Caring for orphans has been at the heart of One More Child’s mission since our ministry began more than 120 years ago. Founded in 1904 as an orphanage in Arcadia, Florida, we provided a safe haven for children who lost their parents or whose families could no longer care for them. Over the decades, our ministry evolved into group homes and later evolved into a thriving foster care ministry, meeting the needs of even more vulnerable children and struggling families.
Throughout our history, we have been blessed to witness thousands of children find their forever homes through adoption, and we joyfully celebrate each of them during National Adoption Month.
As followers of Jesus, it is our calling to care for orphans, and currently, there are thousands of children waiting to be adopted in the United States. Over 108,000 children are eligible for adoption. On average, these children wait approximately 3 years to be placed in a safe, loving home. But tragically, not all children find their forever home. In 2022, 18,538 children aged out of the foster care system without finding a forever home that would bring emotional, tangible, and financial support. Without this loving support and stability, many of these children will generally struggle with attaining postsecondary education, gainful employment, housing stability, and negative interactions with the criminal justice system.
Lacking a safe, stable, and loving home can contribute to challenges that endure for a lifetime. That’s why we need dedicated, compassionate foster parents to care for vulnerable children and show them the kind of love that can transform their lives.
One More Child is fully dedicated to maintaining reunification as the primary function of foster care—but we see that in some situations, reunification is not an option. In these instances, many One More Child foster families embrace adoption. This month, we celebrate stories of adoption as we remember that we, too, have been adopted into the family of God by our loving Heavenly Father.
Becoming Family
One of the most beautiful parts of adoption is seeing people who were once strangers become family. For the Millers,* adoption grew their family in more ways than one.
It started with Amy.* Born prematurely and underweight, she was placed with One More Child licensed foster parents, Matt* and Ann* Miller. Matt and Ann cherished Amy from the moment she arrived in their home, and they worked to help her grow stronger and meet developmental milestones. Amy’s health and well-being quickly improved under the loving care of the Miller family.
Amy was not alone in needing a loving home, however. She also had two older sisters who were removed and placed in the care of their biological uncle. Whenever possible, foster care workers try to place children with family members, but family members cannot always care for sibling groups.
The girls’ uncle, Ian* was able to take in the two older girls but could not care for baby Amy as well. Rather than focusing on the sad potential of Amy being separated from her sisters, Matt and Ann decided to view this as a beautiful opportunity. The Millers connected with Ian and over time built a relationship with him, prioritizing all three girls during visits.
Matt and Ian began to build a brotherly bond through weekly phone calls that discussed everything from the girls’ cases to their own lives and their faith. This bond strengthened even more when Ian began working on the process of adopting his two older nieces, and Matt and Ann began the process of adopting Amy.
Earlier this year, Amy’s adoption was finalized and during the hearing, Ian shared, “When I felt like my world was falling apart, I could call on Matt and he helped me stay calm.” Matt and Ian now view each other as brothers.
Adoption did not just expand the Millers’ family. It united multiple families together in love and care for children in need.
*Names and photos changed for privacy.
Start Your Foster Care Journey
Defend the weak and the fatherless; uphold the cause of the poor and the oppressed.
Psalm 82:3 (NIV)
Scripture commands us to care for the vulnerable—and in all of human history, orphans and children in need of homes have always been among the most vulnerable. Today, foster care is one way we answer this call.
There are more than 343,000 children in foster care in the United States and with approximately 355,000 churches in the United States—the body of Christ can and must answer the call to care for foster children.
You can start your foster care journey TODAY by learning more about foster care with our FREE online course, Foster Care: 101—or you can learn more about becoming a foster parent through One More Child.