Chapter 11

Foster Care and Adoption

Who are Foster Families? Adoptive Families?

Families take many forms but the hope for all is that they are rooted in love and can provide a safe & stable environment for children.  All the different kinds of families listed below open their hearts and homes in order to support a child or children, sometimes when they are needed the most.

Basic Definitions:

Foster family: A child becomes part of the foster care system when it has been determined that they are in an unsafe or neglectful environment. Placement of a foster child is done through a state or social service agency. In foster care, the child’s legal guardian (typically) maintains all parental rights for the child. Although these rights are managed by the state, they remain intact unless the child is placed for adoption. Placement with a foster family is considered temporary.

 

Adoptive family: Adoption is a legal process where full custody and rights are granted to the adoptive parents. Care for the child is entirely the responsibility of the adoptive parent or parents and is considered permanent. Adoptive parents may adopt children out of the fostercare system when parental rights are terminated. They may also adopt children from agencies that work both domestically and internationally to find children in need of stable homes.

Two people sit on gray porch steps in front of a white door, smiling. One person wears a black polka dot dress, the other wears glasses and a black dress with sneakers. They have their arms around each other.
Two children sit closely inside a cozy tent, sharing a book. Soft lighting and fairy lights create a warm atmosphere.

Biological families: As the name suggests, biological families are ones in which the child or children is born into the family. Many foster families remain in close contact with biological parents.

 

Kinship families: These are families where children are living away from biological parents but with family members (grandparents, aunts, uncles, etc.) or close family friends. Kinship families may function temporarily or could lead to a long-term solution such as adoption.

 

Safe families: These families provide temporary homes for children in danger of entering the foster care system. This “early intervention” is intended to provide assistance who struggle with limited social support or lack extended family.

Ministry Resources for Foster Care and Adoption

If you or your parish would like to support a Catholic foster family, a simple method is by forming a care community. A care community is three or more families/individuals/couples who “wrap around” the foster family with emotional support (check-ins and encouragement) and/or tangible needs (dinner drop-offs, baby-sitting, etc.). Depending on the unique needs of each foster family and the particular gifts/talents of the members of the care community, the structure and feel of each community may look a little different. Yet, all care communities are committed to serving their foster family and to reminding them that their Catholic community supports them in this fundamentally pro-life ministry!

Ideally, as the rapport grows between the foster family and the care community, the members of the community may be called to take a more active role in advocating for foster families at their parish or throughout the diocese. This may be through organizing events for Catholic foster families to meet each other or through offering service activities like back-to-school drives to support local foster children.

If you are a foster family who would like to be connected to a care community or if you would like to serve a foster family as a member of a care community, please contact to Janelle Peregoy at jperegoy@sdcatholic.org or at (858) 490-8295.

To read more about one such foster family and care community in our diocese, read Hulburts’ story in The Southern Cross.

Support Foster Families in Your Parish
White heart-shaped design with floral elements above the words "Springs of Love, Orthodox Foster and Adoption Support" on a black background.

Springs of Love: Catholic Foster and Adoption Support

Springs of Love’s mission is to encourage and equip Catholics to discern and live out the call to foster and adopt. Their Be Not Afraid virtual retreat is available to anyone considering this profound, pro-life ministry.

Resources and Support for Foster and Adoptive Families

Seal of San Diego County on the left, featuring an emblem with a motto, next to the Live Well San Diego logo on the right, which shows a stylized figure in a colorful square.

San Diego County Child Welfare Services

Children throughout San Diego County need your help. Consider opening you heart to a child/youth in foster care.

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Text reads "San Diego County Foster Family Agencies" in black, uppercase letters on a white background.

San Diego Foster Family Agencies

Foster Family Agencies (FFAs) are private, non-profit charitable organizations who partner with the County of San Diego to find loving homes for children placed in foster care.

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Olive Crest logo with green text that reads "Olive Crest." Underneath, the tagline "Strong Families, Safe Kids" is displayed in smaller lettering.

Olive Crest

Besides offering foster and adoption services throughout Southern California, their Safe Families for Children is an early intervention program which seeks to help keep children out of the foster care system and into safe, temporary homes that function as extended family for children and their biological parents.

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Logo featuring a blue circle with a cross and two stylized figures holding a heart, accompanied by the text "Restoration225" and the tagline "Recruit. Rally. Restore." in gray and black.

Restoration225

This organization rallies the Body of Christ to alleviate the foster care crisis in San Diego and beyond. The organization works with churches and volunteers to recruit foster families, retain foster families through prayer and tangible support, and restore the emotional and physical well-being of vulnerable children.

