2024 Annual Report
Table of Contents
Welcome From the Executive Director.................................................................................. 5 A Note From the Board.............................................................................................................. 6 Remembering Lola Adedokun................................................................................................. 7 Our Mission and Vision.............................................................................................................. 8 Map of Our Work....................................................................................................................... 10 Our Approach............................................................................................................................. 12 Co-design..................................................................................................................................... 14 Progress Across Colorado........................................................................................... 16 Elevating Lived Expertise............................................................................................ 18 Podcast Features Foster America ............................................................................... 19 Fostering Futures Forum.............................................................................................. 20 Collaboration. ............................................................................................................................. 22 OPT-In Launches............................................................................................................ 24 Partners in Progress..................................................................................................... 26 Thriving Families, Safer Children................................................................. 26 Washington State Partnership.................................................................... 27 Cross-Sector Collaboration........................................................................... 27 Finance.......................................................................................................................................... 28 Funding the Future........................................................................................................ 30 Featured Faculty: Don Winstead.............................................................................. 31 White House Insights................................................................................................... 32 Learning........................................................................................................................................ 34 Dial Fellowship Kickoff................................................................................................. 36 Inaugural Summit.......................................................................................................... 37 Focused on Data............................................................................................................ 37 A National Conversation . .............................................................................................. 38 Partnership With Youth Villages.............................................................................. 40 Knowledge and Learning Exchange........................................................................ 41 Foster America Board of Directors...................................................................................... 42 Foster America Executive Team............................................................................................ 42 Foster America Staff................................................................................................................. 43 Acknowledgments. ................................................................................................................... 44 Special Celebration................................................................................................................... 47 By the Numbers.......................................................................................................................... 48
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We are honored to join – and catalyze – efforts to transform the child welfare system.
— Marie Zemler Wu Co-Founder, Executive Director Foster America
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Welcome
My Friends,
At Foster America, we envision a future where every child, youth, and family thrives — supported by resources and relationships that help them to grow and succeed. It is a future where families are together, where no child grows up in foster care. This vision inspires all that we do. Across the country, many share our vision and are taking steps in their communities to change our nation’s approach to child welfare. We are honored to join — and catalyze — efforts to transform the child welfare system. At the same time, we recognize that we are navigating a moment when progress on supporting families may falter. Sudden shifts in national priorities, coupled with funding cuts, are quickly reshaping the landscape for children and families. With federal investments in prevention under scrutiny and key protections for families at risk, the need for united efforts to keep families together has never been more urgent. Even in this climate, Foster America remains steadfast in our promise to advance solutions that strengthen families and build a more just, equitable world. In 2024, we strengthened our commitment to advancing approaches that prioritize family well-being before challenges escalate, reducing the prevalence of child welfare intervention, and sparing families the trauma of separation. Our work is rooted in strengthening four key capacities across the child welfare ecosystem: • Co-design, with families and communities setting the vision and shaping solutions together. • Collaboration, with efforts aligned across systems and organizations that impact families. • Finance, with resources directed to prevention and support — instead of foster care. • Learning, with data supporting our decisions and driving continuous improvement. As we look back on 2024, we are deeply grateful for the partners, supporters, and changemakers who stand with us in this work. Together, we have taken meaningful steps toward creating a more equitable and compassionate nation that prioritizes families’ strengths and needs. The future of child welfare is being decided now. Challenges may persist, but so, too, will our commitment to a future where every family thrives.
With my deepest appreciation,
Marie Zemler Wu Co-Founder, Executive Director Foster America
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A Note From the Board
Dear Supporters,
2024 was a year in which our country experienced remarkable divisiveness. Regardless of party affiliation, too many families continue to worry whether they have enough resources and supports to help their children thrive. Furthermore, far too many families find themselves entwined with the public child welfare system and fear losing their children to foster care. As chair of the Foster America Board, I am continually inspired by the dedication and vision of this organization in its quest to create a future where families flourish — where they have what they need to raise their children and live safely together without intervention from the child welfare system. This year, we continued fostering collaboration and learning by convening leaders from across the country. We hosted our second National Leadership Circle, equipping professionals who have personally experienced the system with the skills to drive meaningful change. Additionally, we launched our first Fiscal Leadership Circle, bringing together 14 fellows dedicated to optimizing prevention resources and reshaping child welfare systems. By connecting these leaders with national experts, creating space for peer learning, and supporting site-based projects, we’ve developed an effective model for professional growth, practice innovation, and policy transformation. We also continued to work with numerous public and private agencies as they designed and pursued efforts to transform how families receive support outside of the child welfare system. The path to transformation is not straight nor easy. We appreciate the confidence that states have extended to us as we work side by side with them on their change efforts. As I look ahead, I am confident that Foster America is not just reimagining child welfare, but leading the way to a more compassionate and just future for all families. Thank you for your continued support and partnership in this critical work.
