Until Every Family Thrives

How Foster America is Transforming Child Welfare

Until Every

Family Thrives

How Foster America is

Transforming Child Welfare

Table of Contents

The state of child welfare

Foster America’s approach

The cost of foster care

New legislation, new opportunities

A bold strategy

Driving innovation

Our children deserve the best we have to offer – today, tomorrow, and always.

Empowering changemakers

Sharing knowledge

An approach that works

Join the movement

How you can help

— Marie Zemler Wu Executive Director & Co-founder Foster America

Caring relationships are essential to healthy child development. Yet the very system intended to ensure the welfare of our nation’s youth strains – and sometimes, severs – the very connections children need to thrive. Children belong with their families

Strong families are the building blocks of resilient communities. When you support a parent in need, you not only make a difference in the life of a child today – but in the strength of a community tomorrow. And all families deserve support

Our nation invests $33 billion a year in child protective services, a system that was never designed to prevent harm, only to respond after child abuse has been alleged. This reactive process fails to address the root cause of many reports to CPS (Child Protective Services): poverty. Our child welfare routinely mischaracterizes signs of poverty as evidence of abuse, punishing many parents at the very moment they most need support. This misguided approach leads to 600,000 children entering foster care every year. The effects of investigation and family separation (experiences Black and Indigenous families are twice as likely to experience as their white peers) are not only traumatic – they are preventable . In 75% of child welfare cases, a parent is accused of neglecting to meet their child’s basic needs. What if, at the first sign of hardship, we connected parents to resources in their own communities, before their circumstances prompted a call to child services? Families would be spared the invasive, traumatic experience of being investigated. They would stay together. And our foster care system would dramatically decrease in size. It’s a future we can build – together.

Foster America believes that, together, we can transform family- serving systems that today fall short of providing parents with the support they both need and deserve. Every day, in communities across the nation, Foster America works alongside bold, innovative leaders in pursuit of a reality where: Parents facing hardship know where to go for help – and the resources to help them raise their children are plentiful and provided equitably. The child welfare system is far smaller, serving only those truly in need of protective services to keep them safe from abuse. Placing children in foster care is incredibly rare and, when necessary, prioritizes keeping children with relatives or other loved ones.

In pursuit of that future, Foster America is:

Test-driving, refining, and scaling new approaches to caring for families facing hardship before their circumstances reach a point of crisis. Working with those who have experienced the child welfare system firsthand, so they can help us understand what failed to meet their needs and lead the way in building its replacement. Accelerating transformation by embedding our staff where progress is steady but extra capacity is needed – in communities ripe for innovation and committed to a Developing the skills of bold leaders with the drive, the dedication, and the passion to build the system our children deserve.

1 in 3 children is subjected to a CPS investigation. Annually, 600,000 are separated from their families and put in foster care. 75% of cases allege a caregiver failed to provide for their child. Food. Clothing. Medicine. These circumstances are often signs of poverty – not neglect.

To maintain our momentum, we need you.

Anyone who has raised a child remembers a time when parenting felt overwhelming. Even in the best of circumstances, parents need support. Foster care isn’t the solution

When that support isn’t available from friends or family, parents need to know what’s available to them in their own communities and how to access it – before someone calls child services, triggering an investigation that could break apart a family. Removing a child from their home and placing them in foster care – often with someone they’ve never met – is traumatic. What’s worse, the fear, uncertainty, and loss of stability can impact a child’s development long after they leave care. Every child, every story, is different. Here’s what we do know. Children who have been in foster care: Are less likely to graduate from high school.

Are twice as likely as veterans to experience symptoms of PTSD. Experience nine times the rate of suicide attempts as the general population. Are more vulnerable to sexual exploitation and homelessness. We also know that children of color are disproportionately represented in our system, which is why we take care to center equity in all of our work.

Not every parent has a support system.We – as a community – have to be ready to fill those gaps.

Children of color:

Are 2x more likely than white children to be investigated or separated from their families. Endure prolonged stays in foster care. Are placed in institutions more often.

