2025 Foster America Annual Report

from the Board

Dear friends: As this report reflects on the progress made in 2025, we also enter an important moment for Foster America. 2026 marks Foster America’s tenth anniversary of working to transform child welfare into a system of well-being supports for—and designed by—families.

The organization that exists today is ever more focused on advancing upstream services for strengthening families. It works to elevate the insights and leadership of those with lived expertise in child welfare while working alongside communities and agencies to keep families together and to weave together the array of services, supports, and resources necessary for robust well-being and prevention efforts. We have come to this through a decade of experimentation. We have worked with communities and state agencies. We examined and learned what was—and was not—working to transform how we support families so they can thrive. As an organization, Foster America has been disciplined in asking how to better help the field move towards upstream investment in family support. As Board Chair, I’ve watched this organization grow not just in what it does, but in its evolving examination of its role and purpose. From our very start as a fellowship organization, we have weighed our impact against a few fundamental questions: Are families actually getting support before their struggles turn into crises? Are those most impacted by state intervention, along with trusted community partners, helping design the supports families need to thrive? Are resources being redirected toward prevention and community supports? And finally, is Foster America being as strategic as we could be in making sure that the answer to those questions is a resounding yes? The work described in these pages—in Colorado, Washington State, South Carolina, Oregon, Kentucky, Washington D.C., and beyond—is evidence of what is possible when families, community partners, and public agencies work together to create a more humane approach to supporting families in need. Families are connected to voluntary supports before their struggles bring them to the attention of the child welfare system. Parents walk alongside other parents as they navigate how to access the help they need. Dollars are redirected from foster care placement toward the prevention of family separation. These aren’t just bright spots. They’re proof of what becomes possible when systems are built for families instead of against them. As we enter Foster America’s tenth year, the Board is committed to building on this foundation. We’ll share a new strategic plan later in 2026—and we look forward to the conversations ahead. Until then, our deepest thanks to the donors, partners, and families whose trust makes this work possible.

When families are connected to the support they need, communities can respond with help instead of unnecessary intervention, keeping children safe while helping families thrive.