For most Alabamians, the most important thing about this upcoming Sunday (May 12) is that it is Mother’s Day. For the nearly 4,000 individuals who will be helped by the services of Alabama Baptist Children’s Homes & Family Ministries (ABCH) this year, the most important thing about May 12 is that it is the annual Day of Prayer for this important ministry.
As churches celebrate the contributions of God-ordained mothering and stress the importance of stable families, Alabama Baptist churches are being asked to remember those unable to experience such a blessing. Through a Day of Prayer, churches are asked to remember the ministry of ABCH, which steps forward with a variety of ministries when families fracture or when stress threatens to tear families apart.
May 12 is also the day many churches will receive an annual offering for ABCH. The offering is important because special offerings from Alabama Baptist churches provide the single-largest source of the ministry’s financial support. Last year churches gave $2,732,718 in offerings. That is a significant portion of the ABCH expenditures of $8.7 million in 2012.
The Children’s Homes provides a wide range of services for children and their families. There are emergency shelter homes, group homes, foster homes, family care homes, family aid, college and independent living arrangements. There is counseling through Pathways Professional Counseling service and programs provided in churches ranging from conflict resolution to marriage enrichment experiences.
All of this is focused on strengthening families and serving children.
Children birth through preschool who come to the ABCH live in foster homes. So do some other children up to age 18. Foster home children are placed by the Alabama Department of Human Services, and ABCH receives a stipend per child from the state that is passed on to the foster family.
But that stipend is not sufficient to cover expenses, according to ABCH president Rod Marshall. That is why the ministry adds about 15 percent, on average, to the funds going to foster families.
“If a child has a birthday, we make sure there are funds to have a birthday party,” Marshall said. “The state does not do that.
“If one of our children needs braces for their teeth, we make sure they get braces. We go beyond the state’s minimum care requirements,” he continued.
Going beyond minimum standards is a guiding principle for children living in group homes, as well. Expenses for school or a new outfit for Easter are some of the common ways the ABCH attempts to provide an experience as near normal as possible for each of its residents.
Last year the Children’s Homes had a total of 185 children in its residential care program at some point during the year. That equaled 14,307 days of residential care provided. Through its foster care program, the home served 209 children and provided 34,232 days of care in 2012.
In times of emergency, the Children’s Homes is able to provide emergency shelter homes where children can stay while families, social workers and courts decide on permanent plans to best meet the child’s needs.
The Children’s Homes also provides homes for homeless mothers with children. Here the mother finds transitional housing while she gains employment, saves money, receives counseling and learns life skills such as budgeting and parenting. Participation in these programs is required by ABCH. The mother maintains custody of her children in this program and can stay up to one year.
The ABCH even helps its residents who want to attend college. Currently 19 former residents are in the college and independent living program.
The Pathways Professional Counseling program offers Christ-centered professional counseling. This is usually provided in cooperation with a Baptist association. With 34 counseling sites, practically every Alabamian lives within a one-hour drive of this resource.
Fees for counseling are charged on an ability to pay basis but they do not come close to covering the cost of the counseling program. Last year the ABCH received $268,935 in fees but spent $1.267 million to provide Christian counseling to help families.
The Alabama Baptist Children’s Homes & Family Ministries is a pacesetter program. While not the largest child-care program among Southern Baptists or within Alabama, it is unsurpassed in expertise, innovation and Christ-centered service.
That is one of the qualities that has endeared the ministry to Alabama Baptists for more than 120 years. That is why Baptists support the ministry through an annual special offering as well as through the Cooperative Program. That is why thousands of Baptists continue to invest in the ministry in a permanent way.
In 2012, the Children’s Homes received $2.354 million through estates and trusts. That was the second largest source of income for ABCH. Individual donors gave almost another $1.5 million. Again, many if not most of the individuals and estate gifts came from Alabama Baptists who believe in helping children and their families through ministries such as those provided by the Alabama Baptist Children’s Homes.
Administrative costs are kept low; less than 10 percent of expenses. So are communications and development costs. More than 80 percent of the 2012 expenses went into direct services provided to children and their families, according to ABCH-provided information.
This Sunday as you celebrate the mothering you received, as you encourage those still providing this God-ordained investment in others, remember the fractured families around us all. Pray for them. Pray for the Alabama Baptist Children’s Homes and other such ministries that step forward in times of trouble. And, as God leads, help undergird that ministry with a financial contribution to the Alabama Baptist Children’s Homes & Family Ministries annual offering.
Share with others: