Meet Dustin Arrieta
Dustin Arrieta is the author of Griffin & Scout: A Team for Griffin, a gentle children’s picture book about foster care, courage, safety, and belonging.
For more than 15 years, Dustin has worked with children and families through ministry, childcare, and community leadership. He and his wife, Laura, have long shared a heart for foster care and adoption.
Opening their home was not something that happened by accident. It was something they had hoped, prayed, and prepared for—an opportunity to provide steady love and care while supporting families working toward healing, growth, and stability.
Why I Wrote Griffin & Scout
As a foster and adoptive dad, I have seen how confusing change can feel to a child.
A child may suddenly find themselves surrounded by unfamiliar people, routines, rooms, and expectations—often without having the words to explain what they are feeling or fully understand what is happening.
I wanted to create a story that could help children feel seen, safe, and supported during those uncertain beginnings.
Through Griffin and his teddy bear, Scout, children are introduced to the idea of having a team: foster parents, case workers, advocates, teachers, counselors, and others who are there to protect, support, and care for them.
The book was written for children, but it was also created as a gentle conversation tool for the adults walking beside them.
A Personal Note from Dustin
Laura and I have always believed that opening our home was about more than providing a place to stay. It was about stepping into a child’s story with patience, love, and hope during a season they may not fully understand.
Our faith in God has shaped that calling. It has taught us that every child has value, every family deserves compassion, and hope can still be present in difficult and uncertain places.
Through our foster care and adoption journey, I have seen how deeply children need simple reminders:
You are safe.
You are heard.
You are valued.
You are loved.
Griffin & Scout is my small way of reminding children that they have people beside them, they have hope, and they are not alone.
If this story helps even one child feel a little less afraid or a little more understood, it will have done what I hoped it would do.