What Works Best in Foster Care According to Experts
Children in foster care do better when they feel safe, known, and connected to people who won’t disappear. But the needs of children and families can get lost beneath acronyms, compliance checklists, and policy jargon far removed from everyday life. So, what works best in foster care? Research consistently points to five key practices: prioritizing […]
Daycare for Kids in Foster Care: Vouchers, Waitlists, and What to Ask For
Finding daycare for kids in foster care often becomes urgent very quickly. A new placement can happen with little warning, and caregivers need safe, reliable care right away so they can work, attend appointments, and help a child settle into a new routine. While help is available, the process can be confusing. Child care vouchers, […]
Understanding Normalcy Rules in Foster Care: Travel, Sleepovers, Sports
For many children, growing up includes sleepovers, school trips, birthday parties, sports, church retreats, movie nights, summer camp, and visits with friends. For children in foster care, these normal everyday experiences can sometimes raise questions about safety and permission. Foster parents may wonder: Can my foster child go on a sleepover? Join a sports team? […]
Your Roadmap to Help Kids and Families Impacted by Foster Care
If you’ve spent any time in foster care communities on social media, you’ve likely encountered Laura, the incredible voice behind the Instagram account @foster.parenting. Laura is a content creator and mentor who draws from her experiences as a therapeutic foster parent, as well as stories and feedback shared by the online community she’s built. With […]
Foster Family Recruitment and Retention: A Concierge Approach
Across the United States, there are more children in foster care than available foster homes. The challenge isn’t only foster family recruitment, but also foster family retention. Many begin the licensing process but never complete it, and other foster parents quit due to preventable barriers. That’s where the Every Child model and the new Every […]
How to Talk to Your Child About Foster Care and Adoption
When families decide to explore the exciting journey of foster care or adoption, it likely raises questions for biological kids in the home. Helping biological children understand the process builds a supportive and welcoming environment for the whole family. Yet many parents struggle to start this big conversation. If you’re nervous about how to talk to your child about […]
The Power of Youth Mentorship: When Someone Stays
Katherine often says, “I don’t remember much of my story.” At just four years old, she and her brother were removed from their home due to abuse. Katherine remained nonverbal until age seven, carrying memories too heavy for words that surfaced only in fragments. After moving through multiple foster homes, the siblings were eventually separated. […]
Trauma-Informed Residential Care for Youth in Foster Care
Thousands of children enter foster care each year due to abuse, neglect, and unsafe living conditions. Many arrive carrying deep trauma that requires specialized, trauma-informed care to begin healing. Trauma-informed care is a compassionate and empathetic approach that recognizes and responds to the impact of traumatic experiences in a child’s life. Diane was one of […]
10 Easy Ways to Volunteer in Foster Care
The formal US foster care system is a complex collection of agencies meant to provide more resources and protection for children. Yet this mission is hard for the system to handle alone. There are more than 328,000 children in foster care and over 15,000 young people who age out each year with no family, but […]
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 […]
Church Wraparound Care with Every Child Tennessee
In the United States, there are only 186,000 foster families available for the 343,000 children in foster care. America urgently needs to recruit and retain ideal foster families, but challenges stall those efforts. In many cases, foster families feel isolated and unable to seek support when they need it. However, with locations in nearly every […]
