EDITOR’S NOTE: Tiffany Crumer is Assistant Vice President (East) for MBCH Children & Family Ministries.
National Foster Care Month is observed annually each May. It’s a time dedicated to raising awareness about foster care and recognizing the team of professionals who support, encourage, provide guidance, and can be a sounding board for children and youth in the foster care system. It is also the month of the year when we stop and celebrate mothers for all they mean to our faith, our families and our society.
Your MBCH Children and Family Ministries team of Christian professionals not only works with children and youth but is also actively working on a plan for those children and youth to reunify with their biological family, to be placed in a kinship guardianship/adoption with a fit and willing relative, or to be placed with a fit and willing foster family. Thinking for a second about moms, it’s important to remember there is often another member of this team. Some mothers have worked effortlessly to get their children placed back with their immediate family.
As the following story, based on true events, describes:
I met Mrs. L (or Mom) in January of 2024 at her first supervised visit with her two children, ZH (age two years) and TH (age one year). The children were brought into protective custody after ZH ingested a large quantity of fentanyl pills left on the family’s living room floor; she nearly died.
Mom was so broken during that first visit. As a result of her extensive fentanyl addiction, she could hardly stand, and her speech was slurred. She sobbed her way through the visit and clung to her babies. At the end of the visit, through tears, she looked me in the eye and told me how ashamed she felt. I gave her a hug and we prayed together in the Missouri Baptist Children’s Home parking lot. We made plans to get started on services right away.
Mom showed up for the following week’s visit, and the next, and the next… she had to take three buses to attend, but she was always on time. One week, she called to tell me she was going to inpatient treatment, so she couldn’t come to that week’s visit. She said, “I can’t take care of my kids if I don’t take care of myself.” That was a good, life-changing day.
A month later, Mom completed inpatient treatment, and we celebrated her first month of abstaining from fentanyl. She made the difficult decision to leave an unhealthy relationship and moved in with her father and stepmother. She obtained a job working for a shipping company, and over the next few months, Mom completed her court-ordered services. When she and I met during home visits, she told me about the new awareness she had about her addiction, the ups and downs of her childhood, and her goals as a parent. It was clear Mom wasn’t just checking boxes; she was ready for change. Her fierce love for her children was a constant motivator.
About eight months later, Mom’s children moved in with her for a trial home placement. I always looked forward to home visits with this family because they seemed to be at ease once they were back together. It was obvious the children were right where God meant them to be; with their Mom, who fought tirelessly for a year to be the mother her children needed. What a God-given privilege it is to do this work!