Foster Care is a temporary program by design. It’s intended to be a short-term solution to ensure children’s safety and well-being when their biological families are unable to adequately meet their needs. Sometimes, the biological parents are never able to resume care for their children, and placement with extended family members or adoption is pursued. However, there are other times when the system works just as intended.

Today’s blog post is about one of those times, and spotlights a foster family from our North Texas office who was willing to stand in the gap for both the child in care and his biological parents. Read this story below about Trevor (name changed) and consider what your role might be to serve as a foster parent for children like him. Read More

“Oh, I could never foster. My heart is too big!” 

As foster parents, we hear this statement all too often. What a slap in the face! Are foster parents’ hearts too small to feel the pain that fostering can bring? Not at all! In fact, it is quite the opposite. 

God calls us to take action and love these children. Matthew 25:37 reads, “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” We are to love them with our whole hearts, as He loves us.

These children walk into our homes already having experienced the world’s brutality. As we care for them and work on their healing, something even more miraculous happens.  Read More

We are often asked questions about becoming a foster parent:  How long does it take? What is involved?  What can we expect?

The answer is long and varied, but the important thing to know is that all agencies will walk you through this process, step by step.

It’s important to think about the context of foster parenting first. Put yourself in the shoes of parents who have had their children placed into foster care. Think about what they might be feeling.

• If you were unable to care for your child for a period of time, what would you want an agency like Buckner to know about the potential parents who would substitute for you?
• How would you want Buckner to support and supervise the family caring for your child?
• How could Buckner ensure the best possible care for your child?

When you think about foster care in the context of your biological child, you’ll begin to understand why the process of becoming a foster parent for others’ children is so rigorous!

3 Steps to Becoming a Foster Parent

Step 1: Training and evaluation. Becoming a foster parent is a process. It will take a while, often up to 6 months. 

• Buckner will train you about the process, the children, behaviors and the different style of parenting children in foster care need. This involves several hours of training and is offered to help you make the best decision for your family:  Foster? Adopt? How? What type of child? What are the needs? What support will we need? Read More

As a young girl, I always dreamed of marrying “Prince Charming” and having the perfect little family. As time went on, I did marry the man of my dreams. But the “perfect little family” never came.

A few years passed, we tried fertility treatments that did not work, and then we began to see a fertility specialist.

During this time, I know God spoke to me, and I surrendered to His will. I was moved by Proverbs 3:5-6, which says: “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.”

I gave up my desires to have my own biological children, and He gave me a peace that surpasses all understanding.

My husband and I immediately began attending information meetings for foster care and chose Buckner as our agency. Within six months we had completed all our training and requirements. We became a foster-to-adopt family. Read More

You may begin to notice an increase in media attention given to the needs of children in foster care.  Why?  May is nationally recognized as foster care month, raising awareness for the need to advocate on behalf children who have been abused, neglected, and oftentimes forgotten. 

Foster care month brings to light the urgent needs of young people without a voice.  These children need someone to protect them, no matter their age. 

A recent study completed by the Dave Thomas Foundation illustrated misconceptions about foster care:

• “45% of Americans erroneously believe children enter foster care because of juvenile delinquency.”  In reality, “children enter the foster care system through no fault of their own, as victims of neglect, abandonment or abuse.” Read More

Editor’s Note: Many of our readers will recognize Juan Pablo from previous stories in the Buckner Today magazine and on our website. Some may have even met him on a Buckner mission trip to Guatemala!

When Juan Pablo was a young child, he suffered an accident that left him badly burned and scarred. John and Emily Wiggins met Juan Pablo in an orphanage on a Shoes for Orphan Souls mission trip to Guatemala in 2006. Three years later, in December 2009, they finalized Juan Pablo’s adoption and he came home. His father, John Wiggins, wrote this reflection and update on Juan Pablo’s life in the U.S.

