Prevention
In order to address foster care, adoption and orphan care holistically, we must understand that no parent ever desires their child to endure the loss, grief and separation orphans and waiting children carry as burdens. Due to the cycles of poverty, abuse and neglect, many of these families fall apart as a result of their own personal brokenness and the systemic brokenness of the world in which we live. These adults are not without fault, however local churches, organizations and governments must play as much a role in relieving, rehabilitating and developing children into safe environments as we do in providing resources, opportunities and programs to adults in order to prevent a child's removal in the first place.
Prevention is not about perfect people providing all the resources to broken people creating an enabling environment. A savior mentality will only provoke those caught in these cycles to continue in their sense of helplessness and depravity. It will also deepen the sense of bitterness those serving individuals feel if they do not see the results they expect. And, this will broaden the gap between us. Long-term prevention begins with sustained relationships between people who both acknowledge their brokenness and need. We must identify assets that these families have to provide for themselves and equip them with the skills, knowledge and resources to live and reconcile with one another.
Below are a handful of resources and programs that churches can use to care for families in their local communities or international partnerships to help prevent the loss that orphans and waiting children experience.
Foster to Birth Family Support
Due to the circumstances of each situation and the confidence of foster parents to intervene in the life of the birthfamily, this type of support is uncommon. In the likely event that a foster family is able to connect with the birthparents of their foster or adopted children there is an opportunity to begin a relationship that allows for mutual healing and further prevention of the cycles of abuse, neglect or abandonment repeating. Unfortunately, most foster families do not know this connection is possible, so we encourage families to suggest interaction with these birthparents to their caseworkers at visits and court hearings to establish a relationship. "Open" placements (click here to learn more about openness) are healthiest for children in reconciling their own feelings towards removal and adoption. When appropriate inviting other individuals or organizations to care for the birth family's needs can be extremely beneficial as well.
Government Programs
Visit the Texas Department of Family Protective Services website and view their Prevention and Early Intervention programs. Programs differ from county to county and may very in the age demographic they serve (i.e. at-risk youth, single mothers, etc.). When children are removed from unsafe homes their parents are required to submit to a service plan in order to reunify with their children and prevent further disruptions in the family. The service plans include parenting, financial planning, anger management classes and drug testing and/or rehabilitation when applicable.
Community-Based Resources
These resources vary but traditionally include homeless shelters, food pantries and more. We encourage individuals and churches to not simply forward funds to these organizations but to also volunteer in order to build the foundational relationships necessary to healing and restoration for families and ourselves. Rhea's Mill Baptist Church partners with the Samaritan Inn in McKinney, TX. If a similar organization exists in your community, we suggest you develop symbiotic partnerships with them rather than starting your own effort to improve the quality of care families need.
Other Opportunities
While there are countless non-profit organizations across the United States and in your local community, partnering with local schools, civil servants and legislators to address the needs in your community is potentially the best first step you can take for the purposes of prevention. Identify at-risk areas of your community and the churches that exist in those areas in order to strengthen their efforts in providing stability to individuals, marriages, families and neighborhoods. Prior to building any program you need to identify the assets that already exist in that area so as not to undermine the capacity for healing that exists within that community.
Celebrate Recovery is a Christ-centered ministry hosted in various local churches for individuals working through addictions and cycles of brokenness.
The Chalmers Center for Economic Development is a research and training organization at Covenant College near Chattanooga, TN working to address poverty alleviation efforts in the Majority World.
Books
