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by Mary Blake

Nationally, we are seeing a decline in the recruitment of new foster carers and an increase in existing foster carers leaving. The consequence is a growing reliance on non-family-based (residential) care arrangements. How is this happening in Australia?

In developing countries, orphanages are closing, and children are being placed into family-based care, yet here, in our developed country, we are being forced back to orphanage-type care because we can’t find enough families and retain carers. The result is poorer outcomes for children and young people, their families, and our communities.

Faith-filled Response

One of the demographic reasons for the decline in carers is a fall in the number of people with a religion in Australia. Take a moment to think about that…

The secular world sees that one of the reasons people foster, and invite the broken into their home, is motivated by their faith. Consequently, fewer people with a faith mean fewer foster carers.

This presents us with an incredible opportunity to shine God’s love into a broken system that removes children from their parents. We can show God’s love by being carers, mentors for children in care, or respite carers. We can pray over the system and for everyone in it, supporting young people leaving care, and we can care for the carers in our community.

The National Christian Foster Care Network hosts Foster Care Sunday every year to raise awareness about the need for more carers, to encourage support of carers, and to pray for a supernatural response across our nation to this need.

The foster system is an incredible opportunity to shine God’s light and love for our world. To place the most vulnerable members of our community, children without the protection of their parents, into loving and healing homes and communities. Fostering is an opportunity to live out our faith right here, in whatever street God has placed us.

Foster care transforms lives. From the children placed in homes, to the carers, to their neighbours and school communities, to child safety workers, and birth families.

Healing and Growth

For me personally, I opened my home to a newborn ten years ago, then his little brother eight years ago at the same time a seven-year-old entered my home. This seven-year-old went to the same school as my biological sons and I had been supporting him and his mum. When he was removed he asked to live with me, his mum asked if he could live with me, and I later found out the school principal also suggested it!

The whole school community saw the transformation in his life. He went from being a regular in the principal’s office to school captain in his final year of primary school. He chose to be baptised, and three secular school teachers came to his baptism to support him.

I established a great relationship with his extended family, who live a four-hour drive away… they don’t have a faith, yet they did an eight-hour round trip to see him be baptised. They feel like they’ve gained four extra grandchildren and a relationship with their grandson they couldn’t have imagined.

I haven’t done anything amazing; I’ve just been a mum to him like I am to my boys. He’s learnt what’s appropriate and not okay behaviour based on how my boys act and respond to discipline and mistakes. He’s still dealing with childhood trauma, but we’re working on it and growing together in how best to support him.

Providing Alternatives

That’s just one story of fostering; however, respite care (having a child or sibling group for a regular weekend a month) offers extended family and community around a child and fostering family. It’s showing a child there are other adults who are safe and caring. Respite care is incredibly supportive to a full-time fostering family.

The carer journey is unique, inviting brokenness into your home and life, unlike other work or volunteering that happens outside the. The brokenness, of course, comes with incredible joy, seeing children have regular childhoods, positive friendships, a chance to heal, connect with birth families, and so much more!

If you know a foster or kinship carer, this Foster Care Sunday, reach out to them and offer prayer and practical support.

This Foster Care Sunday, join the national movement of Christians stepping in to care for children growing up in care and their families. Show and share a Foster Care Sunday video in your church, with your friends, in your community. Pray with Fostering Hope. Partner financially with Fostering Hope. Call us to talk about how you could support children and young people growing up in care in Tasmania.

Please click through for more information:

• Foster Care Sunday website
• Foster Care Sunday videos on YouTube
• Foster Care Sunday social media posts to share
• Other videos people may want to share

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Image courtesy of Adobe.