About Fostering
Currently, the United States is facing an extreme shortage of foster families. Across the country, there are nearly 400,000 children in foster care. Each year, over 250,000 children enter the U.S. child welfare system and over 23,000 children age out of foster care. The statistics reveal bleak futures for many of the children who end up in foster care:
HUMAN TRAFFICKING: 70% of human trafficking victims in the U.S. spent time in foster care. Learn what you can do.
INCARCERATION: In several states, 65% of inmates aged out of foster care
HOMELESSNESS: There are currently 2 million 18-24-year-olds living homeless in the U.S., many of whom spent time in foster care.
PREGNANCY WITHIN A YEAR: 71% of young women become pregnant within one year of aging out of foster care
Springs of Love Chapters
Chapters are a central part of our mission at Springs of Love. Springs of Love Chapters and their care teams in parishes around the country offer wrap-around support to foster families, providing foster families with meals, childcare, material needs, mentoring, prayer, and more.
Featured Video: One Big Family
After almost three years of fostering two young boys, it looked as if PJ and Kristina would be able to adopt them. However, the boys’ father, Josh, notified the agency that he was getting out of prison and would do whatever he needed to get his boys back. PJ, Kristina, and their kids were heartbroken. But Josh soon realized how much PJ and Kristina’s family genuinely loved his boys, and saw how they’d opened their hearts to him, too.
Why Foster Care is a Pro-Life Issue
“Being pro-life continues far beyond birth and involves walking with foster parents and supporting children in foster care.” Dr. Kimberly Henkel explores the need to consider foster care in the context of the larger Pro-Life movement in an article for Wait No More.
The Possum Trot Challenge
Rebekah Weigel (writer and producer, “The Sound of Hope: The Story of Possum Trot”), Lisa Wheeler (president, Carmel Communications), and Kimberly Henkel (Springs of Love) join the National Review Institute’s Kathryn Jean Lopez in conversation to discuss Sound of Hope: The Story of Possum Trot and it’s rally cry for forgotten children.
Radical solidarity through fostering
“As Catholics, we do a good job of supporting women in crisis pregnancies. Yet many Catholics are still unaware of the urgent need to get further involved by fostering, supporting foster families, by walking with moms and dads in a stance of radical love and solidarity.” Read the full article by Dr. Kimberly Henkel.
Register for our Foster & Adoption Discernment Series
Have you wondered if God might be calling you to open your heart to foster or adopt a child? Register for our virtual “retreat” and receive a code for free access to our “Be Not Afraid” discernment video series. In this self-paced series, you will hear beautiful testimonials from couples who have answered the call to foster and adopt. Talks address fostering & adopting after infertility, adopting a child with special needs, international & domestic adoption, adoption from foster care, grieving when foster children leave, adopting older children, what to do when only one spouse feels called, and more. Register today!
Featured Video: Tori’s Story
Tori shares the heartache of moving through 12 foster homes, being separated from her sister, and eventually aging out of the system. Yet her story doesn’t end there. With the encouragement of one coach who believed in her, welcomed her into his family, and shared the love of God with her, she went on to graduate college and become an advocate for vulnerable children in foster care.
Commentary: The Sound of Freedom
Dr. Kimberly Henkel reacts to the film The Sound of Freedom: “I looked forward to watching The Sound of Freedom to learn about the true story of children rescued from sex trafficking. Fifteen minutes into the film, I felt like I had been punched in the stomach.” Read the article.
Feature: Stop Child Trafficking
Even if you don’t feel called to foster, you can support foster families in your community or find a way to mentor at-risk youth, particularly those who have aged out of foster care. To find what you can do, check out our list of 7 Ways You Can Help Stop Child Trafficking.
Foster Parenting: An Education in Love
“In the 23 counties of the Columbus diocese, 7,097 children are in foster care and 655 await adoption. These children desperately need loving foster families who will show them the love of God.” Read the rest of this article by Dr. Kimberly Henkel.
Fostering Stories
Respite Care: The Blessing of Saying Yes
May the Lord provide the needs of others through us. One of the teachers at my …
The Rest of Respite
The Oxford dictionary defines “rest” as to “cease work or movement in order to relax, refresh oneself, or …
Birth Mothers and Their Gift of Life
It’s early Saturday morning and my five year old daughter is already dressed in a sparkly gold dress …
Fostering Prayers: Novena Prayer to St. Joseph
We welcome you to get involved with foster care by taking part in our Novena to Saint Joseph. Saint Joseph is the exemplar of a “foster” father because, along with Mary, he loved, nurtured and instructed the Child Jesus. Although he was initially concerned about how this Child came to be, Joseph trusted the message of the Angel to “be not afraid,” welcoming Mary and her Son into his home.
