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Foster Care Christian Collaborative

The Foster Care Christian Collaborative is a grassroots effort in Brevard County activating church-wide partnerships to care for vulnerable children who are at risk, in, or exiting foster care, as well as those children becoming legally available for adoption.
Our goal

Our goal is to present unified and clear information regarding foster care to Brevard’s churches and to provide on-ramps to action.

This goal encompasses: reducing the number of kids entering care and needing out-of-home care, improving the foster care experience for kids and families, a home or support system for every child (up to 25 years old), and breaking the generational cycle that exists in foster care

Connect With A Partnering Organization

Use the links below to jump to an organization on this page.

Prevention

Keep children safe at home with their families.

Recruit and Retain

Ensure loving homes for children in foster care. Advocate for vulnerable children.

Aging Out and Adoption

Support teens aging out of foster care. Give local waiting children a forever family.

Prevention

Care Portal

CarePortal is a technology platform that connects the needs of vulnerable children and families through social workers to local participating churches, giving churches a real-time opportunity to respond. CarePortal is managed in Brevard County by Equipped and Encouraged.

Contact:

Bonnie Ferguson, 
bonnie@equippedandencouraged.org

  • Receive email communications with real-time needs of children at risk of coming into foster care, children reunifying with their parents, and children in relative/non-relative care through CarePortal.

Safe Families for Children

Safe Families for Children surrounds families in crisis with a caring, compassionate community of trained church volunteers, with the goal of keeping children safe and families together. Safe Families for Children mobilizes the church to serve our neighbors with radical hospitality, disruptive generosity, and intentional compassion.

Contact:

Jessica Ray, Safe Families Church Engagement Coordinator, jray@safefamilies.net

  • Host a Safe Families’ 101 info session at your home or church
  • Identify a Ministry Lead to run point at your church
  • Apply to become a volunteer! You can serve as a Host Family, Family Friend, Family Coach, or Resource Friend.
    • Host Family: keep children in your home for short-term overnight stays (not foster care, caregivers maintain custody)
    • Family Friend: support a caregiver, child, or
    • Host Family with relationship
    • Family Coach: work with caregiver to establish and meet goals to move out of crisis, connect with community resources
    • Resource Friend: no training required, provide goods or services to families or other volunteers. (Think dinners, moving furniture, gift cards, etc)
  • Recruit 3-4 friends to join you!

Brevard C.A.R.E.S.

Brevard C.A.R.E.S. is a family-centered, strength-based, and community-driven model for child abuse prevention and family preservation. The program’s unique “Wraparound” approach and Family Team Conferencing offer services and support to families experiencing stressors that could lead to abuse, neglect, or abandonment

Contact:

Christine Williams-Kelly, Clinical Services Development Manager, christine.williams-kelly@brevardcares.org

  • Report suspicion of child abuse at 1-800-962-2873
  • Help prevent child abuse and neglect by donating to the organization.

Love In the Name of Christ of Brevard

Love In the Name of Christ of Brevard mobilizes the Church to walk with people in need physically, spiritually, emotionally, and relationally thus strengthening the families who are at risk of losing their children.

Contact:

Megan Starnes, Operations Coordinator, mstarnes@loveincbrevard.com

  • Refer a family experiencing hardship to Love INC to receive wrap-around care.
  • Volunteer as a client mentor to work one-on-one with clients through relational life coaching.

Every Mother’s Advocate

The vision of Every Mother’s Advocate is a world where mothers are no longer separated from their children due to preventable causes, but are equipped and empowered to raise their children in stable and nurturing homes. We exist to prevent family separation by advocating for mothers in crisis.

Contact:

Liz McGinley, Coordinator of Every Mother’s Advocate, Liz.McGinley@waysforlife.org

  • EMA is seeking female Advocates for our moms in crisis, to support them through a 10-week parenting program and build nurturing relationships with them to show them dignity and care.
  • EMA through WAYS for Life, is signed up for the Care Portal, where churches can fulfill needs/wishes for moms in need.
  • EMA is part of a wraparound service through WAYS for Life, where volunteers have opportunities in many ways, from organizing our meeting areas, food storage, mentoring, tutoring, etc.

Recruit and Retain

LoveIncBrevard Foster Care Guardian

Florida Guardian ad Litem

The Florida Guardian ad Litem Office represents Florida’s abused, abandoned, and neglected children in the court and community. Through the collaboration of a multidisciplinary team that includes an attorney, a trained volunteer, and a certified child advocate manager, our team provides quality legal representation for children’s best interests while assisting the child in expressing their needs and wishes.

Contact:

Cynthia Rickerd, Volunteer Recruiter, Cynthia.Rickerd@gal.fl.gov

  • Volunteer as a child advocate for a child that has been removed from their home.
  • Advocate for the well-being of a child in foster care as a Guardian ad Litem volunteer.

