Leadership Circles:
Equipping Leaders to Redesign Systems
Together
BY THE NUMBERS
Fiscal Leadership Circle: Advancing Prevention Through Funding
Leadership Circles are Foster America’s cohort-based fellowships designed to strengthen leaders working to transform child and family well-being systems.
Each circle brings together participants who share a common area of expertise—such as technology, lived experience leadership, or public finance—and supports them in deepening their subject-matter knowledge while growing their ability to influence systems. Through learning with national experts and one another, fellows build practical skills in adaptive leadership, strategic thinking, and collaboration that help them navigate complex systems and advance meaningful change.
14 fiscal leaders in the inaugural cohort
The Fiscal Leadership Circle invites fiscal and budget leaders to see themselves differently. Instead of managing existing structures alone, fellows explore how financial strategy can be used to redesign systems and invest in prevention. The inaugural cohort brought together 14 fiscal leaders from 10 jurisdictions, collectively overseeing more than $4 billion in child welfare spending. Over 12 months, fellows strengthened their technical mastery of public financing while building skills in adaptive leadership, strategic storytelling, and cross-system collaboration. Each fellow advanced a real-world project in their jurisdiction. Some focused on expanding access to Title IV-E prevention funding. Others explored housing
10 jurisdictions represented
$4.3B in child welfare spending overseen by fellows
Each circle focuses on a different lever of change. The Technology Leadership Circle explores how digital tools can better support youth and families. The National Leadership Circle strengthens leaders with lived experience in the child welfare system. The Fiscal Leadership Circle brings together public finance leaders working to align funding with prevention goals. While the focus of each circle is distinct, all share a commitment to learning, leadership development, and practical application. Over time, these cohorts become more than learning experiences. They form a growing network of leaders across states and systems who continue to share ideas, test solutions, and support one another in advancing more responsive and equitable approaches to supporting families.
$141M in potential prevention funding unlocked
LEADERSHIP CIRCLES
BY THE NUMBERS
3 Fellowship Circles
40 Change- makers
stabilization strategies, such as Family Keys and direct cash transfers, that help families remain safely together. Several projects examined how federal funding streams, including Family First, Medicaid, and TANF, could be better aligned to support families before crises escalate. Early results are promising. Five fellows’ projects demonstrated the potential to
22 States and Territories Represented
unlock $141 million in prevention resources while reducing reliance on foster care placements by investing earlier in family stability. The Fiscal Leadership Circle showed that budgets are not just administrative tools. When used intentionally, they can help shift systems toward earlier support—and toward stronger investments in families.
Lasting systems change happens when leaders learn together and lead together.
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24 | FOSTER AMERICA 2025 ANNUAL REPORT
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