good morning. welcome to "viewpoint." i'm pat lawson muse.$w r(t&háhp &hc% there are few things more special than opening your home child. may is nationalñr foster care month. guest incl5qhs a very special :máua1ñ they have been named 2015 foster parents of the year in charles county. welcome toe1fáfá stefan and gilda delivered clifford. also camila, president of the thank youáf congratulations to the two of you opde1 being made foster parents of the year. tell us about yourxdkvnçxdñiñi children. there are t(many.

>> four girls, ar 14-year-old mia and 19-year-oldñi nicole and 12-year-old çójasmine. >> thesei] aree1 yourñr fostert(c children. >>çó a seven-month-old eight-month-old, five-year-old >> the foster children were placedxd with youw3ñi about a moment r ago. >> april 11th and december 8th. >> you have a big old giant family now don't you? >>t( yes. definitely i love it. >> what's it like to ut a house]/>ñi ull of children? >> very busy.jfw3xd never ending. >> why diapváu decide to foster children? this ison not#bour first time

doingfá it. >> i was a foster child myself since the ageçó of three. ãid went backq to my biological mother at the agee1 of 12. it's something i always wanted to give back.çó i have a lot to offer a lot of teaching ii6 my wife told me she wanted to do it, a big smileçó on my face. here we ñixdare. >>ñi gilda i understand you .eáñ do. you would take more. >> t(yes, if i could just haveñró7! thenr bigger house. our house is never big enough. we're always rearranging rooms to accommodate.jf the three siblings, we putñr 12ç" and 14 all together. what used to be our master bedroom. when we got ourc siblings we ended up moving to the basement sofá we canñiçó keep them together.ñilplpi] wanted two siblings< they

wouldn't be separated. whatever i need to do it, i'll do it. >> what is it about fosteringw3 children that isçó so important toxd you? >> i've always wanted it since i was a little girl. when i mentioned it to myñi mom, i was like thank okgod finally. you're fin',e doing it. you've beenr forever which shocked me. she's like you've been talking about it forever, i'm glad you're finally doing it.e1 i think growing up inñiçóç!ñ mississippi, wexdok always had kidsçó fáçó around, always the neighborhood my mom and dad wouldlp gather us around the neighborhood take us to the baseballñi field and we would play baseball.w3 childhood ever. i always go back to it. i don't remember anybody fromko middle school or elementary. we always with kids at our home.çó

to thisñr day they are age 44 and over. we alwayslp wish it was our parents and would every fátime. >> you love being pareñt+1ñ loveñiñr loving kids. >> yes. >>xd camila, how initial arexd the cliffords? >> they arexd fantastic. they are justçór weñr want to clone them. we truly love them. we have ani] urgent need in our community, our region. children in foster care and we have about 1700 families like t 1% jz'cñ@iave agreed to become foster parents. when we haveq a discrepancy likeñi c this what happensuc with our children whene1 they come in,$x if we don't have a home available they have to go into group care

or institution. we want peoplet( tor families. people like the cliffords whot( extendjf"átq'c arms to them and welcome them into this home. >> how long is theç?daverage day in foster care? >> you know, the averageçó day, it's beenr come in, have thatçó wonderfulr experience like they have with the clifford r during that timew3r let the system determine if they are going to go back tofá their birth family or go on to be+ adopted. currently about between or threexd years, the average length9of stay for our kochildren,t( which is long. we want our children either to transition back home or stay with the family like the?; cliffords or be adopted by them or be adopted by someone else. >> all right. we're talking abou and we've got two veryçó special foster parents with us this morning. we'll cr:áinue our discussion on "viewpoint" right after this break.

welcome back. we're talking about fosterqlp parenting this morning. camila, you were justymc talking about the averagelp stay in foster care was from two to threefáñiw3 lp years. the childrenñr are fáteenagers. >> the majoritffá are teenagers. about 2600 falling in the age range of 16 tot( 20. we really need families who are willing to accept teenagers. it's a veryñifá vulnerable time. it's at( very impressionable time for our young people. we want families who understand

there's other milestones. a lot of times they thinkxdt( aboutlp parenting, talking about babies, the first walk the first words and all that, but we want people to also be excited about maybe walk acrossñi the0s graduate or5a taking themçó fort( theirçó driver's license. there are still milestones can be reached. that's why we need families for ourkolp teenagers. >> do you have aé@?w special process for preparation parents toxd q teenagers, at( baby? >> there are special classes that foster parents are able t7dtv receive once they become foster parents. if they want to enhance their skills, quote unquote@,cth a butçó all foster parentsñi areñr .p never know where the needs may be. so all fosterxd@ kiqm go through about a four to six-month preparation process.ñiñi during that time they are going whereok they learni]ñiñr aboás how to

