Kelly Harper has been a certified Treatment Foster Care parent with The Arc NCR since October of 2019. Before fostering with The Arc NCR, Ms. Harper was a foster parent with the Cecil County Department of Social Services for a total of 10 years, fostering over 30 children and adopting one child.
Since being certified with The Arc NCR, Ms. Harper has fostered four youth and provided respite for three teenagers on numerous occasions. In 2021, while working full-time as a nurse during the COVID-19 pandemic, Ms. Harper committed to fostering two teenagers transitioning from previous placements with Treatment Foster Care families. This allowed the teenagers to remain in a family setting, and to maintain their community ties, significant relationships, and service providers. For these many reasons, Kelly has been nominated as one of the 2021 Arc Angels.
Ms. Harper has supported the teenagers through crises by actively listening, being present, and utilizing professional team members and resources. Ms. Harper has built rapport with significant biological family members of the teenagers and helps in facilitating communication and visits. She continuously supports the individual goals of each teenager, exposes them to new experiences, and teaches independent living skills as the teenagers prepare for life in the future. Ms. Harper welcomes each youth into her home and family while providing stability, honesty, and love.
Congratulations to Ms. Harper on being our ninth Arc Angel for the 2021 Holiday Season!
The Arc NCR needs your support to continue empowering people to live, work and thrive in the community. Unfortunately, only a portion of The Arc NCR’s funding comes from the state and government. Your generous support is critically important to the success of our programs. Help us support people with differing abilities in our local community by clicking here to donate. Check out all of our Arc Angel stories so far by clicking here!