)%20(3)_edited.png)
ABOUT US
Founded in 2015, by Don and Linabelle Finnegan, ABBA Helps is a 501C3 non-profit organization that exists to protect children that are unseen and abused. On December 1, 2021, ABBA Helps is licensed by the Children Services Division to foster and adopt trafficked children as a Child Placing Agency with the State of Missouri. The license is given to two properties: the first property in Mountain Grove MO is to foster and adopt trafficked children under the age of 12, and the second property in Lee's Summit is to house and care for pregnant trafficked teens and their babies.
​
ABBA Helps Children's Ranch in Mountain Grove MO is a 265-acre property with a vision of several professional foster homes built and equipped to serve child survivors of human trafficking. We are passionate about serving this population because they are notoriously underserved, with only 3 beds per 1,000 children currently in trafficking.
It is the goal of ABBA Helps Children's Ranch to Rebuild Home, Restore Hope, and Transform Lives.
Each child in our care becomes a member of a safe and loving foster family. They are equipped with the necessities to thrive, including education, physical and emotional support, comprehensive healthcare, access to licensed therapists, and opportunities to grow individually and spiritually. Our programming works diligently to provide a child with every opportunity to heal and overcome their past and find the future that God wants for them.
ABBA Helps Children's Ranch. This first home, called Don's Home, will be one of the many homes that will be part of the vision for the ABBA Children's Ranch. The ABBA Helps home in Mountain Grove is licensed to foster and adopt trafficked children under 12 years old under the Missouri Children's Services. It is the first home in the state for trafficked children.
The ABBA Helps Lee's Summit Home was licensed on December 1, 2021. It's purpose is to foster and adopt pregnant trafficked teens and their babies. We provide them shelter, a nurturing environment, and the skills and support to help them set themselves on a better path.
.jpg)
WHY WE DO WHAT WE DO
Because 1 out of 6 children reported being trafficked are under the age of 12 with the youngest victims less than 1 year old.
Because the average age of entering into commercial sexual exploitation is roughly 12 to 14 years old.
Because 1,000 American Children are arrested for prostitution each year.
Because there are an estimated 100,000 American Children involved in human trafficking.
Because there are only 300 beds in the United States to accommodate these children.
Because child trafficking is widely unacknowledged and underserved.
Because we want to keep children in the child welfare system from exploitation and abuse.
Because we exist to show children the love and healing power of God.
HOW WE DO WHAT WE DO
ABBA Helps Children's Ranch partners with the State of Missouri Department of Social Services. We receive children into our homes after we are contacted by the Department of Social Services and the intake process is completed.
We operate as a network of professional foster homes with staff trained specifically to deal with serious cases of abuse. Foster parents act simultaneously as a part of our professional team and a traditional foster parent. We are passionate about the work we do because we believe in empowering foster parents to be able to love the children in their homes as best as they are able to.
We believe in accountability for our foster parents to promote safe, loving homes for children to find healing and new life within. Home is the context in which all of the work with our kids is done. Promoting a safe, loving, and secure home establishes trust to meet the child's core needs. Only upon meeting those needs children are able to grow, learn, and heal. Our overall goal for the children in our care is to go out from our care transformed, ready to be placed in a permanent home.