This article highlights the historical role churches have played in child protection stemming from biblical teachings and mandates as well as a current example of church involvement in child protection. It states that the Christian Bible identifies children as a group in special need and, therefore, the care for, and protection of, children has been a key component of Christian faith throughout history.
One way that the Christian faith community has acted on its commitment to the care and protection of children is through the “Safe Families for Children” program, which is a partnership between churches and child welfare agencies. According to the article, the high volume of at-risk families in the country means that many families and children slip through the cracks and do not receive the services they need to provide appropriate care and protection to children. Child protective services, says the author, cannot be the only entity addressing the problems of at-risk families. That is where the “Safe Families for Children” program steps in.
The article describes how the program works and the roles that churches play in assisting parents in crisis as they seek to care for their children by offering support to these parents and allowing them to voluntarily place their children in volunteer host families, recruited by the churches involved in the program, on a temporary basis (with the option to reunify at any time). The fact that both families participate voluntarily in this program (without compensation or expectation of adoption) is a factor that helps to build mutual trust. At the end of the arrangement, the goal is to keep the host family and the “placing family” in contact, in order to reduce social isolation for the placing family and potentially provide ongoing support after the child returns home.
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