23,507
Children in Foster Care
and only
9,202
Foster Homes
These are the numbers of the foster care crisis in Florida. Of the families who will say “yes” to opening their homes to vulnerable children, about 50% will end up closing their doors within the first year.

Foster the Family imagines a foster care system where the families welcoming children are surrounded and supported by the church and community surrounding them and where foster homes become places of belonging and healing for vulnerable children.



Immediately after welcoming a child into the home, Foster the Family delivers practical necessities to the doorstep of the home. Our FosterCare Packages include everything a child needs–from new clothing and pajamas and school supplies to formula and diapers and comfort items. Foster the Family believes children are precious to God and should be welcomed into homes with dignity and belonging. 



The FosterCare Package serves as an invitation into our community of caring support. Parents are welcomed to monthly support groups and trainings. Children are served at Respite Events and special events. Foster the Family believes that parents should be supported and helped–from the first vulnerable moments of welcoming a child, throughout the placement, and beyond.

HOW WE CAN SUPPORT
REQUEST SUPPLIES + SUPPORT
FIND
Florida
SUPPORT GROUPS
contact
Florida
directly

Providing immediate, emergency support and ongoing holistic care families in

Sarasota COUNTY, DeSoto COUNTY, and Manatee COUNTY
1604 17th St W Bradenton, FL 34205

SUPPORT GROUPS

Easter Seals of SWFL Presents:

MOTOR MILESTONE DEVELOPmENT AND RED FLAGS

CARE - MARLTON
Second Sunday of each month *Faith-based group
7:30pm
111 Greentree Road in Marlton NJ 08053
*No Childcare provided
FosterLove - VINELAND
Third Friday of each month
7:30pm
1987 S.Lincoln Ave, Vineland
*No Childcare provided
FOSTERLOVE - MARLTON
Fourth Wednesday of each month
7:30pm-9pm
111 Greentree Road in Marlton NJ 08053
*Childcare Provided with registration for children birth through age 11
JANUARY
8
January
Montgomery County
6:30pm-8:00pm
Hosted at McLean Bible Church Rockville Campus12440 Park Lawn ⬩ Rockville, MD 20852
RSVP HERE
8
January
Prince William County
6:30pm-8:00pm
Hosted at Community Bible Church10525 Battleview Pkwy ⬩ Manassas, VA 20109
RSVP HERE
8
January
Fairfax County
6:30pm-8:00pm
Hosted at CityLight Church2929 Graham Rd ⬩ Falls Church, VA 22042
RSVP HERE
Baltimore City Support Group
Third Monday of the month
6:30-8 pm
Hosted at Redemption City Church3301 Eastern Ave ⬩ Baltimore, MD 21224
Childcare is provided ⬩ Please register below
Contact: jillian.wilkerson@fosterthefamily.org
Note: January’s group will met on January 29 due to MLK Day
Catonsville Care Community
Third Tuesday of the month
*Registration Required - Book Study*
[The Catonsville Care Community is a faith-based group for mom's to give and receive encouragement, pray, and connect with like-minded foster and kinship moms]
6-7:30 pm
Hosted at Foster the Family Baltimore Center200 Ingleside Avenue ⬩ Catonsville, MD 21228
Childcare is provided
REGISTER HERE
Contact: kristen.christy@fosterthefamily.org
Owings Mills Support Group
Second Friday of the month
6:30-8 pm
Hosted at Liberty Church PCA11301 Liberty Road Owings Mills, MD 21117
Childcare is provided
Please register below
Contact: kristen.christy@fosterthefamily.org
Harford County Support Group
Third Sunday of the month
6-7:30 pm
Hosted at Grace Assembly of God2303 Churchville Road ⬩ Bel Air, MD 21015
Childcare is provided ⬩ Please register below
Contact: LAJ711@hotmail.com
8
January
Montgomery County
6:30pm-8:00pm
Hosted at McLean Bible Church Rockville Campus12440 Park Lawn ⬩ Rockville, MD 20852
RSVP HERE
8
January
Prince William County
6:30pm-8:00pm
Hosted at Community Bible Church10525 Battleview Pkwy ⬩ Manassas, VA 20109
RSVP HERE
8
January
Fairfax County
6:30pm-8:00pm
Hosted at CityLight Church2929 Graham Rd ⬩ Falls Church, VA 22042
RSVP HERE
When: Thursday, February 8th @ 9:30 AM-11AM

Location: Easter Seals
350 Braden Ave.Sarasota, FL 34243

Childcare: Please bring your toddler with you for hands on training

Registration: FREE

Training Description:
Join your friends from Foster the Family and Easter Seals for hands on strategies to promote strength and development! Please bring your little one along as well. Due to the hands on training, space is limited for this training.
GRAND RAPIDS
3rd Saturday of the month
9:30-11:00am
Hosted at Hope Lutheran Church100 Packard ave Se ⬩ Grand Rapids, MI 49503
Childcare is provided
Please register HERE.
Contact: grandrapids@fosterthefamily.org
WHAT TO EXPECT

Recommended Resources

We’ve put together a list of various resources to help you in your foster, adoptive, and kinship care journey.

