National Foster Parent Association

March through May is generally one of the peak times to hold a child welfare conference. But the coronavirus pandemic that has cancelled schools, sporting events and even closed restaurants and non-essential businesses, has also put a halt to those events.

As coronavirus continues to impact Americans on all fronts – from toilet paper shortages to event cancellations and school closings – the frontline caregivers for many of the country’s foster youth have suddenly been caught off guard.

Feeding a child is about more than just nutrition; it’s also a means of communicating love. Yet, for low-income parents, meals tend to involve fast food and processed snacks. It’s not that they lack knowledge on healthy eating, or that they don’t care about their child’s health.

One hundred and twenty seven. That’s the number of children that were entrusted to my husband Billy and myself over our 27 years as foster parents. Each year, as we celebrate National Foster Care Month, I like to take a few moments to reflect on the children who came into our lives as foster parents. 

Imagine it is January 2018. A group of child welfare advocates from across the country are celebrating a year of remarkable achievements because our wish list for 2017 was fulfilled. Here is our letter to elected and appointed officials thanking them for acting upon what we had hoped would have been their demonstrated commitment to child welfare services for 2017. 

The social work profession emphasizes the strengths-based approach, understanding that while individuals, families, and communities have challenges or needs (not weaknesses), it is essential to recognize the positives. These can be relationships, resources, abilities, skills, knowledge, and networks.

The U.S. family foster care program dates back over 150 years. Known as the father of foster care, a young minister – Charles Loring Brace – was horrified by the thousands of orphaned and destitute European immigrant children he found roaming the streets of New York City or barely surviving in tenements and orphanages.

Kinship caregivers and the church community can play a bigger role in supplying homes for youth who have to leave abusive and neglectful homes, and better substance abuse treatment efforts can prevent some kids from needing to leave at all.