What Is Child Welfare? A Clear Guide to How the System Works
When safety breaks down at home, child welfare becomes the bridge to stability. It begins with prevention and safe reunification whenever possible. If not, kinship and foster care, eventually adoption, become the next best options. The system spans courts, caseworkers, nonprofits, and caregivers, all working toward three goals: safety, permanency, and well-being. In this article, we take a […]
Why Do Foster Parents Quit? (And How You Can Help)
Foster parents don’t quit because they stop caring about kids. So why is foster family turnover so high? The answer often comes down to systemic gaps in communication and support. When this happens, children in foster care are the ones who pay the price. The good news is that we can all help close these […]
Cope with Depression During the Holidays (Expert Strategies)
Holidays bring an atmosphere of joy and celebration, but proximity to the holiday spirit exacerbates the effects of depression and grief. The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) reports that “64% of people with mental illness report holidays make their conditions worse.” Use this guide to discover the root causes and effective strategies to cope […]
National Adoption Month: A Brief History of Adoption
Every November, National Adoption Month provides a time to celebrate adoptive families, support those navigating the adoption process, and raise awareness for children still waiting for permanent homes. However, the history of adoption traces its roots to ancient times. It spans cultures and tells the story of evolving knowledge about caring for children. This National […]
Halloween Safety Tips for Foster Parents
Halloween is a magical time of the year for children, but kids in foster care may struggle to fit in around the holidays. In the United States, about 35% of children in foster care move homes two or more times per year. With such frequent uprooting, it can be easy to feel excluded from the […]
What Is Collective Impact?
Society’s toughest problems rarely fall neatly within the mission of a single organization. Collective impact is the framework that turns isolated good work into coordinated, measurable change. Below is a practical guide to what collective impact is, how it functions in the nonprofit world, and how it powers our approach to ending the child welfare […]
School Challenges for Children in Foster Care: Educational Stability for Foster Youth
Students in foster care bring talent, grit, and potential to the classroom. They also face barriers most classmates never see: sudden school changes, gaps in records, untreated trauma, and missed credits that slow or derail graduation. Nationwide, only about half of the youth who spend time in foster care finish high school, and less than […]
History of Child Labor in America
It is impossible to discuss the history of child welfare in America without also examining the history of child labor reform. While the cause received support in the 1800s, it gained real momentum at the turn of the 20th century. In a time of significant social reform, many felt moved by the hardships of homeless, […]
How To Help Students in Foster Care: Managing School Stress
Stress can be a source of major problems in many areas of life, including schools. A 2015 NYU study found that “nearly half (49%) of all [high school] students reported feeling a great deal of stress on a daily basis.” School stress affects all students to varying degrees, but the instability of foster care often […]
New Foster Parents Guide: Welcome Your First Foster Placement
Fostering children comes with many responsibilities and requirements, and new foster parents may feel overwhelmed. Even though the work can be incredibly meaningful, bringing a foster child into your home can be intimidating, especially since foster children often have trauma that they bring with them. To help you feel empowered and supported, we’ve compiled some […]
How to Become a Foster Parent in 2026
There are over 343,000 children in foster care across the United States, but only 186,000 foster homes. It often takes months or years before these children reunify with family, find permanency through adoption, or age out of care. During this crucial time, children urgently need ideal foster placements. Yet the licensing process sometimes overwhelms potential […]
Supporting Transition-Aged Youth in Foster Care
Few 18-year-olds are ready to be completely independent, yet thousands of young adults age out of foster care each year without a family or support system. These transition-aged youth (TAYs) enter adulthood alone without guidance, assistance, or encouragement. The outcomes are grim: 90% in chronic poverty, 80% of men incarcerated, and 70% of women pregnant […]
