Open Hands 

A calling to foster care from the start 

After only a few dates, Katie let Kyle know about her calling to care for vulnerable children through foster care – it was how she envisioned her family growing. Although the relationship was new, Kyle was thrilled by the beautiful opportunity for them to serve others together. Today, Kyle and Katie Madison are walking out what God called them to years ago. 

The two grew up in the Dallas-Fort Worth area just 10 minutes from each other with mutual friends and the same regular restaurants, but they never crossed paths until the first week they were attending Texas A&M University. 

When they started dating in 2015, Katie set expectations with Kyle. 

“I told him maybe three or four dates in that I had always had a heart for foster care,” Katie said. “I’m passionate about caring for kids who need safety and support and families, and biological children may not even be in my plans.” 

But Kyle didn’t shy away from this bold truth. He saw it as an opportunity to serve alongside each other. He had always served in children’s ministry growing up and had a passion for working with kids. 

The two married in 2017 and spent the first year of their marriage juggling medical school at Texas Tech University. 

“But foster care was always at the forefront of our minds and the long-term plan,” Katie said. 

The journey to foster care 

While the Madisons lacked the flexibility to foster children in their home at the time, they knew they could still do something. Kyle worked with Lubbock Children’s Home on a reading intervention program to help foster children who were falling behind in their reading levels. They both volunteered their time through that program.  

Next, they became certified to provide babysitting and respite care with Buckner Children and Family Services in Lubbock in 2019, offering a steady, secure set of hands to foster families in their community. Respite care provides extra caregivers when foster parents need a few hours away. 

The 2020 pandemic slowed respite opportunities for everyone’s safety, but Kyle and Madison continued to wait for God to open the right doors.  

After moving back to Dallas in 2021, the couple knew they wanted to take the next big leap and open their home. They both agreed they wanted to be licensed with a faith-based organization. 

“We wanted a Christian organization because we foster because we know the Lord cares for vulnerable families. And we are called to that as well,” Kyle said. 

“And Buckner serves in every kind of avenue of vulnerable families. That’s important to us too. They don’t just serve foster or adoptive families,” Katie continued. “They serve families regardless of income, single-parent families, senior adults. They step in at every point of vulnerability.”  

Licensed in 2022, the Madisons first welcomed two siblings for six weeks. The Madisons are passionate about keeping sibling groups together, an area of significant need in foster care. 

The Madisons have cared for multiple sets of siblings and older teens in their home, providing education, faith and consistency, all while prioritizing the children’s connections to their biological families. 

To honor each child, they had an artist watercolor the children together with them in front of their home – a beautiful picture of the extended family they’ve created by providing care and support.  

“We always foster first because permanency is always the goal,” Katie said.  

Today, the Madisons are caring for Josiah*, a generous, joyful 7-year-old boy with a heart for others.  

Josiah loves to go to the gym with Kyle and play. “Every time on the drive home, he asks if we should pick up coffee for Katie. Every time without fail,” Kyle laughed. “Giving just lights him up.” 

Being the village 

“My go-to recommendation for someone questioning if they’re ready to jump into foster care is to start with babysitting and respite,” Katie said. “It gave us insight into what ages we were comfortable with in our home when it came time for licensing.”  

While not everyone has heard a strong calling to foster children in their home, the Madisons encourage everyone to serve children in foster care in some way.  

“Being able to offer certified respite care is a way to support the village as a whole,” Katie said. “Having someone licensed to be able to just be an extra body in our home doing dinner or bedtime with us was really helpful for moments that can be challenging.” 

Even a simple task like dropping off dinner can ease the mental load for foster families. The first step, according to the Madisons, is having a willing heart to explore what it would take to become a licensed babysitter or when a meal would be the most helpful.  

“And prayer is powerful,” Kyle said. “God has called some of us to this ministry, but I think he’s called every Christian to prayer, even if you don’t know specific circumstances or situations, praying for protection and growth for these kids, and for wisdom for foster families.” 

The vision 

Kyle and Katie’s heart for foster care goes beyond the walls of their home. They dream of one day offering supervised living and support in a communal space for those in foster care, especially for older teens aging out of care and transitioning into adulthood. 

“There’s so many at-risk points and so many kids who need a bed or want a place or need some help and it’s not readily available,” Katie said. “They just need someone walking alongside them and cheering them on.”  

While they have big dreams for the next decade of serving their community, they also find ways to do that today – even while caring for Josiah.  

Katie leads a support group for foster and adoptive moms at Watermark, their home church in Dallas. She also recently helped lead a conference with Foster the Family in Dallas to create a connection point for foster families.  

Community is a big comfort for both Kyle and Katie, especially with other foster families, who can offer insight into therapists, counseling and more. Knowing that, they are always looking for ways to create that community for others in foster care. 

“Our family motto for foster care has been ‘open hands,’” Kyle said. “We don’t know what the future looks like, whether that means adoption or continued foster care. We think it does probably mean both of those things, whether or not it looks like what we have in our heads.”  

*Names have been changed for privacy.