This summer, we're posting the audio of our Senior Thesis Defenses one at a time, starting with Sarah, who will be arguing that the church needs to be more involved in the foster care system.

"The Fostering of Foster Care Through the Church" by Sarah
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**Abstract: When a child needs help, who do they run to for help? Usually to their parents.
Sometimes it is a friend, but the younger someone is, the more they tend to rely on their
parents. However, children in the foster care system don’t have that option; they don’t
have parents to run to. While the foster system’s intentions of wanting to take children
out of toxic environments and put them into a safer place are genuine, it is also in dire
need of help–of the Christian church’s help. Simply because children are taken out of an
unsafe living environment, that doesn’t mean that the place they are sent to is necessarily
a better place than the previous one. Foster children need a loving home, and Christians
are called to love and help all people as God loved everyone. Even though Christians are
called to help all people, not everyone is able to afford the cost to adopt a foster child
which can range anywhere from $20,000-$65,000 primarily depending on the race of the
child in question. It is for this reason that the church should be financially involved with
the foster care system by raising money through the church or by getting involved with
the expenses. The foster care system needs help, and the Christian church, through the
calling of Christ, is the help that is needed.

This podcast features music by Wyatt Darnell, alumni of The River Academy. If you want more information about his music, or about anything else we've discussed here, email us at podcast@theriveracademy.org

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