According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, in the United States more than 400,000 children are presently in foster care, and many more children are waiting to be accepted into foster care homes. Some 114,000 children presently in foster care are waiting to be adopted.
If you are interested in fostering a child needing a temporary home (most child welfare agencies cover many of the costs associated with fostering), there is a wealth of information available online regarding Christian fostering. The Christian Alliance for Orphans is only one example, but it is one we feel is particularly helpful with lots of links to further information on fostering as well as adoption. The Alliance unites more than 100 respected Christian organizations and a national network of churches so it can be very helpful in finding contacts in a person’s local area. Another good resource, giving state foster care contacts, is the U.S. government’s National Foster Care Month page.
Also, you may find that there are people in your own church who are already providing foster care or who have adopted or are in the process of doing so. You may find such people invaluable sources of current local information and opportunities.
Even if you are not able to consider fostering or adopting, there are other things you can do to help. We recommend CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) which promotes court-appointed volunteer advocacy to help ensure children in foster care or adoption are safe and properly protected.
If you decide to try foster parenting, or know someone who does, there are many good books available on the subject. One very new book that we have seen and highly recommend is the unique and very helpful What’s a Foster Family? by Anne Garboczi Evans (author) and Helen Cochrane (illustrator), which helps even young children of existing families understand and accept a foster sibling. Published just a couple of months ago, it’s well written and illustrated and perfectly pitched for the children who will be helped by it. In the US It is available here, and those in the UK can find it here.
Finally, if you didn’t already read our full article on “Christian Adoption and Foster Parenting,” and it is of interest, you can read it here.