With gratitude,
Susan Notkin Chair, Board of Directors
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Honoring Lola Adedokun
1981-2024 In 2024, we were deeply saddened by the loss of our board member and friend, Lola Adedokun, whose passing leaves a profound void in our hearts and in the fight for social justice. Lola was among Foster America’s first and most dedicated supporters, sharing our vision of transforming child welfare and championing change with relentless passion. Her influence accelerated our mission and empowered many changemakers who continue to follow in her footsteps. Beyond the boardroom, Lola’s commitment to equity, community building, and bolstering emergent leaders was evident in every facet of her work — from creating transformative initiatives at the Aspen Global Innovators Group and the Doris Duke Foundation to serving on numerous nonprofit boards. She believed that true change begins with inspired leadership and consistently supported people-driven transformation within systems. Lola exemplified the ideals she upheld, whether through her professional contributions or her unwavering personal integrity. Her legacy lives on through the countless lives she touched — including ours. We dedicate these pages to her memory.
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Our Mission:
Together with communities, Foster America transforms systems that serve children, youth, and families by innovating for a more just, equitable future.
2016: Sherry Lachman and Marie Zemler Wu found Foster America to transform the child welfare system
2018: Foster America fellows secure $3M in grants to support intensive systems- transformation work in Colorado and Los Angeles
2020: Foster
America achieves independent
501(c)(3) nonprofit status
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Our Vision: Every Child, Youth, and Family Thrives
More than 350,000 children are in foster care . Some of these children will remain separated from their families for months — or years — their lives forever changed by a child welfare system that is underfunded, overburdened, and rarely responsive to their true needs.
In 2023, Foster America amplified our impact by offering direct support to local governments and communities in co-designing more effective, community-driven solutions that ensure families have the resources they need — before they become entangled in the system. Our efforts are rooted in the belief that family well-being, not intervention, should be at the heart of child welfare. Today, we work alongside a network of leaders — including those who have been directly impacted by child protection investigations and foster care — to develop equitable solutions that strengthen families and prevent unnecessary systems involvement — until every family thrives .
We believe they deserve something better . And Foster America is on a mission to build it.
Foster America was founded in 2016 to reimagine how child welfare systems support children and families. What began as a fellowship model, embedding skilled professionals within government and nonprofit organizations to advance innovation and their child welfare careers, has evolved into a nationwide transformation effort .
2022: The Board of directors approves new strategy focused
2023: The organization launches its first Changemaker Circle, the next evolution in Foster America’s fellowship offerings
2024: Foster America serves as a founding partner of OPT-In for Families, a groundbreaking initiative of the Doris Duke Foundation
on bolstering resources for families and children before the child welfare system becomes involved
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Foster America works in sites across the country to develop, strengthen, and implement innovative approaches to supporting families. KEY: Our work is grounded in state and community partnerships with those committed to pursuing new approaches to supporting families and children. A national initiative supported by Foster America, Thriving Families, Safer Children represents 22 sites working to scale approaches
that promote family and community well-being.
Foster America provides technical assistance for OPT-In for Families , a Doris Duke Foundation initiative working to build prevention- focused systems. In our work with Youth Villages , we provide coaching, technical assistance, data analysis, and project management while evaluating the success of prevention efforts. Foster America’s best-in-class professional development programming draws fellowship participants from across the country.
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State and Community Partnerships
Thriving Families, Safer Children
OPT-In for Families
Youth Villages
Fellowship Participants
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Our Approach... Foster America works alongside government and community leaders to strengthen promising approaches — and explore new ones — that connect families to resources before challenges escalate, reducing unnecessary child welfare system involvement through early, proactive support. This kind of innovation requires strength in four key capacities:
Co-design: Those who have experienced the child welfare system firsthand are leading the way in transforming it. At Foster America, we bridge the gap between government agencies and the communities driving change, ensuring that policies and services are shaped by the people they impact most. By working alongside individuals with lived experience, we co-design and test new approaches that reflect what families truly need — building trust, shifting power, and creating solutions that work in the real world. Collaboration: No single agency or sector can transform how our nation serves families. We bring together leaders from government agencies, nonprofits, community organizations, and more, empowering them to develop coordinated, responsive approaches that harness their collective strengths and respond to families’ true goals and needs. Finance: Less than 15% of child welfare funding is dedicated to prevention, while the vast majority is spent on removing children from their families. The current policy landscape makes it far easier to finance separation than to invest in the kinds of community-based programs that help families stay together. We help redirect resources toward community-based supports that strengthen families and promote economic stability — moving away from punitive models and toward sustainable solutions. Learning: Lasting change requires understanding how the child welfare system works now and whether new approaches are effective in better meeting the needs of families. We analyze qualitative and quantitative data — drawing from insights from both those who work in the child welfare system and the families impacted by it — to refine strategies, adapt in real time, and scale the approaches that work.
