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SiG MT 37 SiG MT 49 Child Bridge is not involved in removing children from their biological families or choosing where foster children are placed, Cameron explains. Instead, the faith-based organization focuses on finding foster and adoptive families and helping equip them with the knowledge and support they need. "We're there to help them before, during, and aer placement," Cameron says. "Whether it is a day, a month, a year, or forever, the vision is to have a family for every child." Tricia Collins, a former foster child who is now serving as Child Bridge's Senior Regional Director for Missoula, Flathead, Helena, Bue, and Bozeman, has a multifaceted understanding about the impact having a safe, stable place to live means for children in out-of- home placements. "I was in foster care as a teen myself, and a great Christian family took me into their home," Tricia says. "at set the trajectory to the job I have today." She notes that her "forever" home was not her first foster care placement, but says it was the one that made all the difference. Tricia and her husband, om, soon became foster parents themselves, paving the way for the later adoption of the eldest of their two daughters. ey named her aer Tricia's foster mother, who is now a grandmother to both of their children. e young mother went on to earn a degree in ministry leadership as she and om started recruiting members of their Seale-area church to become foster and adoptive parents, providing them with support and comradery as they navigated their own foster family journeys. Since accepting her position with Child Bridge four years ago, Tricia has been able to continue her mission to draw families into the foster care community much in the same way she and om organically recruited other foster families back in Washington. "We specifically go into churches because that is a place where strong families gather," she says. "ey are well-supported families to begin with because they already have that community around them." In addition to answering questions and teaching prospective foster families about the foster care system and how the licensing process works, the Child Bridge team also hosts resource groups around the state for continuing trauma-informed education for families that are already licensed and have been fostering for a long time, Cameron explains. e organization is especially focused on Trust-Based Relational Intervention – a therapeutic model that trains caregivers to provide effective support and treatment for at-risk children, he says. On top of providing them with tools and resources, Child Bridge unites foster families with one another, creating a community sense of belonging where no one is le to flounder and figure things out on their own. "e families tend to stay," Tricia says. "ey go in for the long haul." TRIO Upward Bound and Upward Bound Math and Science Director Ricardo Sanon and his wife, Montana Tech Head Women's Basketball Coach Carly Sanon, dove headfirst into becoming foster parents less than three years ago. "We listened to videos of kids waiting for homes and once we read there were 3,000 kids in foster care in Montana, we were like, 'We can do this,'" Ricardo recalls. "I think we filled out the application the next day. e Bue couple, who are currently fostering three sisters ages five, six, and 11, says that finding Child Bridge was nothing shy of a "Godsend." Photo Provided Child Bridge provides families with knowledge, tools, and invaluable comradery.

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