Pregnant teen grows up to foster more than 300 kids

A call came in to Kathleen and Calvin Byrd at their home last week: Can you take in this toddler? Yes, of course.

In no time, the Chula Vista couple, who have been married 52 years, added another person to their family.

It’s not an unusual scenario for them. What is unusual is that she is now 73 and Calvin will be 80 in three months. They were taking in a toddler.

“We are dinosaurs,” she laughs. She has lost count, but says they’ve given temporary homes to more than 300 and as many as 350 infants, toddlers and teens over the past 48 years. They are slowing down, though: “At this point, we have to do the math.”

Two weeks earlier, a young boy in their care had been placed with family members, leaving them empty nesters. “My husband said, ‘Oh my God, I can unlock the pantry.’ It was just he and I and our 80-pound lab. Now we’ve locked everything back up because we have another toddler.”

In past years, they have had as many as six foster kids at one time, along with their own kids, in their six-bedroom home in Chula Vista. They like to limit the fosters to one now, unless someone is in need. There always seems to be room in their house and their hearts for more, if necessary.

Alfredo Guardado, assistant director of county child welfare services, says the county appreciates the Byrds’ dedication and the service they’ve provided over the years. The county recognized them in 2014 for having fostered more than 300 children, and they’ve taken in many more since.

In 1993, the Child Welfare League of America honored them with the Outstanding Foster Parent Award for its U.S. western region.

Kathleen’s story began as a teen taking Advanced