Blog
Foster Care
Posted by Janet Mendenhall on March 22, 2010 at 9:16 am
Nurturing. Cultivating. Cherishing. Fostering. Powerful words for a powerful task.
A task that Christian Homes & Family Services is passionate about and hopes you will be too. A joy that Christian Homes delights in and hopes that you will, too. A blessing that Christian Homes has witnessed and hopes that you will, too.
Christian Homes is most commonly referred to simply as an adoption agency. But did you know that we are also a foster care agency? Did you know that there are three different types of foster care provided by loving couples through Christian Homes?
Transitional care is provided by couples willing to care short-term for our newborn babies until all the arrangements and legal issues are settled for the adoptive parents to take that little one home. These couples are standing in the gap, loving and watching and remembering in order to offer the smoothest transition when the time comes for their precious visitor to go home with Mom and Dad. The timing of the love and care these foster parents give is crucial.
We work with Child Protective Services to provide foster care for children and infants who are in need of temporary homes as the caseworkers attempt to resolve issues in the biological family that do not allow them to remain together at the moment. The long term goal for these placements is to be reunited with their biological family when things are better. Stability and love while they wait are indispensable. Like transitional care, this is temporary in nature, but the placement time can vary anywhere from days to two or more years.
One of our newer programs is the Foster – to – Adopt program. This also is a joint effort with Child Protective Services. These babies and children no longer have a permanent plan for reunification with their biological families. The parental rights may or may not have been terminated at this point. The goal of this long term commitment is to be fostered by this family only until rights are terminated and the process of adoption is completed joining this one-time foster family — forever.
God’s call to love and care for His children is clear — especially ones in need of parents, whether permanent or temporary. Can you stand in the gap? Can you be a forever family? Can you hold up the arms of those who do with encouragement, respite care, babysitting, tutoring? The task is before us, and it is powerful. But just as powerful are the joy and the blessings that await you.
Each of these opportunities to nurture and cultivate and cherish and yes, foster are available to you wherever you are. However, Christian Homes at this time can only work directly with you if you live in the general area of Tyler or Abilene, Texas.
Look for more information on becoming a foster parent with Christian Homes and how to contact us by clicking here.
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