The American Foster Care Crisis

The system isn’t working, so the Church must

By ERIC PORTER

I’ll never forget the night I had to make a phone call to the child abuse hotline after discovering a young girl in my church had suffered physical abuse at the hands of her father. My heart sank with each question the operator asked.

“Are there drugs involved? Are there weapons in the house? Do you feel she is in imminent danger?”

I began to weep as I shared what I knew.

The more I processed the situation, the more indignant I became. I was angry at the father, but as a pastor, I was also angry that I didn’t know how to help this girl. I felt powerless.

All I was trained to do was to make the phone call.

But then what? Wasn’t the Church supposed to care for the hurting and bring healing to a broken world? I later realized the Holy Spirit was using these questions to get my attention.

On Sept. 14, 2011, God called our family to become U.S. orphan care missionary chaplains. My wife, Trisha, and I already had three kids and one on the way. We didn’t know where to start or what to do. We just said “yes” to God.

We now use what we’ve learned to help other church leaders develop foster care, adoption and support ministries.

The Process

There are four primary stages of foster care: investigation, removal, placement and permanency. Investigation begins when someone suspects a child is abused, abandoned, or neglected and contacts local authorities or calls the child abuse hotline. Child welfare then investigates to determine whether the situation calls for community care or the removal of a child from the home.

Removal happens if the investigation confirms abuse, abandonment or neglect. With removal comes the next stage: placement. The first priority is finding the child a place to stay with safe, biological relatives. Otherwise, social workers must find a suitable, long-term foster home. In the meantime, they will use licensed foster parents who are prepared for emergency placement.

Though placement in foster homes is necessary, ultimately the goal of foster care is reunification. When a child enters the foster care system, the child welfare team works with the court to provide a plan for the family to get the children back home.

Whether through reunification or adoption, permanency is the final objective of the process. If there are no suitable biological relatives available, the child is placed with a nonrelative adoptive family.

I once held a frail infant who was suffering from kidney failure because of neglect. My heart ached for this innocent child. I knew the situation broke God’s heart too.

At first, I harbored anger toward the baby’s biological parents. I wasn’t sure I could forgive them for what they had done. However, God quickly aligned my thoughts. He reminded me that His Son died on a cross for the biological parents too. Caring for children in foster care is an open door to sharing Christ with them and their biological families. We can demonstrate God’s love and grace during even the most difficult circumstances. It’s part of the ministry of reconciliation to which the Lord calls us (2 Corinthians 5:17–21). That baby was unable to return to his biological family. There simply was not a safe home for him among the extended relatives. His permanency plan changed to adoption, and he was placed in a loving and godly forever home. I am happy to report that he is now 8 years old, healthy and thriving.

The Challenge

Since entering this space, I have heard stories of children who were whipped with electric cords, a child who was stuffed into a clothes dryer for punishment, and a newborn who was left for dead in a dumpster. I’ve realized this type of trauma isn’t just happening in other places. It is happening in my neighborhood and yours. There are heartbreaking stories in every community across America.

According to Childhelp, which operates the National Child Abuse Hotline, a report of child

With hundreds of thousands of children entering, exiting or remaining in foster care each year, there are not enough foster homes to meet the demand.

abuse is made every 10 seconds. Data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services indicates that, on average, four children per day die from maltreatment in the U.S.

With hundreds of thousands of children entering, exiting or remaining in foster care each year, there are not enough foster homes to meet the demand. Right now, there are children across the country who are sleeping overnight in child welfare offices or in hotel rooms with case workers because there is nowhere else for them to go. It is especially challenging to find homes for older children, teenagers and sibling groups.

Children entering foster care desperately need stability. However, that need is not always met. When kids face big trauma, they experience big emotions. When big emotions are hard to process, big behaviors often follow. When big behaviors surface within a foster home, kids sometimes have to move.

In some cases, the foster home may not have been a good fit. In other cases, the child may not have been given a fair chance. No matter the cause, it is never beneficial for a child to bounce from home to home. The result is usually more trauma and more negative behaviors.

Frequent change in caregivers causes attachment issues in some children. This makes it difficult for them to form meaningful connections and manage emotions. It can also become challenging for them to seek comfort effectively. Children with prolonged instability often feel unsafe, lonely, irritable, sad and angry.

Trisha and I initially experienced this with the children we adopted. Before coming to us, they had been in several homes over the span of six years. It has taken time to build trust and connection.

It took several months for one adopted child to accept us as her mom and dad. At first, she didn’t even want us to hug her. But with God’s help, we’ve seen tremendous growth and healing.

Finding adoptive homes for children who cannot return to biological families is vital to their longterm stability. It is not ideal for kids to remain in the limbo of foster care for long. Nationally, 20,000 teens age out of foster care every year with no permanent family to call their own, according to the U.S. Children’s Bureau. Why are so many stuck in the foster care system? Sadly, families are often reluctant to adopt teenagers. Fear is usually the reason. Finding adoptive homes for children who cannot return to biological families is vital to their long-term stability. Outcomes are understandably poor for young adults leaving the system around 18 years of age with no community or family support. Many will become homeless. Others will be incarcerated. These teens are also at risk of becoming victims of sexual trafficking.

The Opportunity

As bleak as this picture may seem, I believe the problem is solvable if the Church steps in to fill the gaps. God is calling us to shine the light of Jesus in dark places. How can we neglect this crisis in our own backyards? The children of our communities need the Church. In the words of Josh Shipp, a former foster child who is now an author and youth advocate, “Every kid is one caring adult away from being a success story.”

ERIC PORTER

is founder and CEO of Backyard Orphans in Midlothian, Texas.