SERVE WITH OUR FOSTER AND ADOPTION MINISTRY

Nationally, 50% of foster families quit after their first year or first placement. Many of those families attribute a lack of support as the reason for their departure. With the addition of Care Communities, 90% of foster families retain their position within the foster care system. 

A Care Community consists of a group of 6-10 individuals who come alongside a foster family and offers emotional, spiritual, physical, and financial support. This team of volunteers rallies around the foster family on a weekly basis providing anything from prayer to running errands to providing meals to helping with childcare. 

Watch this short video to learn more about the impact that Care Communities have on foster families. 

How can you be a part of a Care Community?

• Lead a Care Community group
• Make a meal once a month
• House cleaning and laundry
• Childcare
• Pray and encourage
• Provide respite (overnight) care
• Help with transportation
• Run errands
• Mentor a child 

The Handyman Team offers a unique opportunity to serve foster families through general handy-work repairs. Examples include landscaping, gutter repair, painting, fence repair, light plumbing repairs, assembling furniture, etc. We're looking for individuals with a variety of skills! Professional experience is not a requirement, and the serving commitment is flexible.

The Foster & Adoption Ministry Resource Center, located at our Northwest campus, provides an immediate physical and financial relief for foster and adoptive families while they care for vulnerable kids.

What does serving in the Resource Center look like? Once a month, you can help:

• Organize and process inventory
• Fill requests for families
• Connect with families during item pickup

CarePortal is an innovative online platform that connects churches with vulnerable families in need. As child-serving professionals at the Department of Child Services and other local requesting agencies uncover critical needs, CarePortal brings the tangible, real-time needs of hurting children and families in your community to your attention. CarePortal makes local churches aware, giving them an opportunity to respond. Other individuals or organizations partner with the churches to meet needs or provide resources. More than half of the requests entered into CarePortal receive a response in less than 48 hours! Once a church (or several) responds that they can meet a need, they then coordinate gathering what is needed to help the child and their family. 

How can you serve in CarePortal? Church response team members who have completed special training have the unique opportunity to assist the child-serving professional in physically delivering the items, unlocking a beautiful opportunity to interact with the people directly served and sparking a chance for vulnerable families to gain ongoing, meaningful connection with members of the local faith community. 

Visit CarePortal’s website to learn more. 

We not only support foster and adoptive families, but also support child welfare workers working in a variety of government and private organizations across the city. This is a very thankless career for many, so you can be apart of encouraging those who are working tirelessly each day to help vulnerable children and families. 

How can you support foster and adoption agencies?

• Encourage and appreciate through handwritten cards
• Organize and clean visitation rooms
• Assist with appreciation lunches and events
• Bake treats and assemble gift bags