August 22, 2025: Gayle Guyardo of Bloom WFLA met with Katie MacElroy, Licensing and Kinship Director, Family Support Services, Ralph Zuckerman, Owner and Founder, Old McMicky’s Farm and Kymberlye Smith, Director of Foster Care Licensing, Children’s Network of Hillsborough to talk about Foster Parent Education Day taking place at Old McMicky’s Farm, Odessa on Saturday, October 11, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Foster Parent Education Day is a partnership between Old McMicky’s Farm in Odessa, Family Support Services of Pasco and Pinellas Counties, and Children’s Network of Hillsborough County. This free event is open to the general public to learn about how to become a foster parent, who can be a foster parent, and what all is involved in the journey. Gayle asked Ralph about his dedication for fostering and adopting, “We are committed to help kids and families in the community.”

Asked about fostering, Katie says, “You’re changing the life of a child.”

Other local agencies will be there to provide resources to prospective foster parents, as well as foster care licensing. Foster parents provide a healing place of refuge until the youth can be reunited safely with their biological family or transition to a permanent living arrangement like adoption. There will also be foster parents there to share their firsthand experience about this rewarding journey of making a difference in a child’s life and how it changed them as well.

Attending the Foster Parent Education Day is a great first step because you’ll have the best information in one place, plus hear from the people who are actually living this process – the youth, the foster parents, and the foster parent recruitment and licensing specialists you’ll be working with.

See the segment here.

The event is Saturday, Oct. 11, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., open to anybody in the community considering becoming a foster parent – registration required. To register, visit OldMcMickys.com. After the event, explore the farm with your children!

Unable to attend?

For Pasco and Pinellas county residents, go to FamilySupport.org or Facebook.com/fsssuncoast to find upcoming virtual information sessions if you can’t make it in person. Email recruitment@fsssuncoast.org to get in touch.

For Hillsborough county residents, Children’s Network of Hillsborough can be found at https://childrensnetworkhillsborough.org/fostering/