2021-2022 ANNUAL REPORT DIGITAL (2)

annual report
2021-2022
H O P E L I G H T S T H E W A Y
HOME
P R O J E C T 1 . 2 7

THE CRISIS
10 children enter foster care every
day in Colorado.
Through no fault of their own, these children are in care
because they have experienced significant neglect and
physical abuse by their biological family.
This trauma, as well as the physical removal of a child
from biological family, significantly impacts a child's
ability to grow, learn, build healthy relationships, trust,
and hope for a better future. Feeling hopeless can lead to
anxiety, depression, difficulty in school, and struggle to
manage their behaviors.
The effects of this trauma can impact children for the rest
of their lives, and without the support of trusted adults,
therapeutic resources, and trauma-informed parenting,
will follow them into their teen years and even into
adulthood.
About 200 Colorado youth exit foster care every year
without a permanent family. Of these 200, more than 1/3
will become homeless, more than 50% will be
incarcerated, and only 53% will be employed by age 21.
The foster care crisis often feels hopeless for the children
and families involved.

Dear Friends,
Lights the Way Home
Have you ever lost your way? Maybe you were hiking, and
darkness fell, causing you to miss the path back to the
campsite. Or life threw some unexpected curveballs, and
you couldn’t find a way forward. Perhaps poor life choices
took you to a dark place where there seemed no light. Was
there someone who offered you hope in those dark places,
guiding you to a path forward?
Lost, dark, hopeless- words describing how at-risk children
in foster care can feel. In 2022, Project 1.27 focused on
bringing hope to these children. Hope through recruiting
and training Christian foster and adoptive families. Hope
through resourcing churches to support and encourage
foster and adoptive families in their congregations. And
hope through a new program, Families Care, that helps
vulnerable families before the children are removed.
We know that our God is a God of
hope and He has great plans for
these children. We couldn't have
done any of this without your
commitment and support.
SHELLY RADIC
Project 1.27 President

BEFORE KIDS ARE REMOVED
FamiliesCare is a new program launching in the spring of
2023 that will expand the work Project 1.27 has been doing
by moving into prevention. The goal is to reduce the
number of children entering the foster care system by
equipping churches to come alongside a struggling family
before a child is removed from the home.
FamiliesCare will connect
struggling families with a welltrained
group from a local church.
How the group serves the family will depend on the needs
of that family and parent's goals, but may include
providing a meal or childcare, helping parents find
employment or reliable transportation, and building
supportive relationships by connecting regularly through
activities and meals.
FamiliesCare is starting in 3 counties, Arapahoe, Weld, and
Mesa, where hundreds of families could use help and
support.
We expect this program to prevent out-of-home
placements and be a great opportunity for relationships
between the church and community members.
Project 1.27 will launch FamiliesCare in
3 Counties in Spring 2023

FOR WELL-RESOURCED FOSTER FAMILIES
"We are choosing to show up for
[these kids] and that means
showing up for their family."
From the beginning of their foster care journey, Micah
and Julie Sanchez made an effort to support biological
families. The Sanchez family was placed with a baby girl
named Mina for eight months. Micah and Julie sent
pictures and videos to her biological family and took time
to chat with them before and after visits.
When Mina reunified with her biological grandmother,
the Sanchez's were like a second family. They still see
Mina weekly and have become the go-to call whenever
her biological family needs help. “We found comfort in
the fact that we fulfilled the piece of the mission we set
out to do. We were faithful to God’s calling in our life and
faithful to Mina and her family to show up in their time
of need.”
Of course, saying goodbye to Mina didn’t come without
pain, “There are moments of grief still, but I get to
remind myself that we did a good job. Mina knows
attachment, she knows security, she was safe, and that
matters more to us.”
391 children served this year
69 new foster care placements