Brevard Family Partnership

Brevard Family Partnership (BFP) is the lead child welfare agency responsible for the safety, stability, and well-being of abused, neglected, or abandoned children in Brevard County. JUST ONE is an initiative of BFP to partner with faith-based organizations to find quality foster homes for children. If every Brevard church included JUST ONE foster family, the love and support needed for every child entering foster care would be provided.

Contact:

LaChrista Jones, Director of Licensing/Programs, LaChrista.Jones@brevardfp.org

  • Become a foster or adoptive parent.
  • Donate or Volunteer
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Equipped and Encouraged

Equipped and Encouraged is a local nonprofit that is equipping and encouraging foster families through engagement of the church and community. Founded and run by current and former foster parents, Equipped & Encouraged comes alongside  faith communities to guide them in supporting foster and adoptive families in intentional and practical ways.

Contact:

Bonnie Ferguson, Founder & Director, bonnie@equippedandencouraged.org

  • Host a Foster Parent Night Out and give foster parents a much-needed break.
  • Join our WRAP ministry where teams of 10-15 people wrap around a single foster family to provide childcare, meals, prayer, encouragement, and other support.
  • Meet tangible needs by organizing a collection for foster families.
  • Support ongoing programs like bi-monthly foster parent support groups by offering space, childcare, or financial or in-kind donations.
  • Organize or sponsor a quarterly family fun event for foster families.
  • Provide training to your children’s ministry staff and volunteers in trauma-informed care.
  • Teach your congregation about God’s heart for foster care and adoption.
  • Let us guide you in building a ministry that utilizes the gifts and talents of your congregation. Maybe your church has a group of mechanics who want to do free quarterly oil changes for foster families, or a group of woodworkers who want to start a bed-building ministry, or a group of quilters who want to make quilts for kids in care, or a group of cooks who want to start a frozen dinner ministry? … there are as many ideas as there are people. If you have an idea, let us know, and we’ll work on building it together!

One More Child

One More Child provides Christ-centered services to vulnerable children and struggling families, locally and globally, to meet urgent needs and offer lasting hope.

  • Become a licensed foster parent
  • Develop a Foster Crew ministry at your church to mobilize church members to walk alongside foster families on their adventures. We train you and walk alongside you to share what we have learned through decades of caring for foster families. We help you mobilize volunteers to provide foster families with necessities as well as the support and encouragement they desperately need to do what God has called them to do.

Aging Out and Adoption

Brevard Family Partnership

Brevard Family Partnership (BFP) is the lead child welfare agency responsible for the safety, stability, and well-being of abused, neglected, or abandoned children in Brevard County. JUST ONE is an initiative of BFP to partner with faith-based organizations to find quality foster homes for children. If every Brevard church included JUST ONE foster family, the love and support needed for every child entering foster care would be provided.

Contact:

LaChrista Jones, Director of Licensing/Programs, LaChrista.Jones@brevardfp.org

  • Learn about the adoption process.
  • Become an adoptive parent.

WAYS for Life

WAYS for Life (WAYS), formerly known as Ready for Life Brevard, is a solution-based skills center supporting youth ages 15-25 in homelessness and crime prevention. In a unique therapeutic environment, WAYS offers wraparound services to youth who are unaccompanied or aging out of foster care. WAYS partners with local churches in a variety of ways, including mentoring, emergency housing, program volunteers for the WAYS food pantry, clothing closet, GED program, events, activities and more.

Contact:

Pam Bress, Executive Director, Ways For Life, pam.bress@waysforlife.org

  • Volunteer as a WAYS Coach. WAYS Coaches help youth aging out of foster care develop real workplace soft skills and navigate their employment path. WAYS Coaches also provide mentorship and assistance in establishing economic stability, education, a support network, healthcare, and basic life needs/skills.
  • Employers: Provide employment and train our youth to be great employees and an asset to your team and industry.
Camelot Community Care
For over 30 years, Camelot Community Care has been serving children and families experiencing abuse, neglect, behavioral health, and substance abuse issues. As a Non-Profit charitable organization, we accomplish our mission of enabling children and families to realize their fullest potential by stopping the cycle of abuse and neglect in families and in our community. No child should have to recover from their childhood, and you can join us in keeping children safe and creating a bright future for our most important resource.

Contact:

Kristin Pirozzi, Post Adoption Coordinator, kpirozzi@camelotcommunitycare.org

  • Become a foster or adoptive parent.
  • Support a foster or adoptive family.
  • Provide advocacy, emotional support, and a variety of enrichment opportunities for the children and youth in our care as a volunteer.
  • Youth Mentor Partners: for those volunteers who are interested in mentoring as Camelot volunteers, completed a specialized application, have cleared a background check, and have completed a mentorship training requirement.
Learn More

Have a question about the Foster Care Christian Collaborative or Love INC’s involvement in this initiative? Please contact Megan Starnes at mstarnes@loveincbrevard.com.

Email mstarnes@loveincbrevard.com
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