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…In Action Foster America accelerates progress by bringing diverse collaborators together around a family-focused approach. We do this by:
Convening key players: We convene diverse audiences — including people who have been directly impacted by the system — for planning and design sessions to assess system strengths and challenges, define a shared vision, and develop action plans. We then embed our staff on site, ensuring initiatives move forward. Empowering changemakers: We offer multiple fellowship programs led by expert faculty from across child welfare and beyond. We equip fellows with the skills to challenge traditional paradigms, redirect funding to better support families, and explore innovative prevention- focused solutions. Using data to drive decisions: Data isn’t just for reporting; it’s a tool to identify barriers, improve solutions, and drive progress. We help jurisdictions assess what information their system currently captures and home in on the metrics that truly reflect progress. Elevating lived experience: Across projects, we seek out those who have personally experienced the system and ensure they are the driving force behind efforts to transform the system to meet the true needs of families. This involves ensuring they hold positions of power in advisory groups; have meaningful opportunities to provide feedback; and are honored, supported, and compensated for these contributions.
The four core capacities that shape our approach work together to build a child welfare system that recognizes when families need support and ensures they receive it — a system where resources are equitably available, where race, income, or ZIP code do not determine a family’s access to opportunity.
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Progress Across Colorado Longtime Partnership Fosters Innovation
Colorado has long been at the forefront of child welfare innovation, and Foster America’s partnership with the state — one of our earliest and longest-standing — continues to drive meaningful change in child welfare. MAKING CONNECTIONS Foster America continues to support the Reimagining Colorado’s Child Welfare System steering committee, helping to build trust and align priorities around a shared mission: “With families, for families — co-designing a family well-being system.” In 2024, the committee moved from planning to action. Among the most promising developments of 2024 is the collaboration with Mile High United Way’s 211 help service to create a statewide warmline. The warmline will connect families with resources without triggering a child welfare investigation — a key step toward reducing unnecessary systems involvement. PROMOTING PERSPECTIVES A core part of our work is ensuring every solution reflects the real experiences of families. In 2024, Foster America supported the development of a statewide database for Colorado of individuals whose personal experience in the child welfare system drives their desire to contribute to reform efforts. This resource makes it easier for agencies to seek guidance, build partnerships, and create paid advisory roles that ensure firsthand system experience informs policy and practice. At the same time, we successfully stood up Family Voice Councils across multiple counties, providing child welfare leaders with a key advisory body to support efforts to change the system.
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We’re bringing folks to the table that have been served by our system so we can hold ourselves accountable and grow and develop. It feels wonderful to see us going in this trajectory – and there’s more work to be done.
— Joe Homlar Director of the Division of Child Welfare Colorado Department of Human Services
ADVANCING RACIAL EQUITY Colorado is taking deliberate steps to address racial disparities across the state’s child welfare system. Foster America has played a critical role in convening state and local leaders to confront these challenges, align around priorities, and co-design solutions. In 2024, we hosted “Co-Creating an Equity Vision and Strategy,” the final of a three-part convening series dedicated to addressing disparities in Colorado’s child welfare system. Foster America remains committed to working alongside Colorado’s leaders, lived experts, and communities to sustain this progress, ensuring a future where every family has access to the support they need — when, where, and how they need it.
