Learn About YATOM

Scottsdale, AZ - At this moment, there are millions of children around the world who do not feel the warm embrace of a parent, who struggle to find a warm, comfortable place to sleep, or have enough food to not clutch their stomachs in hunger. The number of children left open to the elements of disease, poverty, and malnutrition is horribly ample, and it is a travesty of governments and private organizations that this issue is not close to being solved. YATOM: The Jewish Foster & Adoption Network attempts to be a remedy to the societal problem of vulnerable children living in homes without love or support.

ABOUT YATOM: Jewish tradition has long been concerned with the plight of children suffering from the diseases of rejection, disaffection, and loneliness. These conditions, when allowed to linger, for us to reckon with grave moral failings that none of us—as members of a privileged society—should tolerate. YATOM: The Jewish Foster & Adoption Network was created precisely to be an advocacy group to support to Jewish families looking to fulfill the holy mitzvah of protecting and supporting vulnerable children. (Indeed, the Hebrew word yatom can be interpreted to be mean vulnerable child.)

To date, YATOM has been actively involved in providing much-needed resources for Jewish families looking to adopt or foster and our Family Fellowship—a safe space for potential foster families to learn from international thought-leaders—is currently in its fourth cohort with a fifth cohort in the works. In the Fall of 2019, YATOM introduced our micro-grant program, which to date has been awarded to amazing families who have done so much to actualize Jewish values through the mitzvah of adoption or fostering. According to Rabbi Chaim Bruk, the co-CEO of Chabad Lubavitch of Montana: “YATOM is a loving organization that is at the forefront of support for adoptive and foster families They helped our family and I know they’d do it again if needed!”

While YATOM continues to grow, so does our potential to move the needle on furthering Jewish communal involvement in fostering and adoption opportunities. We look forward to strengthening this movement in partnership with allies in the field and in the home.