In the last Christian Alliance for Orphans (CAFO) webinar, Strategies and Resources for Transition to Family-Based Care, experts in advocacy, research, and hands-on experience spoke about helpful information for faith-based organizations to use as they transition from residential care to care within families.
Joining the discussion were Sarah Gesiriech, Executive Director of the Faith to Action Initiative; Beth Bradford, International Child Protection Consultant with Maestral International; and Tara Garcia, Co-Founder and CEO of Identity Mission.
This webinar provides practical tips and highlights free resources, including Faith to Action’s newly released Transitioning to Family Care for Children: A Guidance Manual, to assist churches, faith-based organizations, donors and others who want to transition to family-based care.
Webinar Overview
God’s call to care for orphaned and vulnerable children is undeniable throughout Scripture. As Sarah noted, “This is not challenging the calling – rather affirming the calling to care for vulnerable children through a new approach.” This new approach allows for vulnerable children to know the love and care that only a family can give while also providing support services to birth, relative, foster, and adoptive families. Transitioning from residential-based care toward family care may seem complex at first. The topics discussed in the webinar and the tools highlighted can help guide the process.
Click HERE to listen to the webinar!
Free Resources
First presented at the 2016 CAFO Summit, the Transitioning to Family Care for Children Guidance Manual and Tool Kit incorporate resources gathered through more than 50 interviews with stakeholders directly involved in transitioning to family care around the world. The Guidance Manual empowers readers with practical guidance and links to tools for anyone starting the transition process. It covers a wide range of topics including planning for the transition, resourcing and sustaining the transition, a continuum of family care options, and preparing children and families for transition via illustrative stories, links to tools and forms, and the latest research findings. The accompanying Tool Kit, which will be available Spring 2017, is a searchable web-based resource where individuals can access a range of useful tools, sample case studies, country-specific information, webinar recordings, videos, and other resources.
Testimonial
Tara Garcia – who provided valuable insight into the development of the Guidance Manual – has lived in Honduras improving orphan care for over 10 years. In 2012, however, she “awoke to a call even dearer to God’s heart: to see orphans, the lonely, placed into families.” Tara explains how she has used the Transitioning to Family Care for Children: A Guidance Manual to prepare Identity Mission and other organizations at each stage of transitioning, stating, “We have relationships with several residential homes throughout the country. I’m so thankful to the Lord for Faith to Action…because I can immediately equip my peers and my friends with this resource.”
Educating stakeholders is an essential part of transitioning to family-based care. Please share these resources within your network!
Click HERE for a free downloadable version of the Transitioning to Family Care for Children: A Guidance Manual.
Click HERE to receive notification when the Tool Kit is released.