Faith, Families and Community Partnerships Initiative

The Faith, Families and Community Partnerships Initiative unites people with lived experience together with human services professionals, people of faith and policymakers to reimagine the actions necessary to stabilize families and reduce the need for foster care. The partnership is a collaboration of the Lutheran Services in America Results Innovation Lab and ELCA World Hunger to ensure all children in the U.S. live in safe, stable, and permanent homes that advance their health and opportunity.

We know that a majority of children removed from their families are removed for neglect. Neglect is most often a symptom of poverty with millions of families working to overcome systemic barriers to food, shelter, clothing, medical care, child care and other necessities. Black and Native American children are at significantly heightened risk of being removed from their families, and therefore it’s essential to improve race equity in publicly-funded systems, such as child welfare and housing.