Wichita Standard

Rep. Ron Estes (R-Kansas) met with Julie Breshears of Wichita in Washington, D.C., yesterday. Breshears is a 2024 Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute Angels in Adoption® Honoree and was nominated for the recognition by Rep. Estes.

"Adoption and foster care are so important for young Kansans and provide a family and stability to children who need love and care," said Rep. Estes. "Julie is a great example of Kansans working to help give children a loving environment in their formative years and I’m grateful for all she does."

Each year, members of Congress can nominate someone to receive an Angels in Adoption recognition from the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute (CCAI). Nominees advocate for and advance adoption, foster care, and permanency in their professional and personal lives.

Rep. Estes' nominee, Julie Breshears, is an exceptional honoree, both working in foster care and having been a foster parent for more than 50 young Kansans over multiple decades. She currently serves as a foster care Initial Licensing Trainer for EmberHope Youthville, a non-profit working to help kids in foster care in Kansas and Texas. She has worked for the organization since 2020 as both a recruiter and trainer for new foster parents.

In addition to her work for EmberHope, she is also a founding board member of Gathered Inc., a non-profit providing support for foster and adoptive families. Prior to joining EmberHope and helping to found Gathered Inc., she was involved with the foster care system as a foster parent for over twenty years. Her passion for helping kids in need was first sparked by her parents, who also served as foster parents and modeled what it means to care for the most vulnerable. Following her parents’ example, Julie and her husband Kevin became foster parents a few years after the birth of their first child in the early '90s.

Breshears is in Washington, D.C., this week to participate in the CCAI’s Angels in Adoption® Leadership Program.