For more on our partnership with Colorado, visit us on YouTube: @fosteramericaFA
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Elevating Lived Expertise Vision and insights of those impacted by child welfare system must guide solutions we design, test, and scale
In 2024, Foster America furthered our commitment to centering lived experience in our work. • In the fall, we welcomed the second cohort of the National Leadership Circle (NLC), a unique fellowship for lived experts whose firsthand experience in the child welfare system inspires and informs their efforts to drive change. Each fellow is a lived expert who holds a professional role in an organization that impacts children, youth, and families. • Programming for the National Leadership Circle is shaped by our National Leadership Advisory Group (NLAG), composed of individuals with deep personal and professional experience in child welfare. Their thought partnership ensures that the NLC is designed with — not just for — those it seeks to support. • As a founding partner of OPT-In for Families, an initiative of the Doris Duke Foundation, we are ensuring that at least half the members of the advisory bodies guiding work in the four pilot sites are bringing lived expertise to inform the approach. By embedding firsthand experience into the core of this initiative, community-driven alternatives are stronger and more responsive, rooted in the real experiences of families. • Across our work, we not only recruit and engage lived experts to advise on transformation efforts but take steps to ensure that 1) decision-making power is truly shared with those with firsthand experience in child welfare and 2) those sharing their insights are compensated fairly for their expertise. Our work ensures that leaders with firsthand experience are valued not just as storytellers, but as experts whose contributions shape the future of child welfare.
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Podcast Features Foster America Foster America was honored to be among the first guests on “Community In-Site,” a new podcast that highlights advocates, community leaders, lived experts, practitioners, and policymakers who are advancing initiatives to prevent child abuse and neglect by strengthening families. Representing Foster America and our work with the OPT-In for Families Initiative, Senior Advisor Jeanine Morales joined Jennifer Holman, Oregon’s Family Preservation Manager, for an episode titled “Breaking Old Habits: The Tension and Promise of Shifting Power.” Jeanine discussed the importance of ethical, community-driven approaches to working with individuals who have personal experience in the child welfare system — ensuring their insights drive meaningful change rather than reinforcing outdated power dynamics. The conversation explored both the challenges and opportunities of shifting decision-making power, highlighting how OPT-In is modeling new ways of engaging families in systems transformation.
We believe communities already have the wisdom to care for families and that we need to listen to and lift up the voices of folks in the community.
— Jennifer Holman Family Preservation Manager Oregon Department of Human Services
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Fostering Futures Event brings tech and talent together
Innovation thrives at the intersection of unexpected collaborations. In 2024, Foster America and the MIT Media Lab’s Affective Computing group brought together experts from two fields that rarely have opportunities to co-design solutions — child welfare and technology. Together, we hosted the “Fostering Futures Forum: Harnessing Technology for Wellbeing.” Held at the renowned MIT Media Lab, the event featured people whose firsthand experience with child protective services fuels their desire to drive systems change. These lived experts were joined by expert technologists who worked alongside them to imagine tech-based solutions to tackle challenges faced by youth living in foster care. In the months leading up to the forum, Foster America facilitated family workshops across the country to engage those who had personally experienced the system. Sessions held in New York, Pennsylvania, California, Oregon, and Colorado focused on identifying common experiences children have when involved with child protective services. These workshops set the stage for collaboration at the forum. Here, selected participants, including technologists and lived experts, were invited to refine and develop the themes into actionable projects. Participants explored ways to maintain connections while living in foster care, set personal goals that help children remain focused, and enhance their sense of agency throughout their time in the system. They then presented their innovations to a crowd of child welfare leaders, community advocates, philanthropists, and more.
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Following the event, a framework for ongoing collaboration was established to continue exploring the solutions presented. An upcoming Foster America fellowship, the Technology Leadership Circle, will be dedicated to furthering the ideas presented at the Forum. This new cohort is designed for technology professionals who also have experience in the child welfare system. The success of the Fostering Futures Forum underscores Foster America’s commitment to co- designing the future of the child welfare system with those who understand it best. By engaging individuals with firsthand experience, we are actively shaping solutions that are grounded in what families need from the child welfare system — and deserve.
For more about the Fostering Futures Forum, visit us on YouTube: @fosteramericaFA
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OPT-In Launches Initiative supports families at earliest sign of need
Our current child welfare system, with its roots in surveillance and reactive interventions, often harms families instead of supporting them. In 2024, we were proud to support the launch of a new effort of the Doris Duke Foundation, the Opportunities for Prevention and Transformation Initiative (or OPT-In for Families), which seeks to transform traditional approaches to child welfare by prioritizing prevention.
who have been impacted by child welfare, in key initiative decisions. In April 2024, we hosted the kickoff convening, drawing together some 100 key collaborators from across the four jurisdictions. This event, held at Duke Farms, provided space for participants to build a shared vision for the future of OPT-In, which emphasizes the role of community collaboration in reenvisioning child welfare. Throughout 2024, Foster America focused on the implementation of an advisory committee in each site to guide the initiative. We convened a diverse cross- section of collaborators, emphasizing the voices of those with lived experience in the system to join in transforming it. These advisory committees are central to the initiative’s strategy, emphasizing the importance of local insights and direct community involvement in shaping a responsive and effective child welfare system. Each committee is tasked with identifying key areas for improvement and collaboratively designing policies that prioritize the well-being and stability of families. By focusing on early intervention and empowering local communities, OPT-In for Families is setting a new standard for how child welfare can more effectively support and protect vulnerable families, taking a significant step toward a system that is both just and equitable.
