Celebrating National Foster Care Month

May is National Foster Care Month! So many of you serve foster children and families on a weekly basis. We know it’s not easy, but thank you for being a part of these beautiful (but hard) stories.

Established by President Ronald Reagan in 1988 and sponsored by the Children’s Bureau, the National Foster Care Month initiative celebrates the efforts of those committed to improving the lives of young people and also encourages all Americans to serve these children.

Prevention. Foster care. Adoption.

There are so many needs — so many opportunities to serve within the child welfare system. This reality led the CarePortal team to develop The Grid. The Grid visual is incomplete if it focuses exclusively on foster care, because there is a diverse spectrum of preventive, adoptive, and transition measures needed to improve the lives of vulnerable children and families.

Child welfare experts emphasize the willingness of foster and adoptive parents as a key to improving the child welfare system. These foster and adoptive parents are genuine champions, upholding the dignity of kids. To all those foster and adoptive parents engaging in CarePortal, we are so grateful.

Yet, to focus on the individual at the expense of the collaborative may overlook incredible opportunity for transformation.

At its heart, CarePortal believes the Church is the answer. Not isolated church members, but capital “C” — CHURCH!

What does this look like? It’s Sunday school class members wrapping their arms around a foster family, providing meals, babysitting, and encouragement. It’s a parish committing to a monthly parents’ night out for foster parents in the community. And, of course, it’s followers of Jesus – the light of the world – signing up to be foster and adoptive parents.

Do you have a foster care story to share? Contact us so we can share it with others.