Children without Parents

The ladies at LifeSong Church blessed us immensely when they held a baby shower for Peggy's Attic in honor of Samuel's birth. The ladies brought tons of outfits, stuffed toys, diapers, and baby bath supplies. Peggy's Attic provides clothing, toys, and baby supplies to foster parents here in Clark County, Nevada. Often a child placed in foster care is delivered to their temporary home with no advance notice and no personal belongings--sometimes not even wearing shoes! The foster parent can go to Peggy's Attic to acquire the needed resources on short notice.

In Nevada, all foster care placements are handled through county services. In Clark County, if the child has no extended relative willing to give care, he is first sheltered at Child Haven, an emergency shelter. The county is struggling to meet the needs of its growing population of foster children, and Child Haven is often filled beyond capacity. I had the privilege of touring Child Haven two months ago, and was very impressed by the bright facilities and cheerful caregivers.

Alternatively, the Texas foster care system has transitioned to outsourcing foster care placements through private, often faith-based, organizations who train foster parents themselves. Reputable agencies include STARRY (a ministry of Child At Heart Ministries, as is the Texas Baptist Children's Home in Round Rock), Buckner, Gladney, and Depelchin. Texas DFPS advocates a program called C.H.I.L.D. (Congregations Helping in Love and Dedication), which encourages churches to take on the support of a child via adoption or foster care. If a family within the church adopts or fosters, other members of the church can provide respite care, financial support, transportation, tutoring, etc. If every church in the state participated in C.H.I.L.D., every child in the foster care system would be provided for!

Those interested in helping children in the foster care system have several options: 1) foster parenting only (no permanent guardian status), 2) adoption only (of children with parents whose rights have been legally terminated), or 3) foster-adoption (fostering children who are more likely to become legally free for adoption, in hopes of achieving permanent adoption). Adopting is more financially feasible than many might imagine. Children who are minorities, part of a sibling group, handicapped, or older (usually over age 2) are classified as "special needs" (or "hard to place") and are eligible to receive additional adoption assistance. Adoption assistance can include a monthly stipend, the reimbursement of adoption expenses, Medicaid healthcare coverage, and even public university tuition (as in Texas). Parents can even claim a federal tax credit of over $10,000 per child without having to demonstrate expenses.

It might be easy to provide for the physical needs of a child, as by donating items to an organization like Peggy's Attic. However, as I held my precious son Samuel today, I realized that providing a child with love, discipling, and a heart for the Lord is much more difficult. So many children enter foster care never having received this love from their biological parents. Could we all consider providing it for them?