OPT-In builds on work done across the country to create and test a meaningful alternative to the child welfare system — one that moves from a punitive system focused on assessing whether children should be removed from their homes to a prevention-oriented well-being system that leads to better outcomes across a child’s life. As a founding technical assistance partner (alongside Think of Us, Chapin Hall, and the Harvard Kennedy School Government Performance
Lab), Foster America is entrusted with engaging intergovernmental and community partners, especially those
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This collaboration not only amplifies community voices but
also serves as a profound reminder of the boundless strength in our collective wisdom. Chynna A. Phillips Senior Director
I do this work because I believe those with lived experience
should not only be heard but be the ones shaping the system.
Jeanine Morales Senior Advisor
We are reinforcing our commitment to a well-being system that is equitable, community-driven, and fundamentally centered on the wisdom of those most impacted. Matthew Caywood Senior Advisor
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Partners in Progress Thriving Families, Safer Children
Foster America continues to proudly support Thriving Families, Safer Children (TFSC), a national collaborative dedicated to improving outcomes for children and families. Twenty-two sites, including state, county, and sovereign tribal jurisdictions, have joined the Thriving Families, Safer Children movement. Each site’s work is tailored to the needs of that area, and organizers work collaboratively with community organizations, lived experts, and public and private agencies to support local initiatives that promote family and community well-being.
Early in 2024, TFSC aligned on four strategic priorities. Throughout the year, organizers, with the support of Foster America, focused their efforts on site support, movement building, national partnership, and policy. 2024 HIGHLIGHTS: • Hosted 3 virtual learning sessions for 80+ participants • Convened a new bimonthly forum for site team leaders to build relationships and exchange resources • Convened monthly lived-expert roundtables for 20+ lived- experience partners • Supported development of “Community In-Site,” a podcast that produced 18 episodes with 3,000 downloads • Shared policy insights with the commissioner of the Administration for Children, Youth and Families regarding the use of federal funds to support lived expert engagement
THAT WORK IS GROUNDED BY FOUR GUIDING PRINCIPLES:
Partnering with lived experts
Centering the work in communities
Addressing issues of racial equity and disproportionality
Emphasizing upstream strategies for prevention, health promotion, and well-being
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Washington State Partnership
With support from the Ballmer Group, Foster America proudly entered a formal partnership with the Washington State Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) in 2024 to help reimagine how the state supports children and families. With a shared commitment to proactive, prevention-focused solutions, we launched a months-long discovery process, engaging with key collaborators across government, community organizations, and those with personal experience in the system.
Washington is committed to creating a child and family well-being system that connects families to support early — before challenges escalate. This work prioritizes timely access to services, stigma-free support, and expanded opportunities for families to stay safely together without formal child welfare involvement. The insights gathered during our discovery process will guide our continued partnership in Washington, focused on advancing Washington’s vision for a stronger, more responsive system that is grounded in real experiences, co-designed with those most impacted, and aligned between the many collaborators who together are working to advance well-being.
Cross-Sector Collaboration DOCTORAL RESIDENT PARTNERS WITH FOSTER AMERICA Brendan Chan, a student in the Doctor of Education Leadership program at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, joined us for his Doctoral Residency in 2024. This 10-month full-time learning experience allows doctoral candidates to immerse themselves in organizations and grow as systems-level leaders while completing strategic projects. Bringing experience as a classroom teacher and a decade-long career at Google, Brendan found great alignment with Foster America, given our focus on child welfare transformation and the current stage of our growth and development as an organization. Over the course of the year, Brendan expanded Foster America’s reach, connecting with organizations and leaders in sectors adjacent to child welfare. Brendan worked alongside the executive team to plan a series of events bringing together leaders from fields including education, technology, philanthropy, health care, and more.
