The CAFO National Foster Care Initiative Symposium last summer at lifechurch.tv was a very significant time for those present and watching online. More than 40 innovators and experts — many of them the people I most respect in faith-motivated foster care spoke — gave short-but-powerful talks on everything from attachment to mentoring to church-state partnerships. The videos of these talks are being released one per week. (If you’re not receiving these and all the other rich information on the weekly Foster Roster, sign up HERE!).
Some great talks are given by “famous folks” and well-known leaders. But I dare say some of the very best are given by others you may never have heard of. The video being released this week might fit that category — from Dr. Deb Shropshire, titled, Stopping Abuse and Neglect for a Thousand Generations.
Not only is Dr. Deb deeply insightful…she’s also immensely fun to listen to. As her bio explains:
Deb Shropshire is a pediatrician at the OU Medical Center in Oklahoma City. Her heart was captivated when, as a medical student, she encountered the complex world of foster children. That experience changed her career direction, and as a young physician she began to seek opportunities to work with groups that advocate for children who have been abused or neglected. She provides direct health care service to children at a local shelter and through the Fostering Hope clinic, and she serves as a resource for child welfare workers, CASA volunteers, courts, families, and anyone else who encounters the foster system. Her greatest desire is to inspire individuals, communities, and the church to rise up and bring an end to generational child maltreatment through physical, emotional, and spiritual healing of this generation of foster kids.
Catch Dr. Deb’s NFCI Symposium talk below or on vimeo alongside all the NFCI Symposium videos released to date HERE.