manage loss and trau&j= before they come into this.jf also the home study,my which i'mñi sure you all can talklp about,ym which isñi about a fáthree-monthçó process where social workers are going into yourjf home and interviewing you and getting you prepared fort might come to xdyou. >> what are some of the biggest challenges andfá obstacles you face? >>t(t(q probably with the 16-year-old 16-year-old. education and not really doing what he's supposed to be doing to getlpçó ahead. >> since xdseptember. >>ú.! it's mo@ejfi] like he's going back and not forward and we're tryingxd to d% f withq thatok right now.ko

>> your a man ynr law enforcement you've got love as well as disciplineú children. tzyerñxdnbq all of them. >> ryan understands where i comenb from. q give him a look and it's saidq and done. with jfxdpreston i k him down and said i've been in your shoes, i've been through what you've been through, i'm not telling you what you don't know but something is going on with the he's not getting it. i'm still working with him. how do you help parents in this position? >> it's really a teamfá effort right, so they are not in this alone. there a/e ocial workers andr therapists and other peopler are going to try to wrap their arms around thisñrçó family so they getokg the chil! the truth is our childrenfá come

out of traumatic situations. any one of us who have gone tjwáuhpc situation the child has gone throughkb+ould have maybe a more severe reaction. pretraining is really critical to givv themq skills so they are prepared for these issues when they crop e1up. this remarkable 8(÷ót-ijob. we were talking about thexd greenroom about some of their siblings that remain in their lives. even if they have gone on to it's really important you give them those nuggets and plant those seeds. hopefullyjf they will eventually learn what you're trying to teach them. >> gilda, how have your foster children blendedr biological children? >> áeyc fine. you know, we havet( our arguments but weok talk about everything. it could be something really simple. major toñi them but simple toñrñi us. as far as like one sister

wearing another sister's clothes. >> they are the same size. i'm like what's thefá xñçócproblem? the regular issues. who isçóq in the bathroom first who is the last one in the bathroom. we try to do it in strides as far as who goes first, who goes usually i let all the girls go first and the boys go last. >> we've got to take a break. we'll continue talkingxd about the joys-9 in the clifford household when we come back and whatñi miss bun is helping the continue foster parenting. stay with us.

welcome back, we'ret( talkingxdjfr

about national foster care month. we're talk to model foster care parents this çómorning.jf gilda and ste(%n clifford are the parents of the year in i want to talk to you for a from foster care tog news 4's ñ barbara harris workedi] with wednesday's child for many years. she talksçó tot( me about how many parentsxd fall in loveçó with theirxgj foster families. have yout( thought about adoption? >> of xdcourse. i've always wanted to do it.q weñi eventually will whenever we ask.xd @r(t&háhp &hc% when they come in the home, they are supposed to go home and everythingt( work out. like myq first, i just figured they would stay with me forever. that was probably the┐ átáu onet(ñi to hit home f

love. >> tough. >> very tough. not just for me. my husband for all theq kids in @ the home. it was really komybad. >> stefan, whatlp are yourñir thuj about that? is it toughq to fall in love with a child who falls in love with you, with a familyu and havev letko them go? >> it's real tough. the first,ñr it hurt. it really r but we're in it for the long run. we're in for foster care, adoption, whatever they need we're here. >> so you're open to thei]ñi process of adoption.i] camila, what about that? your÷d goal is to find permanency for these children, not to have to transition them from one place to the /áger. do you encourage parewvq who want to adopt to becomei] fier parents first? >> it's a great way to one,

learn a little bit about the children who youko might adopt in the futurer parent. it's a greatñi wayxd to giveñis7 back. it's a great way to help your -?5 i think these folks are very community minded. those aret( the type of people we're hoping tow3e1 attract asq foster parents. bringing a child into their home anñi giving back to their r community. it'sqçñjf very self-less act being axd foster parent because they love and let go sometimes. but i think aeq$sjt fosterxd parents talk about how it'si] challenging to love and let go. but at the same time it's even more challenging to imagine a child doesn't have a home and doesn't have someáwhoever, love them. i think that's what keeps fosterok parents going and keeps them on their mission to help children in their timeé@+ of need.