Brendan Chan
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Funding the Future Fellowship explores fiscal strategies
Redirecting child welfare funding toward proactive, prevention-focused solutions that keep families safely together is one of the most powerful levers for long-term change. Federal funding structures have traditionally made paying for out-of-home placement easier — with substantial, dedicated funds — while investment in programs that help families sooner requires tapping more complex and less-sustained funding sources. In 2024, Foster America launched the inaugural Fiscal Leadership Circle (FLC), a fellowship bringing together 14 finance professionals from public child welfare systems and family-focused community organizations across the nation. Collectively, these fellows oversee $4.3B in public funding dedicated to child and family services. The 12-month hybrid fellowship is designed to empower these leaders to reimagine and redirect funding toward prevention programs that keep children safely at home, reducing reliance on foster care. Throughout the year, FLC fellows engage in intensive training on fiscal strategy, explore diverse funding streams, and collaborate on innovative projects aimed at expanding prevention services. Each fellow advanced an innovation project during the fellowship, focusing on areas such as developing funding pipelines for family resource centers, maximizing Title IV-E funding under the Family First Prevention Services Act, and establishing public-private partnerships to prevent youth homelessness. This inaugural cohort marks a pivotal step in transforming child welfare financing. By equipping fiscal leaders with the tools and knowledge to prioritize family well-being, the FLC is fostering a nationwide shift toward proactive, prevention- first approaches in child welfare.
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FEATURED FACULTY: DON WINSTEAD Shaping the Next Generation Few people understand the complexities of child welfare funding like Don Winstead, who over four decades in state and federal human services policy, has driven meaningful reforms in support of families. Now, as lead faculty for Foster America’s Fiscal Leadership Circle (FLC), he is equipping the next generation of fiscal leaders with the knowledge and tools to redirect child welfare funding toward prevention-focused solutions. Don’s expertise spans every level of government — he started as a frontline social worker before serving as deputy secretary of the Florida Department of Children and Families, overseeing programs including child welfare, TANF, SNAP, and Medicaid eligibility. He later became deputy assistant secretary for human services policy at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, where he helped design federal funding structures that impact millions of families. At Foster America, Don is demystifying the complexities of federal and state financing structures, helping fellows understand how to leverage funding streams for long-term prevention strategies that keep families together. His guidance ensures that fiscal leaders across the country are better equipped to challenge outdated funding models and invest in programs that keep families safely together — aligning financial strategies with the goal of family well-being.
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White House Insights Foster America hosts federal funding experts
Foster America welcomed child welfare experts from the White House in 2024 for a strategy session on leveraging federal funds for programs that strengthen families, reducing the likelihood of involvement with the child welfare system. The event, “Breaking the Cycle: Developing Strategies to Invest in Prevention,” focused on expanding access to essential resources for families who are facing hardship, an approach central to Foster America’s mission to keep children safely with their families — and out of foster care. Today, only about 15% of child welfare funding is directed toward prevention efforts, while the rest prioritizes out- of-home placements. This imbalance makes it financially simpler to remove children from their families than to invest in the services that could strengthen and support them in the first place. Even jurisdictions that prioritize strengthening family support encounter significant challenges in securing adequate funding to implement preventative measures effectively. Rebecca Jones Gaston, then the commissioner of the Administration on Children, Youth, and Families (ACYF), served as a panelist alongside Miranda Lynch-Smith, then-deputy assistant secretary for the Office of Human Services Policy, and Ann Flagg, who was director of the Administration for Children and Families’ Office of Family Assistance (ACF/OFA). Together, they offered invaluable insight to members of the inaugural Foster America Fiscal Leadership Circle, a Foster America fellowship uniquely developed for child welfare finance professionals.
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We know what a difference economic and concrete supports – cash in the hands of families families – can make in preventing crises. — Ann Flagg Administration for Children and Families Office of Family Assistance
The Fiscal Leadership Circle equips child welfare leaders to utilize strategies that prioritize funding for prevention and community-based support services, recognizing that addressing families’ challenges at the first sign of hardship can significantly and safely reduce the need for foster care placements. White House dignitaries acknowledged longstanding barriers to connecting families with support but also outlined funding practices that are successfully keeping families together, emphasizing the importance of proactive investments. “We know what a difference economic and concrete supports — cash in the hands of families — can make in preventing crises,” Flagg said.
