Effective Ministry to Kids and Youth in Foster Care: Intro

A four-unit mini course to help equip churches to serve children and youth in the foster care system. Through this course, participants will gain a vision for reaching kids in the foster care system, understand the challenges that kids in foster care face at church, connect and build trust with kids in foster care, de-escalate conflicts and discipline with love, and create a supportive ministry environment for all kids. Go to ShineOn.org to view the whole series and corresponding PDFs.

[@KatTheo431]

I'm a former foster youth who suffered tremendous abuse by religious foster parents. The number one thing you need to understand is that every foster youth has religious freedom to say they do not want to attend church services or to attend the church services of their choice. If a foster youth does not want to attend your church and voices that decisions, they need to be allowed to leave. If the foster parent is forcing the child to attend, then that foster parents need to be reported and no longer allowed to foster. This abuse of foster youth by religious organization needs to end. The biggest change I would make to save children for the abuse I suffered is banning any church from having anything to do with foster youth. None of you will take any responsibility for the absolute cruelty and abuse inflected by religious foster parents and organization.