Hilda Mackall of Huntingtown has a living room filled with teddy bears.
Though those teddy bears have likely been held or hugged by countless children during the 21 years Mackall has been a foster parent, she is not to be confused for one of them herself.
When asked how many kids have called Mackall their mother, she chuckled and said, “Good Lord.”
“I had so many that I lost count of them,” said Mackall, 73, who said she has had kids as young as 7, though their ages usually ranged from 13 to 19.
Mackall got the idea to receive foster parent training through Calvert County Youth Alternatives, now known as the Board of Child Care/Alternatives for Youth and Families, when she was working as a special education instructional assistant with Calvert County Public Schools, a job from which she retired in 2003.
She said her decision to become a foster parent somewhat coincided with the death of her husband, Esteep, 24 years ago.
“I like to keep busy,” Mackall said. “I’m a people person. I love people and I’m a person who loves to help people.”
Mackall had one biological son, Warren, who died of congestive heart failure six years ago.
In being a foster parent, Mackall said the most important character traits are patience and consistency.
“I like challenges. I really didn’t consider it being too challenging; I just dealt with every experience that came up,” Mackall said, continuing that when she truly felt like she couldn’t help a child, she’d find somewhere she knew could help the child.
Mackall said she knows she has made a beneficial difference in a child’s life when he or she gets back in touch with her later.
One of her former foster children with whom she is still in touch is Kevin Brooks of St. Leonard, who was with Mackall for three years when he was a teenager.
“It was a life-changing experience,” Brooks, now 36, said of his time with Mackall. “I felt like I was at home, even though it wasn’t home. I also learned a lot from her.”
Brooks said Mackall taught him “how to manage money and how to work hard for what you want.”
Brooks said he also started going to church with Mackall, though she never forced him to, where he learned to play the drums.
“If it weren’t for her I would have missed that gift of music,” said Brooks, who still plays the drums at local events.
Mackall said with every child she has three goals: He must work to graduate from high school, obtain a driver’s license and get a job.
She said she has kept children on average from six months to two years, though this time can vary depending on the child.
Mackall recently retired from keeping foster children full time but still offers respite services to the Board of Child Care/Alternatives For Youth and Families when its full-time families need a break or go on vacation.
In 1995 she was awarded the Board of Child Care/Alternatives For Youth and Families “Foster Parent of the Year” award.
The organization’s treatment foster care supervisor, Trisha Baggott, explained that children are placed under foster care once they are removed from their parents due to physical abuse, sexual abuse or neglect.
To be an effective foster parent, Baggott said one has to have a sense of commitment, an open mind, patience and thick skin.
“These are not easy kids,” Baggott said, continuing that when someone is providing treatment foster care, involving children with certain medical or behavioral needs, even more extensive training is needed.
Baggott said foster parents receive a board rate for their services as well as a daily care rate for the child with whom they’re working.
On Mackall’s effectiveness with children, Baggott said she thinks it comes from something deeply instilled in her.
“I think she has a very spiritual nature and that allows her to see beyond what the kid is doing and dig a little deeper to see why they’re doing what they’re doing,” Baggott said of Mackall, whom she called “warm, nurturing, insightful [and] open.”
“She’s had some tough kids,” Baggott said.
For those considering being a foster parent who might be a little hesitant, Mackall said, “Give it a try.
“There are a lot of kids out there who need foster parents,” Mackall said. “Anything you do is going to be a challenge, but you have to have patience and you have to have a love for children.”
lbuck@somdnews.com
