It's Time

Another story has hit the news. A young life taken by the hands of her mother. The cases and stories are becoming all to familiar.

But do you realize that for every story that is reported, there are many more that are not? In fact, according to a general government statistic, more than four children die of abuse EVERY DAY. There are dead babies and children we never hear about. Sorry to put it so bluntly but the numbers are not okay. Even one, it's not okay.

Every 10 seconds there is a report of child abuse made. Think about that for a minute? Did you take the whole minute? There were 6 reports made in that time.

Is your stomach turning yet?

There are 3,000 kids in the foster care system in Orange County. 18,000 in Los Angeles. 55,000 in California.

Whether it be physical abuse or sexual, neglect or abandonment, that's 55,000 children who were removed from their home due to abuse.

On any given day there are about 400,000 kids in out of home care in the US.

What are we doing about it?

I recently spoke to a man who is a part of LA's DCFS, he said it best by saying "this is not a government issue, it's a church issue". And he's right, we are ALL called to care for the widow and orphan. I am not claiming that we are all called to foster or adopt, trust me, I know that is not the case.

What can we do?

1. Be a respite home. Get licensed and be a home a child could be placed while they are looking for a more long term family. It is emergency foster care. You may have a child for 24 hours to 30 days.

2. Volunteer at a children's home. Many children's homes are entirely understaffed with little help from the community. Go to your local group home, if your community has one, and see what you can do. It may be something as simple as reading or playing games with the kids.

3. Hire an older Foster child. It is so common for kids who come into the system at an older age to "aged out of the system". They are on their own and aren't prepared to survive alone. Make a conscious effort to hire teen foster kids and get them on the right path for survival alone. Keep in mind that it is estimated that 20-40% of toady's homeless people were once foster children.

4. Donate. Whether this means donating items to a foster mom or group home or donating to agencies. Use the resources you have to give to the kids who do not.

5. Become a CASA worker.
CASA workers a great asset for advocating for foster kids. For many abused children, a CASA volunteer is the only constant adult presence in their lives.

6. Ask. If you don't know what you can do, call a state worker or foster agency and find out what they could use your help in doing. There is a great need for homes, support and loving people just like you.

Oh, and if you suspect child abuse in any shape or form. PLEASE, report it. 

It's time to make a difference. Can you help?

**Statistics on this post were obtained from Childrensrights.org and kidsdata.org**