Faith in Motion Supports Foster Children Throughout Riverside County

The Faith in Motion program works with more than 100 Riverside County faith-based partners to support activities, collect and distribute donations, provide resources and host recruitment events for families with a desire to open their homes and hearts to children in foster care.

The program seeks to develop lasting collaboration and partnership between the faith-based community and the Riverside County Department of Public Social Services.

“Faith in Motion helps fill resource and service gaps by connecting the local faith community to the needs of children and families involved in the child welfare system. It also establishes lasting relationships for clients through foster parent recruitment and mentorship for foster youth and young adults.”

Capen has fostered 11 children and adopted two. Her adoption and fostering journey and how she came to lead Faith in Motion is detailed in a podcast that can be found at rivcodpss.org/dpss-news/podcast.

The program's establishment has its roots in the Family-to-Family initiative launched nationwide in the late 1990s in an effort to ensure children involved in the Child Welfare System have families and communities that provide them with care, support and protection from harm. Recognizing the importance of linking birth families, foster youth and resource families to networks of community support, Riverside County sought to expand family and community involvement with child protection. This effort involved engagement with community organizations and faith partners.

In 2006, Orange County Children and Family Services developed the Faith in Motion program, which branched out to other counties. Riverside County DCFS initiated a Faith in Motion Collaborative in 2013 and in 2018, Riverside County DCFS developed a Faith in Motion contract.

Capen said there are more than 100 faith-based partners that the program works with in communities across Riverside County, including churches in Temecula, Murrieta and Menifee.

The program hosts four major annual events that all faith communities are welcome to participate in through volunteerism, donations, hosting a booth and more. The Young Adult Holiday Event is a celebration for foster youth ages 18-21 and Foster Youth Graduation is a celebration for foster youth graduating from high school.

Since November is National Adoption Month, FIM hosts a National Adoption Day Celebration on the first Saturday of that month for families across the county to come together to finalize their adoptions and celebrate becoming a forever home to children in need. Each February, a Give Love Drive is held to collect donations that will benefit those in foster care based on the needs outlined by DCFS.

“There are approximately 4,000 children currently in foster care in Riverside County. The need is great for qualified resource families willing and able to provide safe, stable homes to children and youth.”

She said the goal of Riverside County DCFS and Faith in Motion is to safely reunite children with their families.

In situations where that is not possible, we help children find safe, loving, permanent homes. On any given day, 100 children are waiting to be adopted to be part of a forever family. Most children coming into care have experienced some form of trauma and our greatest challenge is finding families who are willing and able to meet their needs.

She said when children cannot remain at home and are placed with a resource family, remaining in their own neighborhoods and communities is a key factor of success. The recruitment and retention of capable foster parents, however, is a challenge for child welfare agencies and there is a critical need, throughout the county, for those willing to provide care for older children and adolescents, siblings and those with medical, emotional and behavioral needs.

Faith in Motion's monthly meetings are currently online and open to new and current faith leaders interested in participating in the program. For more information, visit faithinmotionrivco.org.