…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.
www.foster-america.org |
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