Families for Children - in Florida and Virginia

Children in foster care need families. They need a mom and a dad.

Virginia's newest faith-based program to promote foster care adoption is called "Change Who Waits," focused on matching families of faith with children who need them, desiring to create a line of waiting families, rather than lines of waiting children. See a video promoting the program on Youtube here at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aDE1tgRh6t4. Cry of the Orphan, a collaboration between Focus on the Family, Show Hope, and Hope for Orphans, sponsored the 5th annual National Foster Care Prayer Vigil, May 20-27, 2012. The 2012 National Foster Care Prayer Vigil offered believers the opportunity to pray for the children, the workers, and the families in our nation's foster care system. Perhaps most importantly, it offers an opportunity for believers to ask God to work in His church on behalf of the children, to change our hearts, and use us in their lives.

Whitnae Hallbauer, Regent J.D. 2012, has written about Florida's foster care families conundrum in an excellent article entitled "May the Odds Be Ever in Your Favor: Pitting the Best Interest of the Child Against the Conscience of Religious Adoption Organizations—Which Should Win?" In the article Hallbauer considers Virginia's new conscience clause for foster care agencies, and analyzes how that concept could be an excellent recommendation toward a solution to Florida's foster care conflict. Read the entire article here.

Her article discusses the Virginia Conscience Clause that just became a law March 2012, creatively discussing the issues in foster care parenting in a way that piques the interests of readers. The basic purpose of a Conscience Clause law is to protect a religious adoption organization from being forced to participate in adoptions or placements in foster care that would violate the organization’s religious or moral convictions or policies. The main religious or moral conviction or policy that comes up in regards to this issue involves adoption by same sex couples, intentionally depriving a child of a mother or a father. This article argues that Florida should consider adopting a Conscience Clause law to solve these dilemmas for faith-based institutions that understand a child's best interests are served by having a mom and a dad. That is authentic family restoration for a child.

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