God’s heart breaks for vulnerable children and the Bible has a lot to say about it. In the United States, people who were children in the foster care system are estimated to be 25% of prisoners, 30% of the homeless, and 60% of human trafficking victims. In greater Cincinnati, about 2500 children are in the foster care system right now. There are many ways you can make a difference.
Foster parent licensing and training is done by state or local agencies. Our trusted partners are:
In Ohio: Beech Acres, NECCO, and Focus On Youth.
In Kentucky: Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services and NECCO.
Foster children desperately need loving families to welcome them into their homes. These children and the families who welcome them desperately need their communities to get involved. Here are some ways you can do that.
If you are friends with a family that is already fostering or considering fostering, get on their support team. They might not be good at asking for help, but they need it. Meals, transportation for kids, encouragement, prayer, friendship, understanding, watching their kids for a couple of hours, providing respite care (you need to get licensed), and more. If a prospective foster family invites you to support team training, go!
Respite Care
Give foster families a short term break to recharge or address challenges by taking the foster children into your home for a temporary time. You will need to attend some training (a subset of what foster parents need to take). Contact the same agencies that provide foster care training, like Beech Acres, NECCO, or Focus On Youth in Ohio, or Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services and NECCO, in Kentucky.
Become a Court Appointed Special Advocate (a CASA)
This vital role requires a few hours per week, and a flexible schedule. You get to know a child in foster care by talking to everyone in that child’s life: parents and relatives, foster parents, teachers, medical professionals, attorneys, social workers, and others. Then you use the information to inform judges and others of what the child needs and what will be the best permanent home for them. Go to ProKids for Hamilton County, or check out Casa for Children for general information and CASA organizations in your county.
Questions?
Email us at hello@crossroads.net.