Wallbuilders Live! With David Barton & Rick Green

What if the fastest way to shrink the foster care system is to prevent entries in the first place? We unpack Florida’s results-driven approach that invited churches and nonprofits into a formal partnership with state agencies—without crossing constitutional lines—and turned compassion into measurable change. By treating faith communities as essential partners in prevention, crisis care, and reunification, Florida built real-time bridges between caseworkers and congregations and saw foster care numbers drop dramatically.We walk through the simple moves that changed the tone and the outcomes: 40,000 thank-you notes acknowledging existing service, a “red phone” straight into the governor’s office for pastors and ministry leaders, and a tech platform that alerts nearby churches when a caseworker logs a family’s urgent need. Often, the missing piece keeping a child safe at home was as basic as a bed. When churches delivered that bed, they built relationships that stabilized families long after the request was met.