Under the direction of Kathryn Jean Lopez, director of the Center for Religion, Culture, and Civil Society, National Review Institute will be hosting a foster-care forum — titled “Fostering a Culture of Hope: Exploring Faith-Based Solutions to Foster-Care Needs” — in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, May 24.
The forum will include foster parents, policymakers, researchers, and people who have made it their (loving!) business to connect children and families: On hand will be Charmaine Yoest, Randy Hicks, Kathleen Domingo, Lisa Ann Wheeler, Sharen Ford, Elizabeth Kirk, Natalie Goodnow, and the incoming chairman of the U.S. Catholic bishops’ pro-life office, Archbishop Joseph Naumann. Because of the current opioid crisis, America’s foster-care system is unsustainable (you really should read Darcy Olsen’s recent NRO article, “America’s Flood of Opioid Orphans”), so this is becoming an increasingly important matter for conservatives, and all people. The forum’s goal is educational, emphasizing that we need to prioritze foster care and adoption, as well as highlighting resources. We’re hoping to meet with people who can add to the conversation or contribute to the solution.
Special note: The forum will immediately follow (at the same hotel) the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast. Registration at 9:30 a.m., and the forum from 10:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Do come. Sign up here.