What if the most transformative solutions in foster care don’t come from better policies or expanded programs—but from the restoration of broken relationships?
That’s the core question posed by Praxis, a nonprofit that equips faith-driven founders and innovators to build ventures marked by justice, mercy, and lasting impact. In their recent publication, “A Redemptive Thesis for Foster Care,” they offer not a policy checklist, but a visionary framework—one that invites us to reimagine the foster care system as a space for healing, dignity, and belonging.
Rather than focusing solely on what’s broken, Praxis challenges us to invest not just in what works—but also in what heals: people, especially the adults who shape a child’s daily reality.
People, Not Just Programs
Too often, the foster care conversation centers on system improvement. But what if we started by strengthening the adults around the child—birth parents, foster families, caseworkers, and kin?
When adults are supported, children benefit. This means rethinking how we care for foster parents so they don’t burn out, how we equip caseworkers for trauma-informed leadership, and how we treat struggling parents not as cases, but as people with potential for restoration.
From Reactive Systems to Redemptive Communities
The current system often acts only after harm has occurred. A Redemptive Thesis for Foster Care invites us to shift from reaction to prevention—building networks of care that respond before crisis escalates.
This is the heart of redemptive imagination: believing that proactive, relational investment can do more than any policy tweak. It means engaging neighbors, nonprofits, and churches that serve foster families and children in care—walking with families, not just when they fall apart, but so they don’t have to.
Across the country, some ministries are helping churches step into this space—guiding and equipping them to care well for foster, adoptive, kinship, and vulnerable families in their own communities.
Implications for West Virginia
In a state like West Virginia, where the foster care system serves many children and families facing complex challenges, this redemptive lens offers a hopeful shift.
The thesis doesn’t critique—it inspires. It suggests that while system improvements are necessary, lasting change will come when communities are mobilized to restore relationships, surround families with support, and re-humanize every actor in the process.
That includes entrepreneurs who build tools for caregivers, churches that serve as extended family, and civic leaders who prioritize belonging over bureaucracy. These are the builders of a better future—one rooted in connection, not control.
A Hopeful Way Forward
Ultimately, Praxis’s redemptive thesis calls us to rethink success—not just as fewer entries into foster care, but as more families held together. Not just case closures, but long-term relationships that lead to healing.
Foster care may never be simple—but it can be sacred. If we’re willing to build it around healing instead of just control, we might find a path forward that changes lives for generations.
📖 Read the full thesis here:
https://journal.praxis.co/a-redemptive-thesis-for-foster-care-d44d98e5c231
