SigMT

Montana's most vulnerable population is in the midst of a crisis – one that all too oen has too few warriors on the frontlines. Somewhere in the shadows, our abused and neglected children desperately wait for the safety, solace, and stability of a loving home – a home many of them may not even realize can exist, because so many have simply never experienced such a place. As if growing up wasn't chock-full of enough challenges and difficulties already, the burden is even heavier for children who have been displaced by trauma. e sobering reality is there simply are not enough Montana families willing to provide stable homes for the vast number of abused and neglected children living in our communities. And when we close our doors on them, the impact is devastating. Half of the children who "age out" of the foster care system without having a safe and stable biological, foster, or adoptive home will develop a substance dependence disorder, according to the National Foster Youth Institute. Only one-quarter of children without those stable homes will graduate from high school or earn a high school equivalency certificate, and just three percent will ever earn a college degree. Seventy percent of girls who age out of the system will become pregnant before they turn 21 years old, while 60 percent of boys will end up with at least one criminal conviction. Montana currently has the second-highest per capita rate of children in out-of-home placements in the nation. "Right now, there are approximately 3,000 children in Montana's foster care system," says Cameron Schieldt, director of marketing at Child Bridge. Nearly every single one of them is a victim of abuse or neglect. e trauma surrounding the circumstances of their removal from their biological families is further compounded by the removal itself, as well as the fact that a staggering 40 percent of children going into foster care in Montana have already been through the process at least once before. Every time a child is removed from her biological family, there is a 50 percent likelihood that she will endure three or more foster placements moving forward. Without a safety net of stable, loving foster families willing to help support Montana's children, our most valuable assets are le in a free- fall. When those same underserved children age out of the system and head out to fend for themselves, their tenuous lifeline of frays dwindles even further. e heartbreaking statistics speak for themselves. In 2011, Steve and Mary Bryan founded Child Bridge, a 501(c)(3) organization commied to recruiting, equipping, and supporting foster and adoptive families and the children they bring into their homes. e Bigfork-based nonprofit has expanded dramatically over the past decade, and now provides support and resources to foster families from its offices in Great Falls, Glendive, Billings, Bozeman, Bue, Missoula, and Kalispell. SiG MT 48 The Perpetual Crisis Fostering Support Through Child Bridge Photo Provided Being able to stay with their siblings is a major concern for kids in foster care. Tricia Collins opened her heart to fostering and adoption after spending time in the foster care system in her youth. Ricardo and Carly are letting their love for their three foster daughters guide their way.

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