Willow Glen Resident
News
Photograph by Vicki Thompson
Loving Arms: Foster parent Jeni Strouss of Willow Glen, former owner of the Little Things store on Lincoln Avenue, cares for babies who have special needs.
Jeni Strouss cares for littlest souls
By Gloria Jabaut
Jeni Strouss received a call to pick up a 7-month-old baby at Lucille Packard Hospital for Children in Palo Alto. As a foster parent for more than 17 years, the Willow Glen resident was accustomed to receiving calls day or night.
On this cold evening three years ago, Strouss, 59, was surprised when the pediatric nurse handed her a tiny pink bundle with tubes attached to her body that weighed more than the baby girl Strouss held. The infant was recuperating from a liver transplant that had saved her life.
The baby weighed only 10 pounds, the size of a 3-month-old. She was unable to sit or hold up her head. It took four months for Strouss to nurse the baby back to health so all the tubes could be removed. The baby girl eventually developed all the necessary motor skills so she could sit, crawl and eat on her own.
A little after her first birthday she was adopted. Now a robust 3-year-old, the preschooler and her family are frequent visitors at the Strouss residence.
"The first place she runs to is my babies nursery," Strouss says.
Strouss and her husband, Bill, have devoted themselves to fostering the most fragile of infants. Many are premature, requiring them to be connected to feeding tubes. Many more suffer from withdrawal symptoms at birth because they are born to women who use drugs or alcohol during pregnancy.
Santa Clara County Department of Family and Children Services licenses the Strouss home as an emergency satellite home for infants with special needs. Strouss brings home fragile infants who often have tubes attached and heart monitors as part of their traveling gear. It is not unusual for Strouss to have a child suffering from fetal alcohol syndrome because the baby's mother drank throughout the pregnancy, or an infant battling drug withdrawal or seizures.
The devotion Strouss gives to each infant under her care is always temporary but forever present in her special nursery. The 1920 vintage-style room features dozens of colorful dancing ceiling mobiles. Antique baby bottles complete with old-fashioned rubber nipples in a variety of shapes and sizes line shelves, reflecting the shimmering sun from the airy window. Turn-of-the-century baby clothing hangs next to infant photographs and paintings, which are in contrast to the contemporary crib and changing table.
Strouss' soft brown eyes widen, as does her smile, when she says, "It's such a joy to nurture and love these precious little ones, then see them move on either to adoptive parents or their own with the knowledge that they leave here with a bond of love and in good health."
She also sends each baby off with an album of pictures and mementos collected while in her care.
"It's important for every child to have a history," she says.
Each has a history with Strouss, who maintains a wall with baby pictures of the more than 150 babies who have occupied her nursery and her heart.
The Strousses have four grown children and three grandchildren.
At one time Jeni Strouss owned Little Things, a children's boutique shop on Lincoln Avenue.
"Parents today entering the foster adoptive system have a support system that was nonexistent when I started back in 1989," Strouss says. "Today we have liability insurance coverage, legal counseling, and--best of all--advocates who keep abreast with our needs and stay in touch with legislation which might affect us."
The Resource Center, established in 2000 by the Foster and Adoptive Parent Association, provides these caregivers with ongoing classes and monthly focus group programs. The association also provides free childcare, which makes it easier for foster and adoptive parents to take part in the classes and support groups.
Denise Marchu, resource family advocate from the Department of Family and Children Service says, "Jeni Strouss is a glowing example of the type of mentor we have for those taking their first step into becoming a foster and adoptive parent. She and others like her are available to answer questions and give encouragement to first-time foster parents."
Marchu says the department is constantly in need of qualified foster and adoptive parents in the county.
"We can use a few more like Jeni and Bill Strouss," he says.
Jeni Strouss' devotion to nursing these sick babies back to health has brought joy to many families.
"Although we had some trepidation in adopting a child with such a fragile beginning, that vanished when we saw her," says the mother who adopted the infant Strouss took home with tubes in her body. "She had been loved, and she was loving. She was comfortable and full of smiles. This is a tribute to Jeni's style of nurturing. I believe no one should be afraid to adopt a baby who has had a fragile start in life. The tremendous support the family receives from the Foster Adopt staff and others associated with the system is very comforting."
Although Strouss has received numerous accolades for her work over the years, one she recounts with awe and reflection.
"My heart leaps every time I see that little pink bundle of tubes who was given a new chance at life through the liver transplant; now she comes running to see me and my babies nursery."
For further information concerning the Foster Adoptive or Relative Caregivers (kinship) programs, call 408.299.KIDS or the family resource director at 408.975.5213.
