Foster Friendly® Faith Communities Change Outcomes for Vulnerable Kids
Nearly 50% of foster parents stop fostering within the first year due to a lack of community support. Faith communities play a vital role in filling this need to change the experiences and outcomes for kids and families in foster and kinship care. Once faith communities understand the need for and needs of foster parents, members are able to step up to serve. Anyone can become a foster or adoptive parent or find a way to wrap around families in need. You just need to know where to start.
Start Support Ministries
Launch WRAP ministries and/or support groups to walk alongside foster, kinship and adoptive families in your faith community. Check out our free resources to get started.
Teach on Foster Care
Share about foster care annually. People of faith are significantly more likely to foster and adopt than the general population – they just need to understand the need.
WHY SHOULD MY FAITH COMMUNITY SUPPORT FOSTER CARE?
Faith Communities are uniquely positioned to serve kids in foster care and those who embrace them. Many have compassionate members who feel ready, willing and called to serve vulnerable populations. We challenge faith partners to recognize, share about and impact critical child welfare needs.
- Faith Communities are Ready to Step Up
Studies show people of faith are 3x as likely to adopt and 2x as likely to consider fostering than the general population - Aligns with Existing Work
Justice, mercy and grace are at the core of this work. We invite you to step into this space to help heal vulnerable relationships between parents and children. - Everyone Agrees – Kids Belong in Families
Supporting kids in foster care is something that everyone can agree on. It’s a non-controversial, unifying way to care for those in need. - Upstream, Long-Term Benefits
Foster care is at the root of many social wounds (see graphic). Intervention now can spare individuals and future generations from lifetimes of suffering.
FAITH IN ACTION
See How Faith Communities Recruit and Retain Foster, Adoptive, and Kinship Families
BECOME FOSTER FRIENDLY®
Each Foster Friendly® Faith ministry may look different, but they all have one thing in common: needs are met and lives are changed. We have partnered with the Promise Serves software. Together, we are equipping faith communities with new and existing ministries to care for vulnerable children through strategies of family recruitment and retention.
QUESTIONS?
If you have questions about foster care and launching a Foster Friendly® Faith community, don’t hesitate to reach out!