THROUGH TRAUMA-INFORMED
ADOPTIVE HOMES
The O’Keefe family felt called to foster care in 2015,
attending a Project 1.27 info meeting in December, then
completing the rest of their training throughout 2016.
David and Lori chose Project 1.27 because they wanted a
Biblical Worldview and a Christian perspective.
Josiah joined the O’Keefe family just past his 6th
birthday. In the early days with Josiah, many catch-ups
were needed. The O’Keefe’s worked hard to meet his
medical and dental needs and help him in school. They
signed Josiah up for soccer, which he loves and still plays
today, and taught him how to swim and ride a bike.
"I can't wait to see what God is
going to do with his life."
Reflecting on their life with Josiah, Lori stated, “He is
thriving. He is very joyful and inclusive and loved by
everyone. [We had to] trust that God had a plan for our
family, and he would see us through it and walk with us
along the way.”
188 hours of trauma-informed parent training
Project 1.27 families finalized 20 adoptions
this year and 502 adoptions since 2005

THROUGH FOSTER FRIENDLY CHURCHES
Jen and Mark Oshman, pastors of Redemption Parker
Church and adoptive parents, know first-hand the
importance of a church community that is wellequipped
to care for vulnerable children and families.
"We want to be sensitive to,
educated about, and proactive in
addressing the particular
stresses and joys that our foster
and adopt families feel."
They partnered with Project 1.27 to host a traumainformed
church training for all of their children's
ministry leaders and volunteers. Jen noted, "This
training helped our volunteers understand how trauma
impacts the brain and emotions so that we all have a
better understanding of why a child may react a
certain way in our children’s ministry settings. [The
training] equipped us with many practical tools—both
preventative and responsive—so that our volunteers
can minister to all children, especially those who’ve
experienced trauma."
Project 1.27 resourced 122 churches including
7 trauma-informed church trainings

THROUGH MENTAL HEALTH SUPPORT
Supporting families to increase
positive mental health outcomes
In recent years, Mesa County has experienced a steady
trend of negative outcomes in mental health,
disproportionately impacting vulnerable children and
families that have experienced foster, kinship, and
adoptive care.
The ECHOFlex (Everyone Can Help Others Flex) program
was created to support families and youth by
addressing unmet basic needs and the integration of
accessible, effective, culturally relevant mental health
supports and resiliency skills, through the context of
relationships.
Over the course of 8 weeks, participants met weekly
and were provided with meals, activities, and
fellowship as they learned about supporting individual
and household resilience and mental wellness.
"Connected", "Fun", and "Blessed" were some of the
words participants used to share their experiences
after completing an 8-week ECHOflex series.
ECHOFlex served 116 Children/Youth and 45
Families in Mesa County

SPREADING THROUGH THE 1.27
NATIONAL NETWORK
Committed to bridging the church
to the local foster care system.
The 1.27 National Network members work to bridge the
local church in their state with children in foster care.
The network has twelve active member organizations.
Each operates independently as a “bridge ministry” in
their local communities bringing hope by engaging local
churches to serve children in care, local social workers,
biological, kinship, foster and adoptive families, and
recruiting and training foster and adoptive families.
Project 1.27 offers support to network organizations
through coaching, monthly Mastermind sessions,
learning cohorts, events and networking.
Serving 3500 children through the 1.27
National Network

Celebrating
Project 1.27's
In the summer of 2022, Project 1.27 celebrated its
499th,500th, and 501st adoption when the Mroch family
adopted a sibling set of three! Parents Jon and Janell
already had a big heart for kids when they came to a
Project 1.27 Info Meeting in 2016. The Mrochs, along
with their daughter, Abi, fostered six other children
before welcoming 11-month-old Aiden and 6-week-old
Anna. 15 months later, the family learned that Aiden
and Anna had a new baby sister, Ava. When asked if
they could also care for Ava, Jon, Janell and Abi all
agreed they could be part of God’s plan to keep the
three siblings together.

THROUGH GIVING
Revenue $664,725
GENERAL DONATIONS
51.5%
IN-KIND
1.5%
GRANTS/FOUNDATIONS
10%
EVENTS (NET)
15.6%
PROGRAM
19%
Expenses $669,939
MANAGEMENT
10.3%
FUNDRAISING
5.4%
CHURCHES
2.4%
NATIONAL PROGRAM
8.6%
COLORADO PROGRAM
75.7%
Thank you for giving!
Because every child needs HOPE.
Because every child needs a HOME.

read 3 great foster
and adoption stories
and donate at
project127.org/donate