We are praising God for many answered prayers, and we want to share the good news with you!
In response to a request from South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster, on January 23, 2019 the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued a waiver allowing Miracle Hill Foster Care to maintain its religious beliefs and still be licensed and funded to recruit foster parents for the state’s foster children. The decision to grant the waiver allows Miracle Hill to continue to be a part of the solution to South Carolina’s foster care crisis. This is great news for all faith-based providers in our state!
During our struggle over the past year, God has brought other faith organizations to our defense, and we, likewise, have had the opportunity to express our support for other groups who want to live out their faith. Just as we have supported Catholic Social Services of Philadelphia in their fight to maintain their religious beliefs and practice for their foster care program, the Catholic Diocese of Charleston has issued a news release supporting Miracle Hill as a Protestant foster care agency. You can read the news release here:
We are so very grateful for the Catholic church's support of religious freedom on our behalf. Catholic leadership recognize that the waiver we received from HHS allowing us to operate according to our beliefs actually protects religious freedom for all faiths in South Carolina, whether Protestant, Catholic, Jewish, Muslim, etc.
Over the past year our foster care program served 400 children, providing them safe, loving homes where they could be nurtured and cared for while awaiting reunification with their families. Twenty-six of these children ended up being adopted into forever homes. Praise God for the freedom we have to serve children in need!
Our foster families truly make the difference. We currently have the privilege of serving about 230 families. These Christian foster parents partner with Miracle Hill because they believe in our mission, are motivated by their faith, and desire to be supported by an organization that shares their faith. So we are deeply grateful for not only the Catholic church's support but other faith groups that have come alongside us in this struggle for religious freedom, including the Coalition for Jewish Values.
We’ve created a brief FAQ Document that helps explain all of these issues in more detail. You may also want to visit our Free to Foster web page.
And finally, because of the waiver we received, the South Carolina Department of Social Services has now issued us a regular license for our foster care program. That's what we've been waiting and praying for!
Thank you for standing with us, praying for us and continuing to support us financially. We could not do this important work without you.
To God be the glory!