Have a higher incidence of mental and physical health problems as adults.

What if we could prevent those children from entering care?

— Brian Clapier Senior Vice President of Programs Foster America

We can – with your help.

The time for change is now

We should do everything we can to The passage of the Family First Act affirms what experts have known all along – children have better outcomes when they stay with their families. Thanks to a groundbreaking change in federal law, tax dollars once reserved for foster care are now available to fund prevention efforts – the kind of programming that exists to keep children from ever entering the system. The landmark Family First Prevention Services Act: Allows child welfare systems to use federal dollars to support programs that are proven to keep families together: l Parenting skills classes l Family counseling l Substance use disorder recovery l Mental health support Increases financial support for relatives who step up to care for a child who would otherwise be placed in foster care Restricts the use of group homes/institutions as placements for children in foster care We have before us a historic opportunity to transform America’s child welfare system. And you can be part of its future. We no longer have to settle for a system that punishes families when they most need support. That incentivizes separating families by funneling nearly half of all child welfare funding into foster care.

We are poised to transform child welfare, to create a just, equitable future for families.

— Susan Notkin Board Chair Foster America

keep families togethe r.

Foster America is forging a new path

At Foster America, we believe we must rise to meet this once-in-a-generation opportunity to build something new – something better – to serve families. Will you be part of the progress? We know the path forward isn’t easy. It requires new ideas and bold leaders to test, adapt, and scale them – people willing to s hare information about what works and what doesn’t so we can scale solutions nationwide. With the growing certainty that transformation is possible, our work focuses on these three areas:

Innovation

Foster America is building the system our families need – and deserve.

Changemakers

Knowledge

— JoAnne Scribner Vice President of Development & Strategic Partnerships Foster America

Building communities where families have what they need to raise their children is a shared responsibility. At Foster America, one of our greatest strengths is forging relationships among those whose collaboration is critical to our shared success. Foster America leads innovation locally to drive change nationally

Foster America thrives at a unique place in the child welfare landscape. We work at the intersection of governments and the very communities they serve, building trust, breaking down barriers – and then, taking actionable steps to transform the system. Understandably, this work looks different in each partner site. Just as every community is unique, so, too, is our approach.

In partner sites across the country, Foster America has:

We must reimagine child welfare – beginning with the belief that parents love their kids, and our job is to foster their well-being.

Helped establish community navigator programs, pairing families facing hardship with community liaisons who assess their needs, then connect them to the appropriate area resources. Launched Family Voice Councils, establishing a structured way for those with lived expertise to shape child welfare policy and practice to better meet families’ needs. Advanced race equity initiatives, convening stakeholders from across the system to identify disparities and take steps to ensure equitable outcomes for children and families.

— Marie Zemler Wu Executive Director & Co-founder Foster America

Foster America’s work spans the country, where

we partner with those

with the drive, dedication, and imagination to transform the child welfare system as we know it.

We don’t have to settle for the system we’ve always had. We can transform our approach…

We can’t do this work alone… From Foster America’s earliest days, we’ve recognized that true change results only from truly collaborative efforts.

Today, we’re cultivating a national network of fellows, leaders, and changemakers who are leading the charge to transform child welfare. We bring together child welfare leaders, experts, advocates and practitioners to share the latest research, data, and insights so more communities can replicate proven models and learn from the challenges. Foster America was founded in 2016 as a fellowship program. We actively recruited, placed, and supported fellows to lead innovation projects, embedding them in state and county governments and nonprofit organizations across the nation. Our founding goal was to develop leadership capacity and attract diverse talent to tackle the sector’s most challenging problems.

That remains one of the key tenets of Foster America’s work today – but with a bigger, more audacious goal than ever before. Building on what we learned during our early years as a fellowship model, we’ve expanded our efforts to reach more changemakers with the drive – and the imagination – to transform how our nation serves families and children.

We recognize that it is not just individual talent, but the

community we build by bringing innovators together, that makes all the difference. Meeting this need are our new changemaker circles – 15-month professional development fellowships that bring together changemakers who share common personal or professional experiences.

