“Father of the fatherless and protector of widows is God in his holy habitation. God settles the solitary in a home; he leads out the prisoners to prosperity, but the rebellious dwell in a parched land.” – Psalm 68:5-6 (ESV)
“Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.” – James 1:27 (ESV)

Family Advocacy Ministry (FAM)

Learn how to support at-risk children and families in your community by connecting with a FAM ministry coach.

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  • Over 5,000 kids are in Foster Care in Virginia 
  • About 50% are teenagers (13–18) 
  • Current average time in care—almost 20 months
  • Over 1,500 kids (close to 40%) have the goal of adoption
  • More than 600 children currently waiting to be adopted 
  • Over 400 kids are in a congregate care setting, group home, or residential facility rather than a family
  • Average length of stay in a facility—24 months (Most only need to stay for 3 months max, but there are no homes for them.)
  • Virginia is 50th in permanency, which means more kids exit foster care at 18 without a family in Virginia than in any other state. 
  • Human trafficking, poverty, homelessness, addiction, out-of-wedlock births, and incarceration are all more likely for kids who spend time in foster care.
  • Over 50,000 kids are being cared for by relatives in a Foster Care-like setting called kinship care. Kinship families need support to enable the child to stay with them and not enter foster care. 

The Calling

  • Pray for the loneliest children in Virginia and for foster families
  • Serve—have your church adopt a congregate care facility/group home for activities and to care for/mentor children
  • Care—provide wrap-around care for foster families in your church and kinship families in your community
  • Partner—with social services in your community to help keep children out of foster care by providing for needs and for kinship families
  • Foster a child—at least one family from each SBCV church to go through foster care training
Less than 11% of children in Foster Care return to their birth families. With the right kinds of family support, we can prevent kids from going into Foster Care at all.

 

CarePortal – Care for every child

Whether you simply want to keep one child out of foster care, help one family in crisis stay together, or rally your community, CarePortal connects you. Are you ready to help?

Sign up to combat the foster care crisis in your neighborhood. A few examples of needs are twin beds, car seats, meal delivery, mentorship, and transportation. If CarePortal is not available near you, sign up today to help bring CarePortal to your area.

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Staff Contacts

Brad Russell

Missions Strategist

CONTACT BRAD

 

Mindy McCord

Administrative Coordinator

CONTACT MINDY