CommonCall: Invest in eternity; support foster families

Stephanie and Buck Baskin of Mesquite know firsthand that foster parents need the support of a loving community. They are pictured with their children Niki, James and Selah. (Buckner 2019 File Photo)

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Stephanie Baskin understands foster parents need the support of a loving community.

Stephanie and Buck Baskin of Mesquite have fostered 17 children since 2011. Two of those foster children—Niki and James—became part of their forever family through adoption. The Baskns have one biological child, Selah. (Photo by Lupe Zapata)

She wants her church—and other congregations—to provide wraparound care for those who open their homes and hearts to children in the foster care system.

She and her husband Buck have fostered 17 children since 2011, working through Buckner Foster Care and Adoption. They adopted two of them—Niki in 2013 and James in 2014. They also have one biological child, Selah.

The Baskins attend the Mesquite campus of Lakepointe Church, a multisite congregation based in Rockwall, where they found much-needed support and encouragement as foster parents.

In November, she joined the staff at Lakepointe Church as local missions manager to coordinate the church’s ministries to foster parents and adoptive families.

During more than a decade of fostering, she said she and her husband—who works for the Sunnyvale Independent School District in an administrative role—discovered they “couldn’t do without” the support their church family provided.

“Families in the church who are fostering receive a gift card every time they receive a new placement,” Baskin added. “Life groups provide food, putting together a meal train for foster families.”

The church has a longstanding track record of providing quality training conferences for foster and adoptive families. Baskin hopes to begin offering “lunch and learn” continuing education opportunities in the near future.

Foster families can feel isolated

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Lakepointe Church paused some ministries related to fostering families, such as respite care nights, when trained volunteers cared for children while parents enjoyed a break, Baskin noted.


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Prior to the pandemic, the church also sponsored support groups for foster families that met twice a month—a ministry Baskin hopes to begin again soon.

“Foster families face challenges that can leave them feeling lonely and defeated,” she said. They need the support they find from other families in similar situations.

The foster care system exists to provide safe and nurturing homes for children whose families are in crisis. Whenever possible, the goal is to restore families of origin, Baskin noted. That means foster families live with a never-ending cycle of joy and sorrow.

“When a mom and dad do what is necessary to bring their families back together, it’s a beautiful thing,” Baskin said. “At the same time, a piece of your heart is missing when a child leaves your home.”

Build relationships with CPS personnel

Throughout the pandemic, church members have continued to care for local and area employees of Child Protective Services, a division of Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, she noted.

“We have provided snacks and just loved on the people in the CPS offices,” she said.

Because of the longstanding relationships the church has established with area CPS offices, their personnel know they can call Lakepointe Church when needs arise, she said.

Texas faces an acute shortage in available licensed homes where children and youth in foster care can be placed—particularly older children who have experienced trauma and need an advanced level of care. During the first half of 2021, more than 500 children spent at least one night in an unlicensed state-operated placement, such as a CPS office, a hotel or a church building.

‘Not an easy fix’ to foster care crisis

There is “not an easy fix” to the problem, but children in the foster care system and the families who care for them need the kind of support local churches can offer, said Kathryn Houlton, deputy director of faith-based and community engagement with the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services.

“There are so many different ways for congregations to get involved with supporting families and assisting with the foster care crisis,” Houlton said.

Obviously, churches can encourage couples to consider becoming foster parents. To raise awareness, Houlton suggested churches promote a Blue Sunday event in April in recognition of Child Abuse Prevention Month and a Stand Sunday event in November in support of Foster Care Month.

Not every church has the resources to offer the level of foster care support Lakepointe Church provides to foster families. However, every church can do something, Houlton insisted.

How to help

  • Pray for children and families.
  • Host an informational meeting where church members can learn how to become a foster parent or adoptive parent. Encourage members to participate in an online CPS 101 webinar at 10 a.m. on Feb. 10, where they can learn about programs and services the agency provides. To sign up, click here.
  • Create a foster closet at church to provide clothing and other supplies for children in foster care.
  • Host a Heart Gallery event, a traveling photographic and audio exhibit created to help find adoptive families for children in foster care. For more information, visit www.heartgalleryofamerica.org.
  • Sign up to meet the needs of families through CarePortal, an online platform that allows CPS caseworkers to post needs of families and permits congregations to respond directly. Visit www.careportal.org.
  • Encourage church members to receive training to provide respite care during Parents Night Out events for foster and adoptive families. A Parents Night Out training webinar is scheduled at 10 a.m. on Feb. 24. To register, click here.

Finally, be sensitive to needs of foster families within the church. They are unlikely to ask for help, but they almost always appreciate it when offered, Baskin noted.

“Just ask them, ‘When can I bring you dinner?” she suggested.

Ministry to foster families makes an everlasting impact, Baskin asserted.

“If you want to make a difference in your community, this is a way to do it,” she said. “When you support the families, you’re making an eternal difference in the lives of kids. By investing in their lives, you’re investing in eternity.”

To learn more, contact Kathryn Houlton at (512) 963-4197 or email [email protected].

To find a regional faith-based and community engagement coordinator with the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, visit www.dfps.state.tx.us/Community/Volunteer/coordinators.asp.

Read more articles like this in CommonCall magazine. CommonCall explores issues important to Christians and features inspiring stories about disciples of Jesus living out their faith. An annual subscription is only $24. To subscribe to CommonCallclick here.


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