Dr. John DeGarmo Publishes Guide to Foster Parenting

Dr. John DeGarmo has published a new book, The Foster Parenting Manual: A Practical Guide to Creating a Loving, Safe, and Stable Home. The book was released on July 28, and is already quite popular with foster parents not only across the United States, but in other nations, as well.

The Foster Parenting Manual is a comprehensive guide offering proven, friendly advice for novice and experienced parents alike. Distilling many years’ experience into one book, Dr. DeGarmo combines his own wisdom with that of fellow foster parents.

He describes what to expect from the process, how to access help and how to ensure the best care for your child. He tackles thorny issues such as children’s use of the Internet and social media, managing contact with birth parents and how to support your child at school.

Most importantly, he provides advice designed to help your child feel safe, secure and loved. Dr. DeGarmo’s latest book lays the foundation of understanding for potential and current foster parents. It answers all the questions up front, so people can easily determine if fostering will be the right path for them.

 

A foster parent himself for 11 years, Dr. DeGarmo is recognized as one of the leading experts in foster care. A popular speaker who travels across the country delivering training seminars to foster parent associations, Dr. DeGarmo is also the author of the inspirational and best selling book Fostering Love: One Foster Parent’s Journey.

As a former English teacher, and a current media specialist, Dr. DeGarmo watched from the sidelines as his own foster children struggled in school. This led to Dr. DeGarmo writing his doctoral dissertation on responding to the challenges that foster children face in rural public schools.

“It was during the time of my research for my dissertation that I came to realize that there was not a “How To Guide” for foster parents on the market,” Dr. DeGarmo said.

“I wanted to write a book that my fellow foster parents could pick up, one that would answer all the questions they might have. Whether the reader is a new foster parent, or one who has been taking care of children in foster care for a number of years, this book will be one that will be most useful and helpful. “

Published by Jessica Kingsley Publishers, Dr. DeGarmo spent over two years researching the book, writing on such topics as creating rules and expectations, working with caseworkers and birth parents, preparing for a the arrival of a foster child, and the grief and loss foster parents experience when a foster child leaves, among others.

There is also an extensive resource list for foster care agencies across all 50 United States, as well as other nations.

The Foster Parenting Manual helps to dispel the myths surrounding fostering and should help to lessen the anxiety around caring for someone else’s child and also children who can struggle to accept care. It also provides caregivers with practical and reassuring guidance—encouraging positive outcomes in what can be a difficult yet rewarding partnership.

The real-life examples support research in the field, and provide non-fostering adults a glimpse into the world of foster families and families themselves with insights and guidance from peers. 

Dr. DeGarmo’s book has already been adopted by foster care agencies and associations across the United States, and Dr. DeGarmo has been asked to lead training seminars on various chapters of the book.

“I’m excited about it,” Dr. DeGarmo said. “This is a book that foster parents have needed for a number of years. It is the kind of book that I wish I had when I went through training, several years back. Being a foster parent is, without a doubt, the hardest thing I have ever done, as it is a 24 hour a day, seven day a week, 365 day a year job.

“The children who are placed in a foster home arrive with a variety of challenges, difficulties, and traumas, experiences that set them apart from other children. Most foster care training does not prepare a foster parent for these real life experiences. This book will help in this preparation, and will be one that foster parents can refer to time and time again.”

Dr. DeGarmo is busy working on other books, as well. His children’s book, A Different Home: Jessie’s Experience in a New Foster Home, is due out in January of 2014, he is completing Foster Care and Online Technology,>/i> due out in Spring, 2014. He also hopes to publish the highly anticipated sequel to Fostering Love in the fall of 2014.

You can order The Foster Parenting Manual: A Practical Guide to Creating a Loving, Safe, and Stable Home from Jessica Kinglsey Publishers (http://www.jkp.com/), Amazon.com and other online book stores, and through his website (http://www.drejohndegarmo.com/).

Dr. DeGarmo can be reached at drjohndegarmo@gmail.com.