Day 122 - Respite Foster Care

My husband and I are considering providing respite foster care for a local foster care family.

Respite foster care simply means temporarily taking a foster child for a weekend or an overnighter, in order to give the foster parents a much-needed break.

Of course, we would request a little girl between the ages of 4 and 12. She would share a room with our middle daughter. And we are interested in doing this respite care once a month. We are hoping to provide this respite care on a Saturday night, then taking her to Sunday School with our girls, and then having a nice sit-down family-style dinner afterwards. Maybe play some board games, play outside, read books...whatever!

So I have been in contact with the local Family Services. They are sending out paperwork. There's a background check, criminal check, and fingerprinting.

The social worker at Family Services asked if we would be interested in providing some temporary care to emergency foster situations...maybe it's 2 a.m. and the police have responded to a home...and the child in that home needs some temporary foster home until a permanent one is found. I said I would be, yes...

When I brought this topic up to my eldest daughter, she was furious. She says our home is too small, she says she would be too burdened with another child...but she is a typical teenager who believes the world revolves around her. I suggested that once a month when this foster girl is over, my eldest daughter can spend the night with her girlfriends.

My middle daughter was more receptive...but cautious, too.

My husband was all for it, stating to make sure it's a little girl since we have a house full of girls.

So please pray that God would guide us in this endeavor.

Amen.

"Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of God is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world." James 1:27