Faith-based resources are listed with an *asterisk.
LOCAL RESOURCES + PARTNERS

Formed Families Forward exists to improve developmental, educational, social, emotional and post-secondary outcomes for children and youth with disabilities and other special needs through provision of information, training and support to adoptive and foster parents, and kinship caregivers.

Project Belong is a faith-based organization that inspires, recruits, and resources the local church to care for vulnerable children with the love of Christ. Foster Families can get connected to a care community to provide wrap-around support during their foster care placement.

The Foster Closet Virginia provides gently used donations to foster, adoptive, and kinship families such as infant-youth clothing, infant gear, toys, highchairs, exersaucers, linens, pack n plays, and occasionally cribs/crib mattresses when available! You can contact Foster Closet Virginia at 571-244-0263 or at FosterClosetVirginia@gmail.com.

DC127 is dedicated to protecting children by empowering parents to preserve families. They provide wraparound services to parents and grandparents who are isolated, overwhelmed, and under-resourced. We advocate for new foster homes by providing information sessions and connecting parents to the Child & Family.

Lasagna Love volunteers deliver lasagna to families in need of a little extra help.  A request for lasagna can be made online.

Cakes4Kids partners with agencies that support youth (ages 1-24) who are at-risk or underserved, including youth in foster care, group homes, homeless shelters, transitional and low income housing, domestic violence or human trafficking shelters, substance abuse programs, and refugees.  Professional bakers make cakes (or cookies or brownies) for special events like birthdays, reunification, adoptions, or other youth-centered events.  Cake requests must be submitted by an agency such as FTFDC or county DSS. To request a cake, please email us at hello@fosterthefamilydc.org.

CASE: The Center for Adoption Support and Education is a national leader in mental health services for the foster care and adoption community. They provide counseling, resources, and training for foster and adoptive families and children.

A Mother’s Rest is a charitable non-profit that coordinates affordable, frequent respite retreats nationwide for caregivers of all kinds. Open to all foster and adoptive parents.  The closest retreat location to the DC area is New Market, MD.

Box of Balloons is a non-profit organization on a mission to make each birthday happy and every child celebrated. Every child deserves to feel special, be celebrated and have a memorable party. Their fundamental goal is to provide joy, hope and celebration for the child and their family.

One Simple Wish connects wishes with donors. An agency (such as FTFDC) submits a wish on behalf of a child it is helping. One Simple Wish posts it online in hopes that a donor can make the wish come true. To submit a wish, please email us at hello@fosterthefamilydc.org.

Unbelievably Resilient
is an organization led by former foster youth that provides an outlet for former foster youth to share their stories and support one another.

Fostering Futures is a voluntary program available to young adults in foster care after age 18 that provides housing support, education/vocation assistance and other resources. The program enables local departments of social services to provide additional supports through age 21 to assist participants in successfully transitioning into adulthood.

Tickets for Kids provides free access for low-income and at-risk kids to attend the arts, cultural, educational, and athletic venues of their community. Through partnerships with youth-serving organizations across the U.S., we strive to make trips to museums, concerts, ballgames, science centers, zoos, and more part of every childhood. For the latest ticket offerings, be sure to join our Facebook Support Group.

BOOKS

The Whole-Brain Child by Daniel Siegel and Tina Payne Bryson

No Drama Discipline by Daniel Siegel and Tina Payne Bryson

*Foster the Family by Jamie Finn

The Connected Child  by Karyn Purvis

The Connected Parent by Karyn Purvis and Lisa Qualls

*Reframing Foster Care: Filtering Your Foster Parenting Journey Through the Lens of the Gospel by Jason Johnson

*Thriving as an Adoptive Family by David & Renee Sanford

Parenting your Internationally Adopted Child by Patty Cogen

*Orphanology by Tony Merida & Rick Morton

Parenting the Hurt Child by Keck & Kupecky

Toddler Adoption: The Weaver’s Craft by Mary Hopkins-Best

Beyond Consequences, Logic, and Control by Heather T. Forbes

Attaching in Adoption by Deborah Gray

Parenting Is Your Highest Calling: And Eight Other Myths by Leslie Leyland Fields

*Anatomy of the Soul by Curt Thompson

Nurturing Adoptions by Deborah Gray

The Out-of-Sync Child by Carol Kranowitz

Wounded Children Healing Homes by Jayne Schooler, Betsy Keefer Smalley, Timothy Callahan

Ready or Not: 30 Days of Discovery For Foster & Adoptive Parents by Pam Parish

CHILDREN’S BOOKS

Maybe Days by Jennifer Wilgocki and Marcia Kahn Wright

Kids Need To Be Safe by Julie Nelson

The Invisible String by Patrice Karst

Love you From Right Here by Jamie Sandefer

Families Change by Julie Nelson

Adoption is Both by Elena Hall

Braver Than Me by Rhonda Wagner

Suddenly Siblings by Gail Heaton

Broken Crayons Still Color by Toni Collier and Whitney Bak

CONFERENCE’S + TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES
LOCAL PARTNERS