Navigating Heartbreak: The Birth of Every Child Arkansas

How does one navigate a minefield?

With a fantastic guide! And once that minefield is cleared and safe for return, that traveler can return home.

This illustration is the journey that over 4,000 Arkansas children are traversing this very moment. But, in order to help them, Arkansans have needed an organized way to enter the work and participate. They needed to know the lay of the “terrain,” and how their resources and talent were a perfect match for the task at hand.

Every Child Arkansas was formed in February 2023 to answer that need, elevating the needs of the child welfare community: the needs of the child, the biological family and care teams such as foster and adoptive families.

EveryChildArkansas.com connects people to almost 30 organizations that are working together to guide people to their appropriate place in a child/family’s journey, and at their desired level of commitment.

What are we all willing to do to heal Arkansans when this topic of child welfare seems to be peripheral? We will start by showing that these children and families are our neighbors and are ready to receive our compassion.

Before the website launched, a group of private citizens started the Every Child Arkansas movement and invited agencies to join; then, Gov. Sarah Sanders directed the Department of Human Services, Department of Public Safety and Department of Education to participate further, signing an executive order of support. What’s special about this movement is the level of collaboration and the technology used. Every Child Arkansas is a coalition of government, private agencies, faith-based organizations, and citizens who want to transform the state together despite different structures and even philosophies.

I’ve never seen a group of people come together in this massive way, leaving their egos at the door to say, ‘How can we build a better future for chil- dren who are in distress and experiencing trauma, and their families?’

The technology used is also a game changer.

The Contingent’s role is in technology, marketing, and digital training. The Contingent studies how people consume information online and uses online platforms to find gifted Arkansans to share information about the needs of families and children, ultimately leading them to everychildarkansas.com.

It’s similar to “influence marketing” as what you see when you choose which movie to watch on Netflix, or which product to purchase from amazon.com or walmart.com. We’re using technology to inform Arkansans about this epic opportunity to impact lives.

We use algorithms to closely identify audiences who possess hidden skills or the right personalities to help kids and families who are navigating heartbreak. These Arkansans may not know yet they could be destined to be someone else’s hero. We shine the light on them.

Similarly, this article also is challenging you, the reader, to consider what your life would look like if you were to just raise your hand and do something small? Logging into EveryChildArkansas.com can be the start of your journey which may be one of volunteering or even applying to welcome a child into your home and navigating them through their heartbreak.

This approach has worked before. The Contingent used the strategy with astounding success in Oregon. Over a five-year period, 8,000 families and 32,000 volunteers came forward to improve conditions for children and families.

Partnered with the technology, a highly-trained team of foster parents is available to answer questions and encourage seekers by email and phone conversations. The people on the other end of the line have a broad understanding of the system to say, ‘You don’t have to fear this journey. I’m an individual in this state who has done the process, myself. I can tell you the impact it has on the child, but even more, the incredible impact it has on you and your family.’

There is a groundswell happening in Arkansas, a watershed moment. Whether you step forward to become a foster parent, an advocate, cook a meal for a weary foster family, drive a foster child to a dentist appointment, or fill a gift basket for a lonely child on their first night of removal, your role is special, and we Arkansans can support each other.

We’ve got to help kids traverse their troublesome periods. Getting a child through that period may be all he or she needs to return to a situation that may have improved, or to go onward to what’s meant for them next. In fact, six out 10 children removed and placed in foster care are reunified with their original families, placed with a relative, or placed with their other parent. And you can be a vital part in that journey.

So, healthy foster homes are truly needed. But also,

• Compassionate helpers are needed.

• Kindhearted grandparents are needed.

• “Play Aunts” and “Play Uncles” are needed.

Arkansas is the first state in the United States that truly has the potential to provide more than enough for every child before, during and after foster care. We’ve run the statistical projections, and there are enough able-bodied people here in this state to do the job. If everyone does just their part, whatever it may be, there will be enough in Arkansas. And it will make history. And even more important than history, it will change lives.

My wife and I left our careers and moved to Arkansas (my home state) for this work, because it gives value and meaning to our lives. We both shared a passion for helping kids have a balanced household. We met Dr. Phil Goad and others who had a similar passion, and we’ve been running after this mission ever since.

My wife and I were fortunate to adopt twice. Prayerfully, we get to do it again. Many of us inherently think that adoption is the most heroic act you can do for a child. I agree that it has its place. However, helping a child or family navigate their heartbreak is truly noteworthy and what our state needs.

Every Child Arkansas educated me that Arkansas greatly needs wonderful foster families. This is what Every Child Arkansas equips us to do – get close enough to see the true need. And when you see, I don’t think you’ll ever be the same again.