So children have what they need. So families flourish. So communities thrive.

Foster America offers the opportunity to work with distinguished leaders and leadership coaches, providing opportunities for both personal and professional growth and

Changemaker Circles

ABOUT THE NATIONAL LEADERSHIP CIRCLE: In all our efforts to transform child welfare, Foster America is committed to amplifying the voices of those with personal experience in the system. The National Leadership Circle is a unique fellowship created by and for lived experts, a learning community that fosters both growth and healing. Through this experience, we provide resources and support that empowers fellows to harness the power of their experiences to transform the very system they experienced. These intersectional professionals work together to tackle issues that continue to plague our system, all while building a community that promotes belonging. ABOUT THE FISCAL LEADERSHIP CIRCLE: Our nation is experiencing a profound shift in child welfare policy. While agencies have historically directed more funding to foster care than any other intervention, a new federal law has made prevention programs eligible for increased financial support. Requirements to access these new funding streams, however, are stringent, and the process, incredibly complex. Our Fiscal Leadership Circle brings together finance professionals from across family-serving systems who are committed to helping their agencies navigate and maximize this opportunity. Fellows receive a comprehensive understanding of how the system works and how to leverage it strategically to fund programs that address the root causes of family instability — before children are ever removed from their homes.

I had the privilege of witnessing the transformative power of individuals who have used their

Today, Foster America’s best-in-class coaching and development programming is reaching more changemakers than ever before. Recognizing the power of collaboration and collective expertise, we foster an environment where leaders can share ideas and take risks as they work together to advance projects aimed at transforming the child welfare system. By convening professionals with shared interests and experiences, we help fellows build meaningful relationships while tackling some of child welfare’s most pressing problems. Each 12- to 15-month fellowship follows a hybrid model of both virtual and in-person programming taught by some of the brightest minds in our field.

development. This transformative experience instilled in me a deep sense of purpose and commitment to effecting meaningful systemic reforms. J.P. Bombardier, Cohort 2 Foster America Fellow The Fiscal Leadership Circle is an opportunity for like-minded people to build some momentum and start tipping the scales on a conversation in child welfare. Right now, most of our resources go to foster care. I was interested to connect with leaders who are trying to use innovation and finances to support families in better ways . Dustin Koury, FLC fellow Strategic Initiatives Supervisor, Wisconsin Department of Children and Families

adverse experiences to inform and create platforms dedicated to improving outcomes

for future generations. This experience has reinforced that centering lived experience in all aspects of social change work is more than important – it is necessary for equity to take place. Denicia Carlay, EdD, LCSW, PPSC

NLC Co-designer & Facilitator Owner of Village is Possible

INNOVATION IN ACTION

To truly transform our nation’s child welfare system, we must commit not only to test-driving new ideas in partner sites – but sharing what we learn along the way. We share what works

Warmline model shows promise

A critical component of Foster America’s work is sharing insights from our work in the field – real-time data, roadmaps, and guidelines – to inspire change across the nation. We also know that even the most comprehensive facts and figures can’t compete with real stories from real families. The impact of hearing a firsthand account is profound. Stories like the following from Larimer County, Colorado, are an unrivaled testament to the need for a better system, one we can build – with your help. A NEW BEGINNING As Amer and Salma stepped onto the plane, they were awash with relief. Immigrant visas in hand, they gratefully left behind their war-torn home country alongside their four children – with a fifth on the way. The young family settled in a beautiful community in Colorado, where they were greeted by majestic mountain landscapes and an overwhelming sense of hope. But life in the U.S. brought new challenges. No one they met spoke Arabic, and the barriers this caused were

immediate – and dire. While immensely grateful for their new home, they suddenly found themselves unemployed, with dwindling savings and rent coming due on their one- bedroom apartment. MAKING CONNECTIONS Amer and Salma

