Contact: Dolores (Mohr) Kenyon
E-mail: dolores@wiclarkcountyhistory.org
Surnames: Huls
----Source: Clark County Press (Neillsville, Clark Co., WI) 5/11/2022
Local Family Highlighted for National Foster Care Month (2022)
Alaric and Caitlyn Huls of Withee have opened up their home to kids in the community
through being foster parents. Submitted photo
By Valorie Brecht
May is National Foster Care Month, when we recognize the efforts of foster families, social workers, community organizations and others who are improving the lives of young people in foster care across the country.
The Press took the time top interview one local set of foster parents to shine a spotlight on the work foster families do to provide a home for kids going through challenging times.
Alaric and Caitlyn Huls are foster parents in Withee. They met in college at UW-Eau Claire, married in 2016 and now both work as teachers for the Medford School District. They became licensed as foster parents fairly recently, in September 2021.
“Serving as foster parents has allowed us to provide our foster child with a variety of great opportunities and fun experiences, but the most rewarding part is watching him grow. Our foster son has made great strides academically and socially. Getting to play a role in his story and his daily victories have been more rewarding than we ever imagined,” Caitlyn wrote in an email.
The Hulses decided to take the leap of becoming foster parents after going through a journey with infertility and loss.
“My husband and I have had four miscarriages and one ectopic pregnancy (a pregnancy that develops in the fallopian tube and can lead to the tube bursting and lots of complications),” Caitlyn explained in an email. “I nearly lost my own life due to the ectopic pregnancy, and we decided that we needed to do something about our infertility and loss.
“We decided to pursue some fertility treatments, but wanted to have another option as well. This led us to exploring the foster care route and we felt compelled to start the process. We are hoping to help support families and children in whatever way we can through their journey with the foster care system, and want what is best for children and families alike.”
Caitlyn and Alaric began the process of applying for their license in March 2021. They had to complete several interviews and have a home study done. After receiving their license, they had a 6-year-old boy placed in their home.
Alaric and Caitlyn have loved watching their foster son grow and develop. However, being a foster parent has not come without its challenges, not in the least of which is the inherent uncertainty in the system, said Caitlyn.
“Fostering a child is a very fluid process and circumstances change quickly and frequently. Learning to be more flexible and ‘just go with the flow’ has at times, been rather difficult. But with help from the county and some other foster parents, we are leaning to take things one day at a time and do the best we can to provide for the children we care for,” Caitlyn wrote.
The Hulses have also developed a support system, so they don’t feel like they are on this journey alone.
The amount of support we have received has been surprising. Our families and friends have been very supportive, of course, but even our coworkers have reached out to us asking if there’s anything they can do to support us,” wrote Caitlyn. “It has been extremely humbling to see that our friends and neighbors are so willing to donate things like toys and clothes to help children they’ve never met.”
Although they haven’t been foster parents for a super long time, the Huls have already learned a lot through the experience.
“We have both made a lot of growth in regards to our patience, flexibility, and time management,” Caitlyn wrote.
She encouraged people who were considering foster parenting but were on the fence about it to become a foster parent.
“Do it. It is the hardest, most frustrating, most rewarding, best job that I’ve ever had. You won’t regret the time, effort, love and support that you pour into that child, regardless of the amount of time that they are in your home,” she wrote.
More about the Huls family
Alaric and Caitlyn have two dogs and two cats. Caitlyn is involved with community theater and enjoys acting and singing. In her spare time, she loves a good book or getting lost in a movie. She also recently developed a love for photography and can be seen around town with her camera trying to get the perfect shot of just about anything.
Alaric is a football fanatic. When he isn’t watching football on TV, he is usually watching film or drawing plays. He is a football coach in Medford and enjoys spending time with the athletes and the other coaches. Alaric is also an avid outdoorsman. He loves to hunt and fish all seasons, but especially enjoys fishing for catfish out of his kayak in the summer. The Hulses also enjoy camping and hiking around the Door County area all summer long.