By John Wiggins 

A little more than two years ago, Juan Pablo left Guatemala and arrived in Indiana with us, his new family and permanent home. We first met him when he was 3 years old and brought him home at age 7. Now he’s 9. His transition to living in a new place with his new family could not have been smoother. Though our adoption process spanned three years, we reflect on how God had shaped and prepared Juan Pablo’s heart to be able to leave what he knew as home to be joined to a new family and environment. Read More

As a part of our ongoing weekly updates from the experts, it is our hope to introduce, on occasion, children who are currently in our care.  It’s important to us at Buckner for the public to know and love these children as much as we do!

While the following information contained in this child profile is accurate, names and certain identifying information have been changed in order to protect the child’s privacy.  Children are in care most often for their protection, and it is our responsibility at Buckner to keep them safe, both physically and emotionally.  All of the information below was provided by the child and his or her Buckner caseworker.  It is our hope that profiles like this help our readers have a better understanding of the types of children we care for at Buckner.

We are pleased to introduce Eli, who is 4 years old.  Here are some things Eli wants you to know about himself:

“I’m most proud of my room. I got to go with my foster mom and pick out cool stuff to go in it. It’s only my room, with my own bed and everything! I have lots of clothes and shoes, and I even have different clothes to sleep in at night.” Read More

I am blessed to be an uncle five times over. One of my nephews is from Russia, and learning more about his experience led me to discover this book, a memoir written by an alumnus of the Russian orphanage system.

As a veteran of social services work for the past 18 years, it’s easy to get lost in statistics and theory related to the “orphan experience.” In this book, however, I was reminded of the immediate, personal experience of what it is like to grow up without a family.

Krutov talks about the stigma of being known as an orphan, and the treatment experienced by anyone with this label in Russia is shocking. Read More

If you are reading this blog, more than likely you are already passionate about impacting the lives of orphans and vulnerable children.

You may be an adoptive or foster care parent, a recent mission trip participant or a church staff member. But, how do you engage more people to make a difference in this cause?

To help with this challenge, Buckner has created the Abba, Father devotional guide and toolkit. This toolkit can be used to increase awareness of issues impacting orphans and vulnerable children and provide direction on practical ways that your church can become involved. 

New resources included in the kit are:
o Abba Father:  A toolkit for serving the least of these, including
o An extensive bibliography of books, websites, movies and videos on a wide range of issues.
o A map to connect, cooperate, or collaborate with Buckner, depending on where you live
o A volunteer opportunity description to serve as a liaison between your church and Buckner
o Abba Father:  A 30-Day Devotional Guide Celebrating the Hope of Family 

Buckner recruited a broad base of individuals and organizations to contribute their expertise to the kit. Adoptive and foster parents share their journeys in several of the daily devotionals; leaders of organizations such as Embrace Texas, the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute and the Christian Alliance for Orphans also contributed.

The resource is user-friendly, practical and affordable (free!).  Many of the resources are easily accessible as a download from the Pure Action website.

Here are 4 ways the Orphan Care Kit could help your church get more involved in orphan care ministry:
1. Distribute the Abba Father Daily Devotional Guide to your small group and devote one or more discussions to one of the issues addressed in the guide.
2. Refer pastors or other church leaders to the kit.
3. Review the toolkit and organize a discussion around ways that your church may be able to collaborate with Buckner.
4. Review the bibliography and select resources that could be used for a book club discussion or movie night.

Want to learn more about orphan care, help increase awareness for others or learn how to connect with Buckner?  If so, this resource is for you!

• Click here to access the Orphan Care Kit.

Candace Gray currently works with Buckner Children & Family Services in Dallas as the Director of Service Offerings and Performance.  She joined the Buckner staff in 2010.

No one likes to think about child abuse. But by understanding the types of abuse and some of the possible indicators, everyone can become more informed by learning how to recognize the signs of abuse and what to do about it.

Physical Abuse is one type of abuse that results in an injury to the child. Physical abuse injuries can range from bruising to fractures. It may even result in a child’s death. Examples of physical abuse are hitting, kicking, beating, punching, burning or choking. Victims of physical abuse may also be stabbed or shaken.   Some of the warning indicators of physical abuse are:

• frequent injuries such as black eyes or bruises ( without explanation) Read More