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YMCA logo featuring a stylized "Y" in blue and teal, with text "the Y" on the left. Below, slogans read: "For Youth Development," "For Healthy Living," and "For Social Responsibility" in teal.

YMCA Kinship Support

The YMCA provides support to kinship caregivers, relatives who are raising the child of another
family member.

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Yellow sunburst logo with the text "Promises2Kids" below in blue capital letters.

Promises2Kids

This organization offers over 3,000 current and foster youth in San Diego County with the opportunities and guidance to overcome the difficulties of their past and to grow into healthy and successful adults.

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Silhouettes of an adult and child holding hands in blue on the left. To the right, the text reads "Voices for Children" in blue. Beneath it, smaller text reads "A child heard. A life changed."

Voices for Children

Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) are volunteer advocates for children and youth in
foster care.

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Text reads "Straight From The Heart" in black, playful script. Above the text is a simple red heart outline.

Straight from the Heart

This non-profit resource center in San Marcos helps foster, adoptive and kinship children and their families. They offer support and advocacy to the families navigating the complex and overburdened child welfare system.

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The words "Fostering Love" are prominently displayed in bold letters, with the subtitle "A Glimpse into Foster Care" beneath it.

Fostering Love: A Glimpse into Foster Care

Catholic author Kathleen Paydo shares her family’s decades-long journey fostering children.

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A teal heart with three overlapping hands inside is placed in front of a triangle. Below the heart, the words "Family Network Adoption Center" are written in gray on a black background.

Family Network Adoption Center

Family Network Adoption Center has been facilitating open, private adoptions since 1986.

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The word "BRAVELOVE" is written in bold, capitalized red letters against a white background.

BraveLove

This pro-adoption movement is dedicated to changing the perception of adoption by acknowledging birth moms for their brave decision.

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My Unexpected Journey. My Surprising Joy.

Author Nicole Johnson shares her honest and poignant journey of becoming an adoptive mom.

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About the Coat of Arms

Bishop Pulido’s coat of arms is divided into four quarters with wavy horizontal lines from top to bottom. The blue and white lines represent the Blessed Virgin Mary. They also suggest water, which alludes to Jesus washing the feet of His disciples and to the waters of baptism. The red and gold lines represent the Holy Spirit and fire. The colors also can be seen as referring to the Blood that (along with water) poured from Jesus’ side at His crucifixion, as well as to the bread (gold) and wine (red) transformed into the Eucharist. At the center is a roundel featuring a symbolic representation of the “mandatum” (washing of the feet), which he believes exemplifies service to all humanity. The roundel’s outer edge is a line composed of small humps; it is borrowed from the coat of arms of the Diocese of Yakima, where Bishop Pulido served as a priest before being named a bishop.

About the Coat of Arms

Bishop Pham’s coat of arms depicts a red boat on a blue ocean, which is crisscrossed by diagonal lines suggesting a fisherman’s net. This symbolizes his ministry as a “fisher of men,” as well as how his own father had been a fisherman. The boat is also a symbol of the Church, which is often referred to as the “barque of Peter.” At the center of the sail is a red beehive (a symbol of the bishop’s baptismal patron saint, St. John Chrysostom, who was known as a “honey-tongued” preacher). The beehive is surrounded by two green palm branches (an ancient symbol of martyrdom; the bishop’s ancestors were among Vietnam’s first martyrs). The eight red tongues of fire around the boat are a symbol of the Holy Spirit and a representation of the diversity of ethnic and cultural communities. The red of the boat, the beehive and the tongues of fire allude to the blood of the martyrs.

About the Coat of Arms

The coat of arms combines symbols that reflect Bishop Bejarano’s spiritual life and priestly ministry. The main part of the shield shows four wavy vertical lines on a gold background. These represent flowing waters. This alludes to his chosen motto and also symbolizes the graces that come from the Divine life to quench our thirst for God. The upper third of the shield is red because it is borrowed from the coat of arms of the Order of Mercy, of which the Bishop’s patron saint, Raymond Nonnatus, was a member. The central symbol resembles a monstrance because St. Raymond is often depicted holding one. The Eucharist is Bishop Bejarano’s inspiration for his vocation. It was through the Eucharist that he received his call to the priesthood at age seven and which keeps his faith and his ministry going. It represents the call to offer oneself as a living sacrifice. The monstrance is flanked on either side by an image of the Sacred Heart, alluding to the mercy of God and echoing the idea of a sacrificial offering of oneself united to the sacrifice of Christ, and of a rose for Our Lady. It is an allusion to Our Lady of Guadalupe, patroness of the Americas, and highlights the bishop’s Hispanic heritage.

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