Miriam’s Heart, a New Jersey-based non-profit, received a More Than Enough matching grant to implement CarePortal in New Jersey. More Than Enough partners with churches and organizations that want to improve foster care through collaboration. Grantees, like Miriam’s Heart, are recognized with grant funding to work within their communities to create transformative change for children and families in foster care.
The $10,000 matching grant will be provided with individualized coaching in fundraising, strategic planning, network building, and access to national leaders and practical tools to help communities find families, restore families, and support families to provide safe and stable homes for children at risk.
“Each of our grant winners embodies a dedication to collaboration and innovation that is absolutely essential for communities to go from not enough to more than enough for children and families in foster care. For far too long, our communities have felt paralyzed and powerless against the large national foster care numbers that are most often shared in public settings. However, when communities simply focus on the smaller number of children in care in its own community, it quickly becomes clear that more than enough is not only possible, it can happen in a relatively short time. Miriam’s Heart and our other grant recipients are shining examples of how faith communities are committed to pressing toward the reality of every child thriving in a safe and supported environment” said Jason Weber, National Director of More Than Enough.
Since 2019, Miriam’s Heart has been working to bring CarePortal, a software platform that allows collaborative responses to children and families in need, to New Jersey. Children in New Jersey remain at risk because there is a lack of resources and stability.
“We have seen a drastic drop in the number of children in placement despite troubling numbers of abuse reports to the hotline. This, combined with rapid case closure following reunification and the current COVID-19 risk, job loss, virtual school, and food insecurity, places a significant burden on families and increases the likelihood of child abuse and neglect. It is imperative that churches, organizations, and the local government work together in our community on behalf of children and families to accomplish far more than we could ever achieve alone. The More than Enough matching grant will help us to grow these vital collaborative efforts right here in central New Jersey,” said co-founder Elizabeth Occhipinti.
