Resources: Adoption and Fostering
Many children in care will have experienced a form of abuse or neglect – all will have experienced loss.
This can have a material impact on family life with many going through times of crisis and instability. The adoptive parents and foster carers who are called by God to look after care-experienced children need support from those around them. But, it is hard to know how to ask for help and how to offer help that is meaningful and supportive.
This suite of resources was developed following a period of research canvassing 91 parents/carers who told us what meaningful support looks like for them. The resources offer biblical insight and practical wisdom for those who are seeking to offer support as well as for those seeking support.
Family Care Report
Family Care Report
by Rachel Maclure
Our Family Care Research project aimed to establish a clearer picture of what meaningful support is already on offer for Christian parents of care-experienced children and to make recommendations of how support could be improved.
Following a Call for Evidence carried out between March and June 2022, a report has now been published with a summary of findings of the quantitative and qualitative data collected. The online questionnaire gathered responses from 91 Christian parents/carers of care-experienced children. Of these participants, 10 were randomly selected for a semi-structured online interview.
The report offers insights for parents/carers and their supporters and makes recommendations for future research and practice.
See below for key insights from the report for churches, support networks, and parents/carers.
Videos
A taster of Christian parents & carers of care-experienced children sharing how churches can support them.
Good Day / Bad Day with care-experienced children
A video for you and your church looking at what life can be like in care-experienced families.
Blog Posts
Good questions to ask those who foster and adopt
by Rachel Maclure
Setting up an adoption and fostering peer group
by Rachel Maclure
They just don’t get it
by Rachel Maclure
Resources for churches
The following are downloadable PDFs for you to use in a church context:
Key insights for churches ↗
from the Family Care Report
Good questions to ask those who foster and adopt ↗
– a downloadable version of the above blog post
Setting up and adoption and fostering peer group ↗
– a downloadable version of the above blog post
As well as creating bespoke resources, here are some links that are helpful for churches who are considering developing meaningful support for families who foster and adopt:
Seeing foster parents as local missionaries (CCEF) ↗
Parents/carers see themselves as responding to a calling from the Lord. Acknowledging this is important for creating meaningful support.
Some thoughts on long-term pastoral care (CCEF) ↗
The support that parents/carers need is ongoing. Often, churches are excellent at the emergency response but it’s helpful to prepare for the long-term support as well.
Foundations in pastoral care (Crosslands) ↗
Improving support generally in the church will benefit adoptive and foster families specifically.
What the church needs to know about… (Home for Good) ↗
An article series about different issues that parents/carers face in caring for children from care-experienced backgrounds.
Resources for friends
Key insights for friends and family ↗
from the Family Care Report
They just don’t get it ↗
– a downloadable version of the above blog post
Resources for parents and carers
As well as creating bespoke resources, here are some links that are helpful for parents/carers who are looking for meaningful resources to support them on their journey:
What do we do as parents when our child breaks our hearts? (CCEF) ↗
Parents/carers are often coming to terms with shattered expectations and extreme behaviours. Julie Lowe (from CCEF) offers some helpful insights about how to manage our hearts in the face of disappointments and the demands of our children.
Self-care or dying to self? (BCC) ↗
A blog post that engages with the debate about whether parenting requires dying to self or self-care.
Grief in adoption (Risen Motherhood) ↗
This Risen Motherhood podcast addresses grief in adoption. Helpful for parents/carers in their own journey, but also to share with supporters to help them understand the complexity of feelings in adoption.
Stories of adoption, featuring Jonathan Holmes (Counsel for Life) ↗
A candid conversation with an adult adoptee who searched for birth parents, and how his relationship with God is affected by his adoption.
