Churches, Foster Care Group Find Heavenly Fit

Brian and Julie O’Connor had long thought about being foster parents, but horror stories about the child welfare system discouraged them. Then a speaker from Child SHARE came to their Reseda church and changed their lives.

“I don’t think we would have become foster parents without Child SHARE,” said Julie O’Connor. “They have given us incredible support.”

The ecumenical nonprofit organization recruits parents from church congregations and serves as a liaison with the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services.

Since signing up with Child SHARE earlier this year, the O’Connors have been given three foster children. Julie O’Connor says that was the easy part.

“Giving them up was the hardest part,” she said. “Then my mom told me: ‘You can’t change their lives, but you can change their moments.’ ”

Los Angeles County has initiated an aggressive outreach plan to attract more adoptive and foster parents for the hundreds of children waiting for homes. To assist in the effort, Child SHARE is holding community forums to recruit parents.

Peter Digre, director of the Department of Children and Family Services, explained that more foster and adoptive parents are needed this year because of a new adoption law that makes it easier for the state to take custody of children from dangerous or neglectful families.

“We are starting to see 100 more kids a month who need a home,” he said. In Los Angeles County, there are nearly 50,000 children in foster care.

County officials said they sought out Child SHARE because of its strong ties to more than 250 churches and its work assisting foster and adoptive families.

“The churches are ideal for a number of reasons,” said Dan Revetto, a policy advisor to Supervisor Mike Antonovich. “One, they are composed of thousands of parishioners sharing a philosophy of helping their fellow man. Two, they are composed of thousands of people who meet regularly and can help communicate the county’s need of foster families.

“And three, they already have a track record with networking with a number of parishes throughout California.”

Founded by two members of Westwood Presbyterian Church in 1985, Child SHARE has become one of the county’s premier foster and adoptive parent recruiters. So far this year, Child SHARE has enlisted 25 new foster families through its network of churches and plans to find temporary or permanent homes for more than 250 children.

Don Simkovich, director of church relations for Child SHARE, said the purpose of the organization is to make foster parenting and adoption more manageable.

Apparently it is working.

Child SHARE parents stay active an average of five years--twice the average of foster parents countywide. In addition, 15% of foster children are adopted by their Child SHARE parents, double the national average.

“We want foster parenting to become part of the life of their congregations,” said Simkovich of the churches associated with Child SHARE. “This is working because people are doing this out of a real sense of calling.”

Child SHARE is recruiting three types of volunteers: full-time foster parents, families seeking to adopt children and parents to help full-time foster parents with occasional baby-sitting chores.

In addition to recruiting volunteers, Child SHARE offers support groups, baby-sitters and equipment cooperatives where foster and adoptive parents can borrow baby seats, cribs and toys. Child SHARE also provides certified families for temporary foster care.

On any given day, there are as many as 200 children who need a home in the county. Last year 1,270 children in Los Angeles County were adopted. Digre said that figure needs to be doubled this year, and he is counting on Child SHARE churches to take up the slack.

“We need all the help we can get,” Digre said. “Every adoptive family is as precious as gold.”

Parents do not have to be affiliated with a church to participate in Child SHARE programs. For information, call (818) 957-4452.