>> and talk about their need forxd permanency. how did you have is it on a child to go intojf a home and to feel part of a family. >> right. >> and to know that it's om temporary. >> right.xd well, sometimesfájf they might stay for the long haul with that foster family. sometimes theyt(çó might go backe/q to their birth family. how they brought in the number of people who love them.çó they know now they havew3çóxd more love, moreñr people who care a zm7a ] ju$em. the cliffords were telling me in the greenroom, they have they technically were we unified with their birth family but they still come over. is that right? >> they would like to comeñr everyçókoñi weekend, if possible but we of course, don't3gñ be#ddáq the o4$r spaces areko fi they still come. they don't care wherexd they are. we're supposed to get them this weekend. >> do they still sort of see you

>> let me tellc you we=9qok to walmart andt( we sawr just yelledçó outok mom, dad, ran to us. what's going çócmzójjñ hugged us and everything. that brought tears to my eyes. it was jfçósr @r(t&háhp &hc% >> withfá fo ii parents that's what happens. the kids see them as mom and theyt( bond withxd r it brought in the people who care about our children. >> gilda do the children call you mom? >> r >>xd 3 all call you mom? >> yes. >> theyq all do. >> it's weird at first but you get used to it. you know, because you think about their family. don't want them to call you mom or dad. it's just normal in our household. we have a lot of other kids with their momçó and dad,lp so they askr can we call youq mom or dad. we get that a lot. >> can wet( call youlp mom ore1 dad.

>> of cour é >> we've g(p to take another break. stay with us. we'll be right back.

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xd >> welcome sv4back.é@ camila talk about the finances, what are they paid. >> i t/a&k the cliffords would agreoie1qt( they are paid inq lovejf. seriously there's a stipend that ìáhp &hc% the child. it depends on the county and state you're in the amount. there'st(ñi also every child comes with their ownñi medical insurance.t( the idea is to have notñi be a #@ h(t&háhp &hc% burde on anyone.xphr(t&háhp &hc% if you wantñr to give back to your

community as a fosterfálp parent, we want people to -- we want+ toxd removeq all barriers to that by stipend for the care of the child as well. >> what are you currently doing to recruit foster parents. =08=u need more. >> we're doing shows like this. thank you for having us. we also have af tz series right now. if you were to go on our facebook page,t( you wouldlp see the video series featuring the cliffords and all the other foster families of the year fori=z!hr(t&háhp &hc% each of our counties.q we are planning an adoption and dos@! we go out and do booths and all kinds of activities. mostç child here on channelxd 4 news has been a wonderful program in a way for us not only toq recruit for thatçó child featured but also all children. there's only going to be one parent for that wednesday's child. but all theu people we callg

hope willú become a foster parent for äw=q! child. >> gilda and ñistefan there may be people watching who say i'd like to do it."-"trrr(h&ittle scared to do it.r what wouldokqt( you say to t(them? >> i wouldt( telljf them to go to the class, ób all thee1 information. wh%-1, we went to the class, it was educational to me. i learned a lot that ñrday. >> were you afraid beforeñi you went to the class. >> i couldn't wait. >> i was. >> one was afraid one wa!÷ anxious to do it. >> the stories i could tell you in thatçó class. >> what about stories in your family? you've been foster parents in two years. in two g%!rs you've become models. >> surprising. >> you've become role models. what have been some of the highlights for you? !o >> you tw when they come.

>> i'm always excited when they you go through a lot just to rearrange, to accommodate. to comefá home every nightr see these smiling fáfáfaces it's w3 awesome. >> that's me. i have a long day atñi work. i come home in the morning, the kids wake up. good morning, daddy good ok morning, mommy. hugs. it's great. >> all the inspiration you need. >> that's it. >> well,fá stefanxd and xe.gilda congratulations on your new and expanded family and on your9 big, giant loving heart. >> thank you. >> keep up the big work. camila thank you somy much forxd what you're doing. >> thank you for having me. >> thank you for beingq with us. if you find you have room in your homp1 and heart f?r anxmq child, we'll put ther on the screen. thanks for being with us. i'm pat lawson muse. stay with us for new+á

"news 4 today" starts now. >> right now on "news 4 today," a huge show of patriotism will play out on the national mall. hundreds of bikers will pay respect with a ride in honor of our service members. that means major closures. >> >> it also means we need seriously good bike riding weather. we have that on tap. not just for today but stick around for the holiday weekend, the forecast looking quite promising. >> just released in connection to the murder of a d.c. family and their housekeeper. >> good morning and welcome to "news 4 today" on this sunday morning. i'm ad