Did you know that nearly 50 percent of foster parents stop fostering within the first year? And one of the most often-cited reasons is lack of community support. Your faith community can play a valuable role in changing the experience and outcomes for kids and families in foster and kinship care.
Here Are 3 Best Practices Of A Foster Friendly Faith Community.
You only need to choose two to join our App, but we encourage you to consider embracing all three.
1
Offer trauma awareness training to children and youth staff and volunteers to promote understanding of the impact that trauma can have on infants, children and adolescents.
2
Teach in a main gathering God’s heart for vulnerable children and families, and give people an opportunity to respond.
3
Create an ongoing support ministry to care for kinship and foster families. Some ideas include wrap-around programs, foster parent support groups and foster parents’ night out.
What Can Church Support For Foster Families Look Like?
Wrap Programs Show Up For Foster Families In Daily Life
South Dakotans come together as “wrap teams” across our state to show up for foster families to offer services and support that offer valuable support and relief to these “instant families.”
Here are some examples of support provided by wrap teams to families in our community:
- Home/car repair
- Meal prep
- Transportation of children to appointments/visits
- Respite care
- Mentorship
- Grocery shopping/delivery
- Lawn maintenance
- Babysitting
Learn How To Wrap Around Foster Families In Your Neighborhood
Let us help you find a wrap team in your area or equip you to start a team to walk with foster families in your neighborhood.
Ready To Commit?
Sign The Foster Friendly Faith Pledge
When your faith community is ready to commit to at least two of the three best practices of a Foster Friendly Faith Community, we invite you to complete this Foster Friendly pledge. When you do we’ll add you to our Foster Friendly App for kinship and foster families seeking welcoming and supportive faith communities.
1
Download this printable version of the Foster Friendly Pledge to review with your faith community leadership.
2
When you are ready, complete and submit our pledge below.