National Foster Care Month

These national leaders recognize that one of the greatest gifts society can provide to a child is a family. 

Currently, there are more than 70,000 children in California’s foster care system. Even though many loving families have opened their hearts and homes to thousands of children, the system remains overwhelmed. As a result, many of these kids never experience the love that only comes from having a supportive and stable home life. 

In 2008, the federal government acknowledged the challenge many states faced to increase the adoption rate in their foster and orphan care programs by approving the Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008. Specifically, this act assists states with their overburdened foster care systems, like California, in finding nurturing homes for these parentless children by establishing incentives that encourage adoption and removing the regulatory barriers that inhibit it.

While California has regularly introduced legislation attempting to modify and improve its foster care system, it has historically been very poor at encouraging adoption. However, with the influx of newly elected legislators, such as Assembly Members Fiona Ma and Nathan Fletcher, and the imposition of the new federal adoption goals, there is an increased effort afoot to encourage adoption. 

Among the pending legislation introduced in an effort to provide assistance and opportunity within the California foster and orphan care and adoption agency programs:

AB 12 (Beall) — Ensures that California opts into these essential federal funding opportunities. AB 12 would: 1) re-enact our existing Kin-GAP program to align it with new federal requirements and 2) provide transitional support to qualifying foster youth until age 21.

AB 47 (Ma and Niello) — Increases the tax credit limit to $5,000 for the adoption of a foster care minor over the age of 12.

AB 154 (Evans) — Declares the intent of the Legislature to conform state statutes with the federal Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008 and to expend savings resulting from changes in eligibility for adoption assistance on services, including, but not limited to, post-adoption assistance. The bill also requires that the state Department of Social Services or a licensed adoption agency inform prospective adoptive families of their potential eligibility for a federal and state tax credit.

AB 428 (Fletcher and Ma) — Authorizes the attorney general to provide criminal history information upon a showing of a compelling need, to foreign governments or their designated representative. The measure adds any foreign government to the list of entities to which the attorney general is authorized to provide information, if that information is needed in conjunction with the individual's application to adopt a minor child who is a citizen of that foreign nation.

AB 743 (Portantino) — Requires a social worker who takes a minor into custody to place the minor together within any siblings or half-siblings who are detained or to include a statement as to why that placement would not be appropriate.

While the state Legislature is taking an active role in addressing the needs of children within the foster care system, there are many community service providers who are also playing an integral role in encouraging adoptions and supporting the foster and orphan care programs. Many of these providers are faith-based organizations that are responding to biblical principles. 

Further, community service providers will be using National Foster Care Month as an outreach opportunity to connect with the faith community to promote adoption and seek their participation in the effort to meet the growing need of California’s parentless children.

One national organization that is working in conjunction with several California foster care and adoption agencies is Focus on the Family. It is currently designing a program that will specifically speak to Christian’s families, encouraging them to prayerfully seek out the opportunity to impact the life of  parentless children. While many of these efforts are still in the planning stages, these groups are committed to reaching as many Christians as possible to open their home and their hearts to California’s foster children.

James 1:27 reads, “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress....”

In a time when the people of faith and their elected officials are at such odds with each other over policy and budget matters, it is encouraging to see these two groups working in concert to advance this fundamental biblical principle.

To learn more about Focus on the Family’s program please visit www.iCareAboutOrphans.org.

Printed in the Christian Examiner.