The Parable of the River

One day a group of villagers working near a river noticed a baby floating downstream. One of them—a woman—rushed into the water to rescue the child. She wrapped the little one in a blanket and held them close. No sooner had the child stopped crying than someone spied another child. Over the next several days, more children were found floating down the river. The entire village became involved in pulling children out of the water and ensuring they were warmed, properly fed, clothed, and housed. The villagers became exhausted, as the job seemed never ending.

Then, one villager suggested that they go upstream to discover how children are ending up in the river. While this suggestion might seem obvious, it This idea became a major controversy in the village. They were barely keeping up with the flow of children, and everyone was needed to watch the shore and care for the survivors. Many of the villagers did not think it would be right to leave their posts to go upstream. “Don’t you see?” the woman cried, “If we find out how the children are getting into the river, we can stop the problem before it starts. But some of the village elders replied that it was too risky. It might fail, and what happens up river was not their concern. 

A situation much like this parable is playing out today across foster care policy. Here in Washington, HB 1227—The Keeping Families Together Act—a bill that Skookum supported when it passed 2 years ago, intends to safely reduce the number of children placed into foster care while reducing racial disproportionality across the child welfare system.

Skookum has worked on the river bank for the last 10 years. With your support, we have pulled hundreds of children out of crisis and given them safe places to heal. But recently we’ve developed opportunities to move upstream, to support families before their children are removed and placed in foster care. While the majority of our work remains at The Landing, in foster care, and with visitation, these small but important steps into prevention, into more holistic family support are dripping with potential. Our challenge this year: learn how to do both well. 

This kind of innovation is only possible with your faithful support. Thank you for the way that you generously invest in kids and families. By giving here, you are making a high leverage investment in the future of our community. 

With many thanks,

RD3