Foster parent gets therapeutic certification to help in hardest cases in southeastern Colorado

Colorado constantly needs more families to get certified to do foster care, but there is an even greater need for therapeutic level foster families. These are families trained to handle the challenges of children who've survived severe abuse. 

Outside the southeastern Colorado town of Boone, Tammy and her husband recently bought several acres of land. They are renovating the house to accommodate the growing number of youth they are fostering.

"My parents have done foster care since 1989," she told CBS News Colorado with a note of pride.

Her parents have served well more than 300 children, and now Tammy is following in their footsteps. Tammy's adult daughter has also adopted out of foster care, making this a family affair.

"You just see the need. How many kiddos ... they were calling them CWOP kids ... kids without placement ... were having to stay at like the office and in hotels," she explained.

Tammy not only opened her home, she got a therapeutic certification so that she is trained to help young people who've survived the most severe abuse.

"There wasn't any treatment homes in Pueblo at all, so it's the rough kids that they have trouble placing," she said. 

Right now, Tammy and her husband are caring for five boys, two of whom they have adopted. All the boys help out on the property, doing construction on the renovations and caring for the horses, chickens, dogs and cats.

"I think animals are huge -- huge, to helping kids cope ... to therapy. They can go out and talk to horses, dogs, whatever, and they don't talk back, and they don't tell secrets," Tammy said.

The boys she cares for have carried a lot of secrets.

"It was rough. I was locked in a room. I was abused for a long time, so were my siblings. But, they had to give me food underneath the door because sometimes my parents wouldn't feed me," said Michael, Tammy's 10-year-old adopted son. 

Michael's secrets were revealed when he was 6. That's when he came to Tammy.

I think adoption is important because there is some parents out there that just don't care about their children ... dump them on the streets, sell them, abuse them. They really need to get their head in the game and step up," Michael explained. 

Tammy relies on all the tools in her tool kit to help her boys.

"Lots of schooling, lots of classes, lots of patience, and prayer ... lots and lots of prayer," she said with a laugh. 

The classes include Trust-Based Relational Interventions, PTSD management, and behavior and coping skills, but at the end of the day, she comes to each of her kids with compassion. 

"Just give a kid a chance ... give a kid a chance," she sighed. 

Michael is thriving with his new chance.

"I feel loved. I don't feel abused anymore. I feel cared for. I'm important, and that this is the best family I've ever had," he told CBS News Colorado.

He is a testament to the power of a stable, loving home, and the difference it can make in a young life.

"I think it's one of the best choices I've made to be really honest," Tammy said. "It's heartbreaking. There are times when you want to ball. There are times that you want to scream. There are times when you look at how the court system works and you say, 'Why? Why are you doing this?' But it's worth every minute, every minute, every frustration."

LINK: Wednesday's Child on CBS Colorado

You can find out more about Family Support Services by calling Raise the Future at (303) 755-4756 or (800) 451-5246 or go to the Raise the Future website.