Children in the foster care system have been removed from their homes for a variety of reasons, but all of them share a common experience of trauma. The trauma of being removed from their home, their family, and everything they know. Facing an uncertain future, they are placed in a home and with a family that they have never met. In order for children to overcome their traumatic loss and the pain they have experienced, they need a stable, loving environment. However, in many cases fostering is just too difficult and overwhelming for many families.
Over fifty percent* of foster families quit within the first year, and an additional twenty-five percent quit the second year. Foster families feel overwhelmed by a system that lacks the support, resources, and personnel to help them, which means that a child’s stable, loving environment is pulled out from under them again and again.
What foster families need is a community of support and encouragement so that they can provide the love and care that hurting children need. What they need is a CHURCH! But not just any church, a church that has decided to be intentional about supporting foster families. Foster parents need someone to listen when the days are tough, someone to bring a meal when life is overwhelming, someone to drive kids to practice when schedules are tight, and someone to cheer them on in a difficult job. They need a Village!
my faith FAMILY will provide your church with the training and tools to surround foster families and give them the unparalleled support that allows them to care for children in need. By recruiting and training Villagers to encourage the foster family in their efforts, more families will be able to keep fostering and more children will receive the love they need.
Want to know more about becoming a my faith FAMILY church?
* A 2005 study of the United States Department of Health and Human Services conducted by Deborah Gibbs found that between 47% and 62% of foster parents no longer fostered after one year.