Child Bridge: The Village for Foster Families

March 2026 | style + community

article by Jessica Renstrom | photos courtesy of Child Bridge

While parenting is deeply rewarding, it is also incredibly challenging work that requires support. For foster families, that challenge can often feel heavier as they meet the complex needs of children who have often experienced abuse, neglect, or trauma, making the need for a village essential. Child Bridge is that village for foster families.

NO MORE ORPHANS

Child Bridge is a nonprofit organization dedicated to finding and equipping families for children in foster care. Though the organization now has a statewide presence across Montana, it began with a simple (but powerful) statistic: “If just 7% of Christians across the world cared for one orphan, there would be no more orphans.”

Co-founder Mary Bryan read that statement in a magazine in 2008, in a moment that forever changed her life. The statistic ignited a calling for Mary and her husband, Steve. Moved by the overwhelming need for safe, loving homes for all children, they left their corporate careers and committed their lives to finding a family for every child.

What started as a personal act of obedience has grown into a thriving organization. Today, Child Bridge not only helps place foster children with families but also equips and supports those families throughout the fostering journey. Their mission is rooted in a beautiful vision: to have more foster families ready to foster than children who need care.

THE GENERATIONAL ABUSE CYCLE IN MONTANA

Currently, that vision stands in stark contrast to reality. Nearly 2,000 children are in Montana’s foster care system, placing the state third in the nation for children in care per capita. However, this figure is even more dire as it does not account for the hundreds of Native American children within the tribal welfare systems. Most of the children in foster and welfare systems are trapped in generational cycles of abuse and trauma. Their parents were often abused themselves and raised without stability or support. Without intervention, wounded children grow up repeating the only patterns they know, leading to higher rates of substance addiction, domestic violence, homelessness, and poverty.

This is why foster families play such a critical role. They are not just providing temporary care; they are interrupting cycles of trauma and offering children a new story… one built on safety, consistency, and hope.

BUILDING A BRIDGE TO HOPE

Due to the trauma these children have experienced, fostering requires a unique set of skills and a strong support system. Child Bridge ensures foster families are prepared, empowered, and supported by a community of programs and resources.

Through informational meetings, Child Bridge helps individuals and couples learn what foster care really looks like, followed by their four-week virtual “crash course,” which provides practical training and tools to navigate trauma-informed care, behavioral challenges, and complex family dynamics.

The organization builds community by connecting foster families with one another, creating safe spaces where real questions can be asked, and honest experiences can be shared. In addition, coaching services are available to help families address the unique challenges that arise within foster and adoptive homes.

CHANGING LIVES, ONE CHILD AT A TIME

At its core, Child Bridge believes that no child should walk through trauma alone, and no foster family should carry the weight of care without support. When foster families are equipped and supported, children thrive. And when children thrive, cycles of trauma are broken, and lives are changed.

Child Bridge stands in the gap, linking families with vulnerable children and surrounding them with the resources they need to succeed. Through the village they’re building, countless children are finding not just a place to stay, but a place to heal.

For More Information on Child Bridge

https://www.childbridgemontana.org

"It takes a village to raise a child."

Originally printed in the March 2026 issue of Simply Local Magazine

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Jessica Renstrom

Jessica is a Billings local with a background in marketing and a degree in Communications. She loves being a mom and soaking up time with her young children, especially during the holidays! You can catch her feeling festive and listening to Christmas music basically every day in December.

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