Church expands support for foster care families

Jul. 20--Cara Madden of Norman remembers the chatty e-mails and notes she received every day from a person she barely knew.

The constant stream of upbeat messages from Whitney Allen kept Madden informed about the daily life of someone she did know and love -- her 8-month-old son Cole.

Allen and her husband Mitch became Cole's foster parents while Madden worked on rebuilding her life.

The two women, now fast friends, are thrilled that Life.Church is expanding its ongoing support for foster care families with a new initiative that begins on Saturday across the Edmond-based church's multiple sites.

Life.Church initially launched a major foster care initiative in 2016 and the church hopes to step up its efforts to raise awareness about the need for foster care families in Oklahoma.

"We believe local churches can and should make a difference in our communities, so we have partnered with organizations that strengthen at-risk families," said Jon Mays, LIfe.Church's director of local mission partnerships.

He said Life.Church's founding senior pastor, the Rev. Craig Groeschel, will be preaching a message this weekend that is designed to shine a light on fostering, serving others and loving people well. The church is partnering with Oklahoma Fosters, Project 111, the Department of Human Services and other agencies.

"In this initiative, we are urging our church to consider opening their home to be foster parents. However, our main goal is actually to support at-risk families through partnerships with organizations that offer preventive services so that children never go into the system in the first place," Mays said.

The Allens, who attend Life.Church South Oklahoma City, were among hundreds of individuals and families who received information from the church in 2016 about how to support the state's foster care system. Whitney Allen said they learned that some families could provide support by welcoming children into their home while others could provide respite care, children's clothing and other essentials to help foster families.

Once the 2016 effort began, the Department of Human Service saw a noticeable spike in families signing up to foster.

Deb Shropshire, director of child welfare services, said about 80 youths sleep in Oklahoma shelters on any given day and at least 90% of them are 13 and older. She said she welcomes Life.Church's renewed effort because the first one garnered positive results but also because there is an ongoing need for more foster families, particularly those who can open their home to teenagers and sibling groups.

"They are really trying to build on what they started in 2016," Shropshire said, adding that Life.Church helped launch the Care Portal, an interactive system that helps child welfare staff members keep churches informed about the needs of foster families and families trying to reunify with their children.

Meanwhile, Madden said she considers the Allens and their three children part of her family while Whitney Allen said she and her family hold Madden, Cole and Madden's older daughter Adison in the same high regard.

Madden said she was pleasantly surprised when Allen began sending her notes about Cole's progress when he was in her care.

"I felt reassured knowing that he was safe and loved," she said.

Madden said even after she was reunited with Cole, who is now 3, she learned that the Allens were a caring support system for her family in the aftermath of reunification.

Allen said she felt led to care for the entire family.

"I felt like I wasn't just called to love Cole. I was called to love Cara," she said.

And Allen said she got support along the way from her Life.Church family. She said she especially likes the church's message that even individuals that choose not to become foster parents may still play a role in helping struggling families attempting to rebuild their lives and the foster families that step in to care for their children.

"Life.Church has such a mind set of fostering," she said.

Mays said that emphasis is intentional.

"We hope to inspire more people to serve and give to this community, however small. There's no effort too small," he said.

To learn more

For more information about Life.Church's foster care initiative, go to www.life.church/fostering.

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