Kelley Sanger cites her and her husband Jude’s strong faith as both a calling to help foster children and a source of support as they face the challenges of being a foster parent. In their sixteen years of fostering the Sangers have provided a home for 18 foster kids, with a special focus on those considered the most difficult to place – teens, sibling groups, and kids with special needs.
Their commitment to being strong advocates for these children and support for other foster families are why the Sangers have been chosen as KidsPeace Pennsylvania Resource Parents of the Year for 2025.
Kelley’s fostering journey began in 2009, when she and Jude began investigating adopting a child from China. “A friend from church approached us because she was adopting a child from China. As we looked into the matter more, we found the AdoptPAKids.org website and decided to look into fostering.”
Early on, Kelley and Jude were referred to KidsPeace’s Foster Care and Community Programs (FCCP) office in Bethlehem, where they started working with family resource specialist Bryan Hoffstetter. “Bryan was amazing. He handled all of our training, making sure we were learning at our own pace – which we hear is not always the case at other agencies. He and his colleagues like A.J. Cordi really go above and beyond to support us and the other families they serve.”
Initially the Sangers intended to focus on helping kids from 10 to 14, but the same family who were adopting the child from China told them they had been approached by a pregnant woman seeking someone to adopt the child she carried. The Sangers quickly completed their training and stepped up to care for the child. They formally adopted the child 10 months later and continued to provide a loving home for other foster children.
Early on, Kelley said, they recognized the need to look at fostering sibling groups. “We wanted to see the family groups stay together, but that was not always possible,” she noted. In 2011 the Sangers accepted an emergency placement of twins who were ultimately reunited with their biological family, and later that year took in a group of four siblings – the youngest having development delays and special needs.
“There were challenges at the beginning. The youngest child was 6 and had disabilities, but was treated as a baby by her brothers and sisters in terms of feeding, being carried around, etc. I could see that this wasn’t the way it needed to work, and we addressed those issues ourselves through my special education background.”
Kelley noted that Jude expanded their house to accommodate the growing family – which in 2015 included a brother and sister placement that led to adoption two years later. Kelley notes that most of the children in their care have been homeschooled to be able to meet their individual needs and focus on their strengths.
In 2021 when their older children had moved out on their own, Kelley and Jude continued to care for kids as emergency and respite caregivers. (One child placed with them for respite care then has stayed with them since – which Kelley jokingly calls “the longest respite care ever.”)
In nominating the Sangers for the honor, KidsPeace staff noted their commitment to the Together Facing The Challenge program developed for foster parents by KidsPeace with Duke University. Kelley Sanger says the trauma-informed aspects of TFTC “reminds you to meet the kids where they are” in your communication efforts. “The tools we learned with TFTC help us get the kids to talk about what they’re dealing with, and they know we’re hearing them. The situations are not always in our control, like reunification visits, but we can show we support them.”
She noted that having the support system of KidsPeace staff and other foster parents is necessary, because “challenges (in fostering) are universal, so it’s helpful to talk to other foster parents about them, someone who has experience with the issue.”
When asked about their “secret” in being successful foster parents, Kelley says it’s simply that the kids who come to them need somebody who wants to give them a chance at a normal life.
“The kids are fantastic! I love them to pieces… even when they drive me crazy,” she laughs.
“The way we look at it is, whoever comes here, this is where they’re meant to be, and God will give us the strength to help them.”
