Our Mission

We strive to reduce the trauma for children coming into the foster care system by providing a safe, warm, and loving home environment where their needs are met until they are placed in a foster or kinship home.

The Reality …

When a child enters the foster care system. They are removed from their home and then taken to DHR’s office. There the child waits in the caseworker’s office, or a conference room, while a relative or foster placement is found. This process could take hours, sometimes it can take overnight. The caseworker must provide basic childcare as they find a placement. They must provide a place for the child to rest if the process stretches into the overnight hours. In Madison county, air mattresses recently have been provided for the children who must stay in the DHR office overnight. I can’t imagine how terrifying and demeaning it must be to a child who has just experienced being taken away from the people and place they love, to the complete unknown. Having to stay in an office, hearing the caseworker repeat the events they have lived through that day, and over and over hearing the caseworker list their behaviors to the potential placement. For a baby, all of the familiar sights, sounds, and smells of loved ones are gone. The caseworker must adapt to baby’s cues, all while doing their job. This is the reality.

What Could Be …

Our prayer and hope is that this can be changed! Imagine… a warm, inviting home, where volunteers are ready to care for the child and provide every need. The caseworker is provided an office where he or she can work and make phone calls in private, while cameras throughout the house provide constant awareness of where the child is and what is happening and to see that the child is being cared for by volunteers. Volunteers can even support the caseworker. A cup of coffee or a sandwich for a caseworker who has been hard at work and has not had time for lunch would lift the spirits of a tired soul. Imagine the child being supported, cared for, and loved, as they try to emotionally process the horrible day they have experienced. The child will have access to toys, food, a bath or shower, clean clothes, and a bed. As the child moves to their placement, we will provide them with clothes, toys, and other needs. This will help support the relative family or foster family the child is placed with. We believe this could be the beginning of an amazing shift in how our community can support our most vulnerable individuals!