(Ashland, Ohio) – Officials indicate there are more than 400,000 abused and neglected children in the U.S. in need of a loving home and the long-term effects on these children are tragic.

Fostering Family Ministries has been awarded a $20,000 Outreach Fund Grant courtesy of Trinity Lutheran Church of Ashland. Reports indicate the grant will be used to provide aid to the organization as it moves forward with the launch of the Multiply Project. The project is expected to help with staff costs in implementing the CarePortal for Ashland and Knox counties in addition to providing support in an expansion into Knox and Richland counties with a goal of providing even more support to area abused and neglected children. Officials indicate the mission is to mobilize, organize, equip, and educate churches to compassionately provide foster care services.

The program will include training and resources for churches and families virtually and also face-to-face. It is expected that the expansion will grow the local church partnerships in addition to the number of participating foster families.

Fostering Family Ministries indicates that support for these children is a crisis, outlining the following statistics on their website.

• Education: Fewer than 3% of foster youth will earn a college degree.

• Pregnancy: 71% of girls who age out of the foster care system will be pregnant by age 21.

• Crime: In some states over half the population in prison has come from foster care.

• Trafficking: 60% of those trapped in sex trafficking are from foster care.

• Unemployment: Only 50% of foster youth who age out of the system will be employed by age 24.

• Homelessness: Up to 33% of youth become homeless after aging out of the foster-care system.