It took less than 24 hours for Jennifer Gardinier’s family to grow from three people to eight, with the youngest new member still in diapers and the oldest close to graduating high school. Getting a state foster care certification that would allow the Weld County family to receive financial help would take significantly longer. The children arrived at her home in Dacono in August 2023, and while the caseworkers were helpful in getting clothes, car seats and other items they needed immediately, the first check to partially offset the costs of feeding a much larger family didn’t come until November. Gardinier and her husband Stacy, who have an 8-year-old daughter, agreed to serve as “kinship” caregivers to their former neighbors’ five children after Larimer County officials determined the kids weren’t safe with their parents.