A Broken System

I have a comprehensive Things I'm Reading post coming up later this week, but when I ran across this article, I knew it needed an entire post on it's own.

The statistics she sites are staggering, but I know they are true.  You see, the boys' biological mother spent time in foster care.  This cycle, the abuse and neglect that they endured is cyclical.  While we are SO blessed that our children never had to return home to their abuser/s, this is hardly ever the case. Campbell's story, the one that repeatedly ends in her returning to the person who caused her the most pain, that's the norm.

And that norm makes me sick.  It's the norm that my boys' biological mother felt, and it is undoubtedly the reason that my boys are here and not with her.

Why should it be so hard to advocate for children, for the future of the world?  Why should it be nearly unheard of that charges are pressed, and jail time served by those committing horrific crimes against babies and children? Why is biology an indicator of what's best for a child?

Foster care isn't an answer for these children, it's a short-term fix.  But when that short-term is up, permanent loving homes should be sought. Can you imagine the difference these kids could make if they were not repeatedly sent back to their attackers?  Can you imagine the difference this would make in the future of our country?

The research is there, but the solution is not.  We have to be the solution... I pray that God shows us how!

Matthew 25:40 “And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’