For more about the Fiscal Leadership Circle, visit us on YouTube: @fosteramericaFA
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Dial Fellowship Kickoff
Executive director addresses new cohort In 2024, Foster America Co-Founder and Executive Director Marie Zemler Wu was invited to address the 2024 cohort of the prestigious Dial Fellowship, an initiative of the Emerson Collective that cultivates visionary leaders who are leading innovative systems reforms. As a 2023 Dial Fellow, Marie reflected on her experience in the program and how it shaped Foster America’s ongoing efforts to refine our messaging, expand our influence, and deepen our work in co-design and equity-driven reform. Since Foster America’s earliest days, we’ve been committed not only to exploring new approaches to child welfare but also to sharing lessons learned with others working to transform systems. Marie’s return to the Dial Fellowship kickoff convening as a guest speaker was an opportunity to continue that exchange — contributing to a broader dialogue about systems change and cross-sector collaboration. This commitment to learning-driven transformation is embedded across Foster America’s work, ensuring that change isn’t just about generating new ideas but about tracking progress, using data to refine strategies, and scaling what works.
ABOUT THE DIAL FELLOWSHIP The Dial Fellowship, an initiative of the Emerson Collective, supports leaders from across sectors who are driving social reform. Fellows participate in a year-long experience designed to refine their strategies, expand their impact, and build connections with a network of changemakers. The fellowship provides mentorship, coaching, and practical experiences that enhance leaders’ ability to craft and communicate their organization’s message effectively. Marie Zemler Wu, co-founder of Foster America and its current executive director, was awarded the Dial Fellowship in 2023.
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In 2024, we hosted the “Foster America Summit,” a virtual event bringing together key collaborators from across the child welfare ecosystem for an update on our work. Drawing on examples from both longstanding and new partnerships, Foster America staff shared updates on the innovative, prevention-focused strategies that are taking shape across the country to better support families. Inaugural Summit
The Foster America Summit is recorded and shared with attendees. Watch the 2024 recording on our YouTube channel, @FosterAmericaFA.
Foster America panelists, who took questions from attendees, emphasized the importance of co-designing these strategies not only with government and community leaders but the people who have been personally impacted by the child welfare system. With each collaboration, we remain committed to ethically, compassionately, and fairly engaging those who may still carry the trauma of systems involvement. Each year, the summit provides a dedicated space to celebrate progress, share lessons learned, and push thinking forward on what’s possible when systems are redesigned with families at the center.
Focused on Data In the final quarter of 2024, we secured a five-year contract with RTI International, a leading research institute that conducts policy assessments, program evaluations, and studies on the needs and outcomes of vulnerable children and families.
As the primary liaison between the NSCAW project and local jurisdictions, Foster America is ensuring that data collection aligns with the real needs of communities and decision-makers. RTI’s expertise in qualitative and quantitative research helps shape how jurisdictions gather and interpret data, strengthening child welfare policy with evidence-based insights. This work is an essential piece of our broader strategy to integrate data insights into policy and practice, enabling jurisdictions to make informed decisions that better support families.
This partnership supports the fourth cohort of the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being (NSCAW) — a critical nationwide effort to improve how child welfare systems track and respond to family well-being.
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A National Conversation
Leaders gather at White House in support of child welfare transformation In late 2024, national leaders came together at The White House Child Welfare Convening, shining a spotlight on the urgent need to rethink how the U.S. supports children and families. The gathering — an extraordinary recognition of child welfare as a national priority — brought together federal, state, and local leaders to address the deep-rooted challenges in the system and chart a bold path forward. Foster America’s co-founder and executive director Marie Zemler Wu was honored to be among the invited attendees, reflecting on what she called a “generational moment” in the field. The convening underscored a long-overdue shift: from child protection and family separation toward prevention, family support, and structural reform. Marie noted that the last time the White House convened such a discussion — President Herbert Hoover’s 1909 Conference on the Care of Dependent Children — the focus was on the harm of institutionalizing vulnerable youth. Today, the conversation centers on another harmful practice: conflating poverty with neglect and over-relying on child removal rather than family strengthening.
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Even as the political landscape shifts, the need for transformation remains urgent. The convening highlighted key priorities that communities, advocates, and policymakers must continue to push forward — disentangling poverty from neglect in state statutes, integrating Medicaid with child welfare funding, and prioritizing kin, culture, and connection. These ideas are bigger than any one administration, and it is up to those working on the ground to ensure that progress doesn’t stall. At Foster America, we remain committed to this work. The momentum for change continues to grow in states and communities across the country, and we will keep advancing solutions that ensure families have the support they need to thrive.
This was one of the milestone moments to both mark what’s shifted and to accelerate those innovations.
