Frequently Asked Questions

It depends on where you live. You can call our 1-800 number and we would be happy to discuss with you whether we can train you and manage your license. If we cannot, we can refer you to an agency who can help you.

Missouri Baptist Children’s Home does not specialize in international adoptions and completing international adoption home studies; however, we can refer you to an agency that does.

People often are confused by the variety of ministries MBCH provides and how we currently take care of children. Many people have the misconception that the number of kids we care for is limited to the number of kids in our residential program on one of our campuses. In reality, the residential program is only a very small percentage of the ministries we provide.

In 2019, the following statistics demonstrate the number of clients we served:

• Youth served in Therapeutic Group Homes: 48
• Clients served through Pregnancy Services: 185
• Clients served through Transitional Living Programs: 50
• Clients served through Developmentally Disabled Services: 14
• Clients served through Human Trafficking Rescue: 22
• Youth served in Treatment Family Care: 147
• Youth served in Family Foster Care: 378
• Foster/Adoptive Homes maintained: 199
• Relative/Kinship Homes maintained: 104
• Home Studies conducted: 824
• Children who were placed in “Forever Families”: 185
• Agency-Based Counselling Clients: 59
• Community-Based Counselling Clients: 39

• Be at least 21 years of age
• Complete a child abuse/neglect check and criminal record check
• Be in good health, both physically and mentally
• Have a stable income
• Be willing to participate in and complete a free training and assessment process
• Be part of a professional team willing to voice perspectives and concerns
• Be willing to partner with the child’s family
• For MBCH, we require foster parents to be professing Christians and active members of an evangelical church

Costs are minimal to foster or adopt a child/youth in state custody. There is no cost to be trained and licensed. Relative providers and foster parents receive a modest monthly stipend to assist in providing care and to provide some assistance with clothing. Adoptive parents are eligible to receive an adoption subsidy that can help with legal costs and other costs. Relative, foster, and adoptive parents do need to be able to add a foster child to their household without it being a financial burden to their family.

We currently do not have offices and/or staff available to cover every county in Missouri, although we are working to expand our ministry footprint. Missouri has privatized certain services in some counties so that also can be a limiting factor for us to serve in those areas efficiently and effectively. Through our church engagement initiative, we will be happy to visit with you to see what options might be available for you to receive foster parent training.

According to the 2018 audited figures of the MBCH family of corporations:

• 88% of every dollar goes to “Program Services”
• 9% of every dollar goes to “Management and General”
• 3% of every dollar goes to “Fundraising”

Missouri Baptist Children’s Home was started in the late 1800’s specifically to provide services to orphans – children whose parents had died. Epidemics of the 19th century were faced without the medical advances that were seen in the 20th century, so there were more orphans during that time than there are today. Also, over time it was realized that housing children in facilities was not best practice in many situations. Placing children in normalized living environments like relative homes or foster homes in the community is much more desirable. Research bears out that better outcomes are realized when children are placed with families as opposed to being placed in a residential facility. Having said that, this is not true for all children/youth who need to be placed outside their home; a continuum of services including residential care and community-based care all based on what is best for each child/youth is what Missouri Baptist Children’s Home provides.

If you feel that you are not ready to be a parent, you can still give your baby a wonderful life by choosing adoption for him or her. Many adoption options will be available for you to choose from: Open adoption, Semi-Open adoption or Closed adoption. The Birth Parent Advocate  will talk with you about them in detail.

YES! The Birth Parent Advocate will offer support as you choose a stable, loving environment for your baby from families that have been carefully screened and approved. You will have the opportunity to read through profiles of families and have contact with them as your are making your adoption plan.

Yes, The LIGHT House can work with anyone wanting to have a private home study completed.  In fact, you will find out completion timeline is much faster than other agencies!

The only requirements for this are that you are a Christian and are at least 21 years old.

Yes. There are over 1.5 million adopted children in the United States.

The LIGHT House is currently not accepting any waiting families, however, we are still offering home study services!

The amount of information about you that is known is dependent upon the type of adoption you choose. The State of Missouri requires you to provide complete Medical and Social History report for your child no matter what type of adoption is occurring.  The LIGHT House will assist you in having this report completed.

When you choose to place your child through adoption:

• You are making a positive life plan for your baby. You are selecting a family who is stable, loving, nurturing and can provide a secure home for your child;
• You can talk with Birth Parent Advocate who can answer your questions while you make your final decision and is there to offer support;
• You are able to choose the type of adoption plan for your baby and yourself;
• You are making a brave and loving decision for your child.

If you are considering making an adoption plan for your baby, The LIGHT House is here to help. We support your decision to give your baby life.  If you feel that there are too many obstacles financially, socially or emotionally facing you, adoption lets you make a choice in the best interest of your child.

Here's how it works:  The birth mother and father (if he is available and willing) work closely with The LIGHT House Birth Parent Advocate to create an adoption plan for the baby. The Birth Parent Advocate will help support them through the entire process from pregnancy to placement and beyond.

It is hard to predict exact time frames for adoptions. Sometimes it can be as short as a month. In other cases, the wait can be much longer, sometimes even years. However, we truly believe that God orchestrates the match and every baby is placed with the family they are meant to be with.

An Open Adoption is the type of adoption in which the birth mother (and participating birth father) establish an on-going relationship with the adoptive parents and your child after placement. You will have the opportunity to see your baby and develop a relationship with the child as they grow up.

A Semi-Open adoption is one that offers some interaction between the birth mother (and participating birth father) and child, but not as much as an open adoption might have. For example, letters and cards and even gifts might be exchanged through The LIGHT House , but no actual contact would take place unless both parties agreed prior to the adoption.

A Closed adoption is when very little or no contact takes place between the birth mother (and participating birth father) and adoptive parents or child.