POLAND — Suzanne and Larry Balestrino always knew they wanted a big family.

What they didn’t anticipate after having four biological kids of their own was that they would find the space in their home — and their hearts — to care for so many more.

In addition to their own, the Balestrinos have six adopted kids, three foster children and seven grandchildren.

Over the years, Suzanne said they’ve fostered around 70 kids.

“I kind of lost count,” she said.

Balestrino, 64, is a retired registered nurse. Larry, 65, works from home in the IT field.

Their biological children — Lauren, 41; Neal, 39; Kaileen, 33; and Spencer, 30 — are out of the house, but still help with their adopted brood — twins Michael and Reggie, 27; Tara, 22; Victoria, 19; Michelle, 13; and Anayia, 11.

The foster kids living with them now are a 2-year-old set of twins and a 1-year-old, all with special needs.

The family home has four bedrooms on the second floor and three in a remodeled basement. Though the household gets hectic from time to time, Suzanne said she doesn’t plan to stop fostering anytime soon.

“I’m healthy, my husband is still working, so why would I give it up?” she said. “I love what I do and I love the kids.”

Every child awaiting adoption or a foster family to call their own is one committed adult away from being a success story.

That’s according to Cheryl Tarantino, executive director of NOAS, formerly known as Northeast Ohio Adoption Services, which has served Ohio families living within 90 minutes of its Warren office since 1978.

People who choose to foster or adopt can make “an incredible difference” in the lives of children who often “come from hard places,” she said.

NOAS, a private, nonprofit organization, serves children, many who’ve had traumatic life experiences such as abuse, neglect or drug use in the home. Sometimes, it means a child will need permanent placement in a stable home, Tarantino said, while others may be fostered until they’re able to return to their birth families.

Tarantino called the need “tremendous” for foster families, saying it’s a statewide problem. In Ohio, there are 15,000 children waiting to be fostered, compared to 7,000 foster parents in the system, she said.

“We’re struggling to find families to supply temporary care,” she said.

NOAS changed its name to just the acronym because the organization is about so much more than adoption, Tarantino said.

It focuses on adoption, foster care, a foster-to-adopt program, education, mentoring and resources for both parents and children within the system.

Tarantino has worked for the agency for 17 years and has been at the helm for 12. She said nearly 1,400 children have already found forever homes through NOAS.

Because about 1,000 kids age out of the foster care system each year in Ohio, Tarantino said, the state launched a program called Bridges in 2018 to offer extended case management and financial assistance for those who qualify.

Participants can stay in the program until they’re 21 as long as they’re pursuing continuing education or working at least 20 hours per week.

“The goal is to kind of meet them where they’re at,” Tarantino said, adding the program is intended to “take them from a vulnerable place to independence.”

NOAS operates on state and federal grants, foundation contributions and individual donations, which Tarantino said make up a good portion of the budget.

In 2023, NOAS had revenue of $3.4 million. Of that, nearly $2.5 million came from federal, state, local and private foundation grants.

Program service fees and contracts brought in more than $472,000; special event fundraising tallied more than $411,000; charitable gifts and contributions raised more than $67,000; and investment earnings and reimbursements totaled almost $7,000, according to an annual report.

Jennifer Kollar, public information officer for Mahoning County Children Services, said as of mid March, there were 285 children in foster care in the county.

The agency has permanent custody of 39 children, she said, adding 26 of them have been matched to adoptive families and the remaining 13 are still waiting for their forever homes.

With fostering, every attempt is made to keep kids in the communities they come from, so they’re close to family and friends, said Theresa Pancoe, children services program administrator in placement services.

“The kids do better when they’re within their own communities,” she said.

The agency first tries to get kids into “kinship homes,” which provide stable living arrangements in homes of someone they have an existing relationship with already, Pancoe said.

The best outcomes typically happen when foster and birth families form a healthy relationship and work together, she said.

Drug addiction is a common contributing factor in adoption and fostering scenarios, according to Tarantino, who said fentanyl, in particular, is “devastating for families.”

Pancoe said abuse and neglect are also common reasons why kids end up being taken from their families.

“The entire state is in a placement crisis,” she said, adding children coming into the system now seem to have more needs, making placement more challenging.

These kids may be medically fragile, have behavioral issues or developmental delays, she said.

“It’s actually our higher needs children that are languishing in foster care, waiting for families,” she said.

While the “good-byes” are often hard, Suzanne said new kids come into her home and fill in the gaps in her heart.

“[Fostering] does me just as much good as it does the kids,” she said.

Becky Haddle, a foster care licensing worker with children services, said Suzanne is an “excellent advocate” for her foster kids and she makes sure they have the best care possible.

The family has been fostering kids for 29 years, and Haddle said Suzanne is patient, empathetic, nurturing and committed.

“She makes fostering look easy even though it is a tough and emotional job,” Haddle said.

Because not every family can commit to fostering or adopting a child, Tarantino said, NOAS started a mentoring program for those who want to provide guidance and support to a child. Participants agree to a one-year commitment to mentor a child and must spend at least six hours each month with that child.

Tarantino said ideal candidates are those who have already parented a child.

“Once you connect, you can empower them,” she said. “If people come into this with the right expectations, it’s definitely a win-win situation.”