Digital platform connects local churches to children in need in three Jackson-area counties
Getting resources to Mississippi families in need just got a little easier. The Mississippi Department of Child Protection Services recently added the digital platform CarePortal to its tool belt.
MDCPS partnered with adoption and child welfare agency Lifeline Children's Services to use CarePortal, a digital platform that connects churches with families and children in need.
Lifeline is based in Birmingham, Alabama. Along with resources for children in need, the agency provides adoption assistance through private domestic and international adoption agencies in 18 states and 26 countries.
The families CarePortal will serve come from a variety of situations such as low-income. The main goal is to engage families with MDCPS and get them much-needed resources, which local churches will provide.
CarePortal launched in Hinds, Madison and Rankin counties on Wednesday. Lifeline, which has been a licensed child placing agency in Mississippi for 12 years, has begun to train local churches on how to use the program. The first request has already been submitted and fulfilled.
CarePortal connects churches with families through qualified requesting agencies like MDCPS. If a social worker becomes aware of a child or family in need, they can post that need into the CarePortal database.
On the other end, churches who have signed up to be a resource can see the needs that have been posted and choose to meet that need whether that be food, donations, clothes, furniture or more.
Church communities interested in signing up can visit Lifeline's CarePortal online.
Rick Morton, senior vice president of engagement for Lifeline, described the program as a modern expansion on the food pantry model that churches have implemented for decades. CarePortal closes the gap between collecting resources and putting the resources into the hands of families in need.
"So let's say the need is that a family is working toward reunification," Morton said. "And, one of the things they need is furniture to outfit a bedroom so that their kids can come home. So, there might be a family that's connected to CarePortal that says, 'We have a set of bunk beds that we'd like to give.'"
Beyond the initial help, CarePortal is designed to provide a lasting connection between the families and the church communities which can then provide ongoing support.
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Morton said the eventual big-picture goal is to connect CarePortal with every church in the Jackson-Metro area. For this first year, the goal is a bit more modest, but will still cover a high number of local churches.
"Every church in the Jackson-Metro area has an opportunity to be able to play some sort of role," Morton said.
This role remains important as economic challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic continue. These strains place an additional burden on federally-funded agencies like MDCPS. Lifeline is a privately-funded entity, meaning resources like CarePortal can help ease the strain.
"We believe (CarePortal) is just one of those really great ways that private agencies and the community can come alongside government and that we can cooperate together to meet what is really a growing problem," Morton said.
CarePortal is not a new program and has already been implemented in 32 other states since 2015, but this launch marks the first time Mississippi can utilize the platform.
The three counties also serve as a pilot program for the entire state. Eventually, the program may serve churches from the northern corner of the state, to the Delta to the coast.
Got a news tip? Contact Mary Boyte at mboyte@jackson.gannett.com
This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Digital platform CarePortal launches in three MS counties
