I heard a podcast recently that offered vital information. Here are some important statistics about our nation’s protection of children:
- Each year in the U. S., over 7,000,000 children are referred to child protective services.
- Over 400,000 children are in the foster care system.
- Over 100,000 children in our country are approved in our foster care system for adoption but don’t have families willing to take them in.
- The number one reason children enter into foster care is not physical abuse; it is neglect.
- The average age of a child in foster care is eight years old.
Statistics on adoption:
- According to the Barna Institute, Christians active in churches are twice as likely to adopt children than other Americans.
- Evangelical Christians are five times more likely to adopt.
- Evangelical Christians are more likely to adopt older kids and kids who have special needs or behavioral health issues.
- More American families are needed to offer their homes for foster care. (On a personal note, my wife Judy and I found foster care very fulfilling.)
All this makes the recent federal guidelines troublesome for Christians. (See https://www.acf.hhs.gov/media/press/2024/biden-harris-administration-finalizes-rule-strengthen-protections-youth-child.) Basically, this new policy is forcing foster parents to support the Health and Human Services values for foster children. Included in this vision is how foster parents facilitate their foster children’s view toward gender, gender change, pronouns, support the injection of puberty blockers, and more. In some states, these new policies are already implemented.
This places families of faith and foster children in a quandary. America needs more foster homes and organizations. However, these guidelines potentially remove faith-practicing Christian foster parents from the picture. Keep in mind that our nation frantically needs more homes to care for foster children. Yet, it is potentially cutting itself off from the group most likely to help.
We in the church live in precarious times.
I’m Mark Edge; thanks for reading.
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