Allison Coble, Author at Faith to Action

CAFO Webinar Recap: Strategies and Resources for Transition to Family-Based Care

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 [...]

CAFO Webinar Recap: Strategies and Resources for Transition to Family-Based CareAllison Coble2024-01-10T14:25:26-05:00

For Unto Us a Child is Born!

We are thankful for your support and partnership in our mission to see families empowered and supported to care for children. As we reflect on the Christmas story this year, Faith to Action is reminded of the strength and power of vulnerable children and families. In the nativity, almighty God embodies the most vulnerable state of humanity; a newborn, wholly reliant on others for His care and protection. While contradictory to western culture, scripture continually displays God’s preference for utilizing those whom others would least expect to do great things. From His birth to His ministry and ultimate death, Jesus displayed [...]

For Unto Us a Child is Born!Allison Coble2024-01-10T14:24:38-05:00

Noonday Collection: Strengthening Families through Fair-Trade Business

Tags: Community Strengthening If you were to journey across the ocean to Uganda and enter a lively artisan workplace filled with the sounds of chatter and fluttering fingers rolling colorful paper beads, you would meet Olivia. Olivia’s story is not unlike those of other women in the room. Just two years ago, Olivia was a single mother unable to find consistent employment. Out of sheer desperation, she was on the brink of sending her beloved daughter Rachel to an orphanage. Herself an orphan and survivor of exploitation, Olivia felt that she had no other options [...]

Noonday Collection: Strengthening Families through Fair-Trade BusinessAllison Coble2024-01-10T14:24:04-05:00

HOPE International: Making a Way to Respond to God’s Call to Care for the Fatherless

Tags: Adoption | Foster Care | Community Strengthening | Economic Empowerment In southern Rwanda, Jean Marie and his wife own and operate the only restaurant in their small town. They also have a successful farm producing an abundance of crops. Their newfound financial stability has allowed the couple to support 11 orphans in addition to their own 5 children. In the Democratic Republic of Congo, a young widow named Mama Atiya has a thriving fish business that has granted her financial security, allowing her to adopt 4 orphans from her community into her family and [...]

HOPE International: Making a Way to Respond to God’s Call to Care for the FatherlessAllison Coble2024-01-10T14:22:44-05:00

Identity Mission: Fostering a Continuum of Family Care Options for Honduran Children

Tags: Adoption | Community Strengthening | Economic Empowerment Best practice in caring for orphaned and vulnerable children indicates the need for a continuum of care options for children currently living in—or at risk of being sent to—institutions. While a growing number of ministry leaders, practitioners, and researchers agree that children are best cared for within families, the question of what type of family placement setting looms large. One child may have living parents with whom they can reunite, while another may have no trace of a family. It is God’s inherent love for every child that [...]

Identity Mission: Fostering a Continuum of Family Care Options for Honduran ChildrenAllison Coble2024-01-10T14:21:42-05:00

NEW RESOURCE: Transitioning to Family Care for Children: A Guidance Manual

The Faith to Action Initiative is excited to announce the launch of the much-anticipated Transitioning to Family Care for Children: A Guidance Manual. Just in time for Orphan Sunday on November 13, this manual provides practical guidance and tools for churches, faith-based organizations, donors, and others who are transitioning care for children away from residential care to care within families. This resource is aligned with biblical principles, a strong evidence base, and a growing movement within the Church that affirms the importance of family in every child’s life. The Guidance Manual provides an overview of the key concepts and [...]

NEW RESOURCE: Transitioning to Family Care for Children: A Guidance ManualAllison Coble2024-01-10T14:20:10-05:00

CAFO Webinar on Finding Your Piece of the Foster Care Puzzle

Tomorrow, Wednesday, November 9th, Christian Alliance for Orphans (CAFO) will host a webinar entitled, "Finding Your Piece of the Foster Care Puzzle." When people think about getting involved in foster care, the first things that often come to mind are foster parenting and adoption. To be sure, these are two important pieces of the foster care puzzle. But, what are some of the other pieces and how can God use your unique gifts and experiences in some of these vital areas? This webinar is designed to help you and others in your church understand multiple pieces of the foster [...]