— Marie Zemler Wu Co-Founder, Executive Director Foster America
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Partnership With Youth Villages
Work progresses across 3 states
Harnessing data to drive improvement in the child welfare system is foundational to our ongoing partnership with Youth Villages and its technical assistance branch, New Allies. Since 2023, Foster America has been working with Youth Villages to expand the Intercept program, which provides in-home services to families at risk of involvement with child protective services, as well as those working toward reunification. The expansion is part of a broader effort to reduce jurisdictional reliance on foster care, with work currently focused in Kentucky, Louisiana, and Mississippi. Key to the initiative’s success is ensuring that prevention strategies are rooted in meaningful data that reflects the experiences of families. As a technical-assistance partner, Foster America works to ensure strong data practices are embedded in continuous improvement projects across three jurisdictions: Kentucky, Louisiana, and Mississippi. In partnership with jurisdiction data teams, we analyze and interpret the extensive information captured by their child welfare data systems. Our work over the last year included establishing foundational baseline measures for each jurisdiction, zeroing in on the metrics that will best show progress of prevention strategies over time. By setting these benchmarks, we provide a starting point from which states can observe changes, gauge the success of interventions, and refine approaches as needed. Embedding strong data practices into system- transformation efforts ensures innovations are measurable, sustainable, and scalable.
40 | Foster America 2024 Annual Report
Foster America believes listening to families, working with families, to design innovations is as important as working with government. And I think that that’s very unique.
— Takkeem Morgan Foster America Board Member Fellowship Alumnus
Knowledge and Learning Exchange New platform builds connections
BY THE NUMBERS: 154 registered users
At Foster America, we believe that innovation thrives when knowledge is shared and collaboration is prioritized. Our Knowledge and Learning Exchange serves as a dynamic platform dedicated to cultivating, sharing, and scaling insights to redefine how our nation supports children and families. In 2024, we created dedicated spaces where specific communities — such as jurisdiction partners and members of current Foster America fellowships — could connect, share insights, and access materials tailored to their work. This approach fosters deeper engagement and more targeted learning opportunities. In the future, we envision expanding the Knowledge and Learning Exchange by creating public channels that provide a virtual gathering space. Our ultimate goal is to build a community of those who share our goal of transforming the child welfare system, amplifying our collective impact.
120 learning modules shared
90 additional pieces of content distributed
www.foster-america.org |
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BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Susan Notkin Board Chair
Nathan Aleman Treasurer Principal The Bridgespan Group
Allegra Lawrence-Hardy Partner Lawrence and Bundy LLC
Daniel Stephens Partner McKinsey and Co.
David Sanders Executive Vice President Casey Family Programs
Former Executive VP Center for the Study of Social Policy
Jolie Bales Principal JA Bales and Associates
Susan Leath Principal Consultant and Founder Leath Consultant Group
Takkeem Morgan Senior Director of Communications Prevent Child Abuse America
POWERED BY PEOPLE At Foster America, we recognize that investing in our people is just as critical as investing in systems change. In 2024, we welcomed Deszeree Thomas to the executive team as our vice president of culture and learning — a newly created position designed to strengthen our internal capacity and support the growth of our team. Our work is complex, demanding, and deeply personal, and we are committed to ensuring that every member of our team has the support, development opportunities, and inclusive environment they need to thrive.
EXECUTIVE TEAM
Brian Clapier Senior VP of Programs
Michael Russom VP of Finance and Operations
Marie Zemler Wu Co-Founder, Executive Director
JoAnne Scribner VP of Development and Strategic Partnerships
Deszeree Thomas VP of Culture and Learning
Brendan Chan Doctoral Resident
42 | Foster America 2024 Annual Report
STAFF MEMBERS
Matthew Caywood Senior Advisor
Nolini Deen Talent Specialist
Sulla Eastman Director of Finance
Emily Ente TFSC Project Director
Safiyyah Bennett Communications Associate
Gabrielle Garcia Collaborative Design Specialist
Julian Johnson Director of Planning and Operations
Angela Lytle Colorado Site Director
Danielle Martin Senior Director of Discovery and Engagement
Courtney Franklin Director of Knowledge and Learning
Jeanine Morales Senior Advisor
Jennifer Outlaw Prevention Site Director
Chynna A. Phillips Senior Director
Daniel Parr Development Coordinator
D.L. Moffitt Fiscal Innovation Specialist
Noelle Russell Director of Communications
Danielle Savage Data Design Specialist
Aminata Simbo Director of Changemakers
Anicia Reynoso Development Associate
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