FAMILY ADVOCACY

Seven years before it became a reality, God planted the dream of Desired Haven in the heart of Debi Walker. During that time, God used circumstances to shape the ministry that would become the advocacy program for Desired Haven Family Care. Today, our family care ministry not only provides stability housing for vulnerable mothers and children. Our ministry now reaches beyond the walls of our homes and into communities across Arkansas. While the goal is to expand the reach of families our advocates serve, our advocacy program currently focuses on three areas of emphasis:

• Foster families struggling with placement

• Adoptive families struggling with transition

• Families with children in foster care who are working towards reunification

The advocacy program allows the ministries of Arkansas Baptist Children’s Homes & Family Ministries to support one another in an even greater capacity. Our Connected Foster Care families will now have the advocacy program as additional support to their care of vulnerable children. Further, Desired Haven advocacy program will support the efforts of Connected Foster Care, as a reunification focused foster care provider, to help birth parents work towards reunification. Recently, the Director of the Ranch and the Director of Family Care were able to partner together to enroll the biological mother of a child in the care of a Ranch foster family into the advocacy program, providing her the support needed to begin working towards reunification. To learn more about Desired Haven and how to become an advocate, visit our Desired Haven ministry page at arkansasfamilies.org/family-stability.