With each initiative, we find out more about what works — and what doesn’t. We continue to share our findings so changemakers across our sector can follow best practices and refine new strategies that advance stronger, more equitable approaches to serving families. Our work with child welfare leaders in Colorado is not only one of Foster America’s longest-standing partnerships but also among our most successful. In one county, a community navigator program is proving that innovation in child welfare is possible. We recently visited Larimer

WHAT DOES CHANGE LOOK LIKE? Foster America works hand in hand with communities to co- design and test new approaches to serving families who might otherwise have been referred to the child welfare system. These include: BUILDING “warmline”

County to interview our site partners about the success of their warmline program – a referral system to connect families with resources instead of calling a child abuse hotline – and talk with families who were directly impacted by the program. To truly make a difference in how our country serves families, we must learn from one another – and replicate successful approaches. In sharing details of Larimer County’s success, we inspire a network of changemakers to implement similar approaches in their own communities, with others’ experience as their guide.

found the support they so desperately needed in Supported Families, Stronger Community – an innovative program launched in partnership with Foster America. The couple was paired with a bilingual navigator who helped them find resources, apply for jobs and get back on their feet. Today, they are thriving, and they greet their navigator like a family member – with hugs, laughter and an insistence he stay for dinner. After all, Amer says, holding his young daughter, they owe him everything.

alternatives to child abuse hotlines, with a focus on connecting families to the help they need. SUPPORTING families in navigating voluntary, community-based services. MEETING the needs of families through cash and material assistance. INCREASING engagement of families.

There’s no question: our approach to transforming child welfare is working. Communities across the nation that have partnered with Foster America are seeing real results. Not a moment – a movement

Foster America is innovating to support families at the very moments that drive child welfare system involvement under our current system.

Our vision for impact:

Unnecessary child welfare investigations are decreasing.

Children are staying safely with the parents who love them.

Families are being spared the trauma of foster care.

IN THE COMMUNITY Ensure families can access social support voluntarily in their communities, reducing stress and building protective factors.

Community resources are expanding to meet families’ needs well before someone calls a child abuse hotline. We know there’s a better future for our child welfare system, and we are leading the charge to build it. Foster America’s unique three-part strategy represents a comprehensive approach to transformation. We are driving bold innovations that connect families with the resources they need, in their own communities, without judgment or shame. We are empowering and investing in those with the courage to test-drive new approaches, developing their leadership capacity and standing alongside them as they join this generational fight. Along the way, we’re sharing insights from our work on the ground as well as from the brightest minds in our sector – practitioners, lived experts, advocates – so we all can accelerate progress.

AT THE HOTLINE Offer voluntary community pathways that divert families from investigatory responses.

AS AN ALTERNATIVE TO REMOVAL Expand options, including access to services and financial assistance, that support families with intense or complex needs. INSTEAD OF TRADITIONAL FOSTER CARE Keep children with friends and relatives, with rapid access to support for kin, children, and parents.

Can we count on your support? When we stand in awe of a transformed child welfare system, we will remember those who took the first bold steps to change it.

Think about the opportunity before you — for your generosity to impact generations of parents and children. With your gift, you leave a legacy — of transformation, of hope. We can’t stop at raising awareness. We’ve known for decades that our nation’s child welfare system is punishing parents when they’re at their lowest, traumatizing children who’ve done nothing wrong — and ultimately, failing us all. What happens next is up to those not willing to settle for good enough. The bold. The brave. Those willing to push back, to challenge the status quo.

What we give of ourselves today will shape a generation of tomorrows.

We know we can do better.

And with your help, we will.

Change the future for children and families by supporting Foster America today! How YOU can help

Your contribution directly supports our mission to create a child welfare system that truly works for all children. You can help us ensure every child leads a healthy, successful life by supporting our work with a tax-deductible donation. Join us in building brighter futures

With so much at stake, shouldn’t the future of our children be on your agenda? Become a champion for families today. Together, we can give every child the future they deserve.

To make a gift: Foster America P.O. Box 220080 Boston, MA 02122

Visit foster-america.org/donate to make a one-time donation or set up a recurring gift. For other ways to give, such as through direct transfer or stock donation, email development@foster-america.org .

foster-america.org

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