We were licensed foster parents in the last place we lived, but only did respite care. I will say that the process to get certified really helped us. We lived in NM and they were very upfront about the challenges and happy to share the good. They also provided lots of support and continuing education. It might be worth looking into foster information nights in your area and attending one to get a better feel for what the process could look like.
Our son is adopted, and while it’s hard that he’s our son because his other mom wasn’t able to parent, we’re grateful for a chance to love them both.