For Joyce and Glenn Carter, foster care isn’t just something they do. It’s what they believe to be their calling in life.
Joyce’s journey into caregiving began early, long before she ever heard the term foster care. At just seven years old, she helped care for her great-grandmother after she lost her legs to amputation.
Even then, nurturing others came naturally.
“I just loved taking care of her and helping out,” Joyce recalls.
Years later, that same compassion followed Joyce into her career with Fairfax County Public Schools.
At 19, she was already making a difference in the lives of children when someone took notice.
“They said, ‘Mrs. Carter, you do such a great job working with kids. Why don’t you do respite?’” Joyce said.
She didn’t know what respite care was at the time. Once it was explained, she signed up and everything changed.
Children began coming to their home in steady rotation. So many, in fact, that Joyce had to create a color-coded schedule with magic markers just to keep track of who was arriving and leaving.
“One thing just led to another,” she said. “It went from respite, to foster, to adopt.”
Over the span of more than 40 years, the Carters have opened their home to over 200 children—and possibly more, according to Joyce.
“We really didn’t keep count,” she said. “Every time we turn around, it’s another child who needs a home.”
Married for 45 years, Joyce and Glenn have shared this calling side by side. They don’t turn children away.
“We truly love what we do,” Joyce said. “This is our passion. This is our calling in life.”
While many children come through the Carters’ home temporarily, four became permanent members of their family through adoption. Not every child was the right fit, and Joyce is honest about that because what matters most is doing what’s best for the child.
“The ones that did fit our family, we adopted,” she explained. “They don’t look at us as adopted parents. They look at us as their real parents.”
One of their children, now 15, put it in words Joyce will never forget, saying he’d give up his blood just so he could truly share theirs.
For Joyce, the best part of foster care is knowing that a child feels cared for, safe and loved — sometimes for the first time.
“When you touch a child’s life and their heart, and they know somebody cares enough to take them in, it’s such a blessing,” she said. “It’s emotional. It’s really touching.”
That legacy of love has already reached the next generation. One of the Carters’ daughters now works with Prince William County Special Education and hopes to become a foster parent herself.
“That lets us know we touched her heart,” Joyce said proudly. “Every time we get a new child, she’s got to come see them.”
For Glenn Carter, the joy is in the everyday moments: meeting children’s needs, seeing their smiles, offering hugs and reassurance.
“We love taking care of the kids,” he said. “Giving them love. It comes natural now.”
Even when challenges arise, stress isn’t how the Carters see it. Instead, they focus on patience and communication, especially for children who have experienced trauma.
“If they’ve had a bad day, you sit down and talk to them,” Glenn said. “You let them know it will be all right.”
Joyce agrees.
“When you let them know you care, they get happier,” she said. “They don’t have to worry anymore.”
As for the future, the Carters aren’t slowing down.
“Yes, we are getting more kids,” Joyce said. “They’ve seen the love. They loved being here. They didn’t really want to leave.”
Joyce and Glenn Carter remind us that foster care isn’t about having all the answers; it’s about opening your home, your heart and your table to a child who needs to know they matter.
Sometimes, that love lasts a lifetime.
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