Empower Every Community
Learn about our strategy and tools to empower local churches in the lowest income zip codes to strengthen vulnerable children and families near them, with a strong emphasis on prevention.
On any given day, over 400,000 children are in the U.S. foster care system. A number of environmental and societal factors play a role in these kids being separated from their families, and while children of all races can be found in this system, a disproportionate number of these children are Black. Studies have shown that Black children in foster care experience disparate treatment and significantly higher risk for negative outcomes later in life compared to other children in the system.
Black children make up 14% of the total child population, but 23% of all kids in foster care. By comparison, white children make up 50% of the child population, and 44% of kids in foster care¹
23% of Black youth who age out of foster care experience homelessness and 29% experience incarceration, far higher rates than non-Black youth²
Black children are more than twice as likely to enter the foster care system as White children and remain in the system about nine months longer³
Our initiative to Empower Every Community focuses on creative means to build capacity of local churches embedded within communities of great need to take meaningful action for vulnerable children and families near them. These churches, who are profoundly aware of the needs of their community and have established trust among its members, are perfectly positioned to reverse the racial disproportionality and disparity of children in the child welfare system and generate healthy outcomes for all families. Through research of demographic data by zip code, we have identified the specific zip codes at the crux of bottom-up change in the nation, which we call “Crux Codes.” It is here, in these 2,009 communities, where the local church can make an immediate and significant impact to strengthen families, reduce the number of children entering the foster system due to poverty related neglect, and improve the overall wellbeing of children and families through community-based Care-Sharing.
Many of the families involved in the child welfare system have practical needs that, when met by caring members of their community, have the power to drastically improve the trajectory of their lives. CarePortal engages child-serving professionals who work directly with kids and families in crisis to vet and alert the community to those needs while simultaneously mobilizing local churches, organizations, and community members who have the desire and resources to service those needs – all in real-time, in one central place. Here’s how it works.
You can make a difference by committing to provide, fund, or pray for these needs and families by signing up on CarePortal today. Together, we can achieve racial equity and facilitate healthy outcomes for all families.
Out of 33,000+ total zip codes in the U.S., 2,009 meet the following criteria:
>10,000 or >33% Black population
20% of population living in poverty
or
<$53, 000 median household income
