watching the couple with the two other foster children in the home at this time.

Additionally, Karla and Steve’s eldest daughter and her husband, Stephanie and Dan Hay, were inspired by her mother and father’s work in foster care and became foster care providers themselves. The main difference is that the Hays have adopted many of the children for whom they provide care. Karla chuckled when she joked that when the whole family goes on vacation now, it’s nearly 30 people going.

Karla said that she and Steve enjoyed their time in Madison, and were surprised and pleased to be able to spend time with both the First Lady and Secretary of the Department of Children and Families. Karla said that Mrs. Walker was especially kind and welcoming to them and joked, “She was so sweet, I wanted to tuck her into my purse and bring her home with me. I’m sure she’d fit in very well around here.” Her husband laughed at this and said the governor would likely have something to say about his wife moving to Northern Wisconsin without him.

In addition to being presented a Foster Care Award, the Jensons were also recognized in May by the Eau Claire County Department of Human Services and the Elk Mound School District for their ability to advocate for the health, safety, and education of the children in their care. There are still a few more awards in the offing, coming from the county board in Eau Claire. The couple said that the ceremonies they’ve participated in have been moving and humbling, but the one that has stuck out the most for Karla was being recognized by the Elk Mound School Board.

“They told me they wanted us both there, and that they’d get a sub because I’m usually still driving my route when the school board meetings start,” shared Karla, who drives bus for the Elk Mound District. She and Steve were honored as part of the district staff honors ceremony. “I started to tear up when everyone in the room gave us a standing ovation when we were presented with our award.” Karla adds that she and Steve have always been active partners in caring for the children in their home and in working with the school district to provide the best learning environment possible for the children in their care.

Both stated that even with their contributions to local foster care in the past couple decades, there’s still a significant need for foster parents in Wisconsin. Department of Children and Families spokeswoman Kathleen Scholl indicated that there are currently 7,300 children living in out-of-home care in Wisconsin. The Jensons shared that teams can build strong families, and that with their work, they’re not just trying to put kids on the path to a better future, but the entire family.

“We stay here for the love of kids,” said Steve, “but we also do it to help people make their families stronger.” His wife echoes this, saying that it’s rewarding to see people other than the children they serve becoming stronger.

“We love the challenge,” both agree. Both also agree that they won’t stop providing care for children any time soon.

“Our middle daughter jokes that her kids will have graduated from high school before her youngest sibling,” Steve said laughingly. He and Karla wouldn’t have it any other way.