Newtons Make an Impact as Foster Parents of the Year
“If you have the space, and a place in your heart, you should do it.”
Professor Samuel Newton has a lot of room in his heart, and at one point had the extra space in his home. Now, with his family nearing 20 people, including biological children, foster children, adopted children, and partners, the Newton household, and their hearts, are filling up.
“It was not something I ever thought about. I said I wanted to have three kids, but it’s just not how life happened.”
Professor Newton and his wife, Honey, have made and continue to make a tremendous impact on their community, and were recently named the Montana Co-Foster Parents of the Year.
They weren’t always family, but they sure are now.
The Backstory
Professor Newton began his professional career in Utah before making his way to Montana. After spending time working as a lawyer, he decided to get back into teaching and ultimately accepted an opportunity at the University of Idaho. With Honey’s business booming back home in Kalispell, the Newton’s settled on a plan which would have Samuel in Moscow during the week, and back home in Montana with the ever-evolving family on the weekends.
“When I first got the job here, we were just waiting for the foster kids to get adopted, and then we could move down. Now we’re actually wrapping up adoption for our last two foster kids, but it has taken four years to get to that.”
Taking the Leap
Life comes at you fast. For Newton, fostering children was not immediately in the cards. But when his son’s friend needed help, he was there.
“My oldest kid was friends with a kid in high school. His parents left and there was a mess, so he was just living in his car. So I went down to the Wal-Mart parking lot and said, ‘don’t live in your car, just move in with us and we’ll sort it out later.’ The kid just needed a home. We got him in the house, and he lived with us through high school.
“Then my wife was caring for a patient, and the CPS (Child Protective Services) worker said they didn’t have a place for the child. So my wife said we’d take her. Through some of these things, we just ended up getting involved. And you get licensed, and then they start calling you at two in the morning saying, ‘will you take these kids for the night?’ and then six years later they’re calling you mom and dad.”
Becoming a Dad
Newton is currently finalizing the adoption process for another member of his family, an emotional process that dragged on for years.
“For a long time, he’s called us mom and dad. I don’t need the official title. I don’t need the state to tell me whatever. I’m doing the job, I’ve already done the job for six years, so that validation is already there. But he wanted it to be official. So I had him write a letter.
“This kid wrote a half a page letter and poured his feelings out there and basically said ‘nobody cares about me and never has. I finally found a family who loves me, that I so desperately want to be a part of and you don’t even care.’ And literally his tears are dripping on the paper.
“I mailed it to the judge, and I scanned it and emailed it to all the lawyers. I got an email that night and then we started to get things done.”
With the process comes other questions and decisions. Specifically, what his new name would be.
“We’re literally finalizing some of the paperwork now and he gets to decide what name he wants. He’s going to keep his last name, and he wants to change his first name. But he’s taking my last name as his middle name.
“What a cool thing. A kid who’s been through 14 placements. I’ve been through the thick of stuff, where there’s a lot of heavy emotion. To choose to take my name, what a cool thing. That’s worth more than any sort of academic success, or award, publication placement, or whatever else we chase as law professors. But the fact that this 17-year-old kid wants to call me dad, that I didn’t know him until six years ago. I love him like I would my own kid. You can’t create that. It just happens.”
Foster Parents of the Year
Newton maintains that the award is absolutely not the reason why he has chosen to take on this lifestyle. While he was and is appreciative of the recognition and the light it shines on the foster care system in general, it’s the little things that really bring things full circle.
“I have a ring that was made by one of my foster kids that says ‘thanks for being the dad I never had.’ He made it in metal shop in school. I don’t need awards. I don’t need stuff. I don’t need money. The thought that this kid would think I was a dad to him. Those are the payoffs. It’s a big deal.”
As Long as Your Heart is Willing to Love
“It’s important to talk about stories like this. If you have space, and a place in your heart, you should do it. Because there’s a kid that you’ll make a difference for. It could be one. It doesn’t have to be 14 like me and Honey, we’re crazy people.
“I didn’t think I had space for that. I thought I was fine with the family I had. But when presented with the opportunity, I wasn’t going to not help a kid. And I found that my heart is much bigger than that. I have plenty of room.
“Sometimes when people think about foster care they assume the kid is going to come with too many problems. They’ll have too much baggage and it’s going to be an issue. I would just challenge anybody who thinks that way to think back to any human relationship at all. Everybody has baggage. It’s called life. We all struggle. So there’s no guarantees with kids. We can’t be picturing this rosy thing that everything has to be perfect. What people need is consistency, family, and love. It doesn’t matter what
background you come from, you have that need. And anybody can fill that, as long as your heart is willing to love.”
Resources
While resources can vary depending on location, those interested in learning more about or joining the foster care system should contact Child Protective Services in their county or local area. There are many different ways to help, from housing to general financial support. Any and all assistance goes a long way.
By Joseph St. Pierre, Marketing & Communications Manager
October 2021