Briarwood Presbyterian Church
Thursday, May 17, 2012
worshipping.equipping.reaching
 
"A Home for Every Child"
“Briarwood's Foster Care Ministry seeks to glorify God by providing the training, support and encouragement Christians need to minister to the children, parents and social workers engaged in the foster care system in our community.”
 
 
 
About Briarwood's Foster Care Ministry
 
Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world. ~ James 1:27
 
Briarwood Foster Care Ministry provides "out of home" family care for children and young persons who cannot be adequately cared for by their families due to various family problems or crises.
 
The aim of foster care is to provide a substitute family life experience for the children in need so that they can enjoy a healthy home and community experience.  This care will continue until they reunite with their families, are adopted, or reach 18 years of age, and can begin the transition to independent living.
 
Children under foster care service will stay with the foster family for an average of a few months to two years.
 
What Is Emergency Foster Care?
  • To provide family care to children who need to leave home temporarily in an emergency situation.
  • These situations include families encountering emergency or sudden crises and are without support.
  • Placements are usually less than six weeks.
Briarwood Foster Care co-works with DHR and actively recruits and trains foster families for children who have been neglected, abused or otherwise maltreated.  God wants us to care for the orphans, and what better way than to love them in our nurturing homes  along  side our own families.  
 
What is a Foster Family?
 
A foster family is a family approved by DHR to provide temporary physical care, nurture and emotional support to children placed with them for planned, goal-directed services which will support the permanency plan of these children.
  • Foster families are important partners in the foster care team
  • Foster parents share challenges, frustration and satisfaction in relation to helping and caring for children in need
  • Foster parents are part of the team and must work closely with all parties involved in the child's life, based on mutual understanding  and co-operation with each other
Foster parents may choose to leave the service at any time or they may be asked to leave the service if they no longer meet the eligibility criteria.
 
To comply with State regulations, Briarwood's Foster Care families while providing care, receive a daily reimbursement from DHR to offset the expenses of caring for the child. Counseling and medical care are also provided for the child.
 
Who Makes the Best Foster Parents?
  • Fondness for children and experience and ability in child care.
  • Healthy marriage and stable family relationships.
  • Good health: physical and emotional.
  • Tidy, clean and safe living condition with sufficient living space.
  • One of the parents can be a full-time primary care giver.
  • Age 25 or above.
  • Minimum primary education standard.
  • Willingness to accept social worker’s investigation and supervision, and co-operate with foster child’s biological family.
  • Parents who know they are in a lost world with the only true hope being the grace and forgiveness in Jesus Christ.
Families whose goal is to adopt a child should consider the Foster-to-Adopt or Infant Adoption program.
 
Click here to watch of video of David Sharp discussing foster care.
 
To be considered for foster parenthood, please contact either David Sharp at dsld1@aol.com or 205.776.5710, or Pam Barker at 205.776.5711 or plgbarker@bellsouth.net.