4 tips for meeting family support needs | CarePortal
There is no one single definition of family. It comes in many forms, but one thing is for certain: a child needs the love and support of family, no matter what the family looks like. That’s why CarePortal believes in the importance of providing wrap-around support and loving-care for a child in crisis, whether that be temporary or permanent, when there is no other option.
As an individual or family fostering or adopting a child in crisis, it’s important to remember these four best practices. Read on below or watch the short video to learn more:
Avoid assumptions.
Avoid assuming anything about a child’s biological family based on the little you observe or know. There’s always more to the story. We don’t know the circumstances that led a person to the crisis they’re in. You have the privilege of walking with someone in their struggle.
Follow agency guidelines.
Follow all of the guidelines that the child placement agency has provided for the placement in your home. These are essential as many of them are mandated by law.
Be patient to build trust.
If you have any questions, concerns or follow up, call the caseworker. As the connection point to the child or family, they can give you tremendous insight.
Ask for help.
Don’t be afraid to ask for help. Be proactive about engaging others in your journey. One of the best things you can do for the children you are inviting into your family is to show them how to rely on, and trust others to participate in meeting needs.
Becoming family to a child in crisis is represented in Tier 3 of The Grid, our visual used to explain the spectrum of needs you can help meet. (Watch this short video or check out our previous blogs on 5 best practices for meeting material needs and the 6 best practices for meeting relational needs to learn more.)
Tier 3 is all about mirroring God’s heart by becoming family to a child in crisis either through foster care or adoption. This could mean offering a temporary home and care with the goal for the child’s return to their family or becoming a forever family to a child who needs one.
Applications, background checks and a home evaluation are all requirements to provide this level of care to a child in crisis. Beyond that, when a family, church, or individual says, “Yes!” to foster care or adoption, the Church also needs to say, “Yes, we’ve got you!” as the family builds a team of support which wraps around them.
As we become one body, God receives the glory through his Church as she displays the heart of Jesus to the world.
When we respond to CarePortal requests, we go expecting to meet a need, but often leave discovering that a need of ours has been revealed. There is always potential for transformation. This won’t happen every time, but the heart of CarePortal is this: to experience Jesus through real, meaningful connection with our neighbors.
