The Foster Care Crisis Is Getting Worse. Here’s What the Church Can Do About It

A caseworker sits in a parking lot late at night with a child she still barely knows. The child has a backpack, maybe a trash bag of clothes, and keeps asking the same question: “Where am I going?”Usually, there’s an answer ready.Lately, there often isn’t.America has lost nearly 42,000 licensed foster homes since 2019, according to The Imprint’s Who Cares Project, even as more than 328,000 children remain in foster care. In some states, agencies are warning about severe placement shortages, espe