CAFO Webinar on Finding Your Piece of the Foster Care PuzzleAllison Coble2024-01-10T14:18:46-05:00

New Resource on Exploring the Continuum of Care

Today the Faith to Action Initiative launched our new resource on the continuum of care for children. This web-based tool will help you explore a range of care options for children who are separated, or at risk of separation, from parental care. The continuum of care interactive graphic depicts an overview of the different types of care to consider when a child is separated from family care. The colorful graphic allows you to explore each topic on the continuum of care through links to short narratives, helpful resources, and inspirational examples. Multiple pathways illustrate the uniqueness of children’s circumstances [...]

New Resource on Exploring the Continuum of CareAllison Coble2024-01-10T14:18:03-05:00

Reaching Vulnerable Teens Through Life Skills and Mentoring

Tags: Community Strengthening When someone envisions orphan care and adoption, it is likely that images of babies and toddlers come to mind. However, across the globe, the group that most often remains overlooked and largely at risk are the adolescents who are on the verge of aging out of orphanages or foster care. These youth are at risk of never having the opportunity to experience the importance of being part of a family. For nearly 12 years my context has been the government-run orphanages of Ukraine and the former Soviet Union. Upon moving to Ukraine [...]

Reaching Vulnerable Teens Through Life Skills and MentoringAllison Coble2024-01-10T14:17:15-05:00

CAFO Webinar on Developing Social Work Capacity in Low-Resource Environments

Tomorrow, Wednesday, October 19th, Christian Alliance for Orphans (CAFO) will continue their monthly webinar series, Knowledge + Practice. These webinars translate research into actionable information that OVC care practitioners can implement immediately to elevate the quality of the care they provide. This tenth webinar will explore principles of social work that are at the core of ensuring vulnerable children are cared for in a safe and healthy way. Due to lack of availability or inadequate funding, many organizations have limited or under-resourced social work staff, posing risks to the wellbeing of the children and families they serve. How do we [...]

CAFO Webinar on Developing Social Work Capacity in Low-Resource EnvironmentsAllison Coble2024-01-10T14:15:59-05:00

Following God’s Lead: My Journey into Family-Based Care

Tags: Community Strengthening | Economic Empowerment Journeys in life rarely take a straight path, and my journey into orphan care is no exception. Yet, God promises that if we trust in Him, he will direct our paths (Proverbs 3:5–6). In my case, God’s directing was a U-turn. In 2010, I signed up to go on a short-term mission trip to serve at an orphanage in Zambia. Five years later, I found myself in Uganda empowering local churches to support vulnerable children and their families, advocating for family-based care rather than the use of orphanages. When [...]

Following God’s Lead: My Journey into Family-Based CareAllison Coble2024-01-10T14:14:54-05:00

New Report on the Links Between Education and Children’s Care

Family For Every Child recently announced the launch of their report Schools that Care, which presents the key findings of a scoping study on the links between education and children’s care. The report argues that children’s rights to education and care are inextricably linked, with a loss of adequate care commonly pushing children out of school, and education systems having the potential to help prevent unnecessary family separation, abuse and neglect. It is further argued that education systems need to adapt to better support children in different forms of alternative care. The research presented in this report was led [...]

New Report on the Links Between Education and Children’s CareAllison Coble2024-01-10T23:24:04-05:00

When a Mother Embraces Hope

Tags: Community Strengthening Every day in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia’s capital city, there are mothers who rise in the Kore’ slum not knowing what they will feed their children, how they will provide for their basic needs, and if they will find work for the day. This reality is especially true for the multitude of single mothers with little or no help from family members. Without support, work is a daunting task, as access to childcare is out of reach for most. However, for some women in Kore’, this is changing through the work of Embracing Hope Ethiopia [...]

When a Mother Embraces HopeAllison Coble2024-01-10T23:28:47-05:00

CAFO Webinar on Building a Foundational Culture of Orphan Care in Your Church

Today, Wednesday, October 5th, Christian Alliance for Orphans (CAFO) will host a webinar entitled, “Everyone Can Do Something: Building a Foundational Culture of Orphan Care in Your Church." This webinar will explore how we can move caring for the orphaned and vulnerable from the peripherals of what our church does into the foundational culture of who our church is. As we look at how the cooperative efforts of the Body of Christ work themselves out through the care of the orphaned and vulnerable, we find the same premise to hold true— we’re not all called to do the same thing, [...]

CAFO Webinar on Building a Foundational Culture of Orphan Care in Your ChurchAllison Coble2024-01-10T23:29:50-05:00

International Alternative Care Conference in Geneva

Faith to Action is excited to be part of the International Alternative Care Conference in Geneva, Switzerland. This is the 2016 edition of the annual conferences hosted jointly by the International Institute for the Rights of the Child (IDE) and the Centre for Children's Rights Studies at the University of Geneva (CIDE). For this “international alternative care conference”, the two hosts are partnering with several concerned international agencies that make up the Steering Group. The conference provides a bridge between research, policy and practice in the overall sphere of alternative care, and a much-needed space for discussion and exchange among [...]

International Alternative Care Conference in GenevaAllison Coble2024-01-10T23:32:26-05:00

Building a Children’s Home? Ten Thoughts to Consider

In our work with Casa Viva, we have the privilege of interacting with a variety of people around the issues of children separated from their first families. We are deeply aware of our shared calling and common motivation to care for children in need. As people have come to us seeking insight on the particulars of 24/7 care, a list of reflective questions to consider has been slowly taking shape. We share them with you as a way to begin the dialogue on what is best for children when they need a safe place to sleep. These are not [...]

Building a Children’s Home? Ten Thoughts to ConsiderAllison Coble2024-01-10T23:34:58-05:00

The Threshold Is a Sacred Space: The Casa Viva Story

The story of Casa Viva is a story of children, family, and the local church. As the founders, we can see that it stretches from our childhood summers visiting grandparents in Nebraska to our present work in Costa Rica caring for children through local families and the local church. We are well aware that our parents created homes that were safe and delightful. Our memory of family when we were children is deep and rich. Our motivation to get involved with the issues facing children and families around the world is embedded in the collective past of our strong [...]

The Threshold Is a Sacred Space: The Casa Viva StoryAllison Coble2024-01-10T23:42:12-05:00

Launch of New Guidelines on Children’s Reintegration

Today Family for Every Child launched the Guidelines on Children’s Reintegration, which have been endorsed by 31 organizations, including many of the largest child protection agencies in the world. The Guidelines call for greater investment in reintegration, and advocate for it to be pursued as the primary response before other care options are considered. The Guidelines were spearheaded by an interagency group led by Family for Every Child, that was set up in 2011 and has conducted an extensive literature review and consulted with 158 children, 127 service providers and policy makers from 66 organizations across over 20 countries. [...]

Launch of New Guidelines on Children’s ReintegrationAllison Coble2024-01-10T23:43:45-05:00

Casa Viva: Family as Sacred Space

Tags: Economic Empowerment For a child, there is no substitute for the lively discussion, the eye contact, the emotional support, and the affection that take place within families. Jill Aspegren, Co-Executive Director of Casa Viva, offers a compelling appeal to care for children who have been separated from their families: “The time has come for the local church to learn again the ancient art of hospitality—to welcome the guest in the name of Christ. Children know when they have entered the home of a real family—the threshold is a sacred space.” Prior to Casa Viva, Jill and [...]

Casa Viva: Family as Sacred SpaceAllison Coble2024-01-10T23:45:52-05:00

Northeast Adoption & Child Welfare Summit in October!

The Northeast Adoption & Child Welfare Summit is just a little over a month away! Healing children and adolescents with adverse life experiences requires a concerted effort at many levels across multiple sectors. The Northeast Adoption & Child Welfare Summit brings together expert speakers, adoptive and foster parents, professionals, and church leaders to be trained, encouraged and build new networks that will strengthen efforts to better care for vulnerable children, adolescents, and their families. There will also be 50+ breakout sessions! By attending this summit, your community will be better prepared to care for vulnerable children and families [...]

Northeast Adoption & Child Welfare Summit in October!Allison Coble2024-01-10T23:47:51-05:00

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About Allison Coble