I am Valued: Chase’s Story
Transition-aged youth (TAYs), or youth aging out of foster care, face a lot of daunting challenges once they turn 18. Many age out of state care without a family or support system to help them navigate their independence. Chronic poverty, incarceration, accidental pregnancy, and homelessness are just a few of the risks young adults often […]
Community Empowerment with CarePortal
For Others’ third priority in the Well-Being Support Ecosystem™ is community empowerment. Community empowerment allows towns and neighborhoods to build strong relationships and unite community members in a network of support. With a healthy community, at-risk kids and families don’t need to look far for help, and positive change becomes more sustainable. Our partner, CarePortal, makes […]
Ideal Family Placements with The Contingent
The second focus of our Well-Being Support Ecosystem™ is to recruit and retain ideal family placements for children in foster care. But what is an ideal family placement, and how do we identify them? This is where our partner, The Contingent, comes in. Their data-driven model helps states identify potentially successful foster families with pinpoint […]
Family Preservation and Reunification with Restore Hope
One of the most effective and crucial ways to end the child welfare crisis is through family preservation and reunification, which is why it’s the first focus of our Well-Being Support Ecosystem™ approach. Over half of the cases involving child removal in 2023 were preventable. Family preservation keeps children from being placed in foster care, […]
Mizzou Night of Champions: A Foster Care Football Camp
What do football and foster care have in common? The Mizzou Tigers! Every summer, the University of Missouri football team hosts a football mini-camp for local children in foster care served by our partner, Coyote Hill. The event, Mizzou’s Night of Champions, is a highlight of the kids’ summer and is eagerly anticipated. This unique […]
Lasting Impact: How Helping One Family Changed a Community
To end the child welfare crisis in America, we need to make a lasting impact and permanent change. We and our partners avoid putting a band-aid on the symptoms and address the roots of the problem. One of the most important ways to achieve this is to prevent children from entering the foster care system. […]
You Belong: Laura and Wylynn’s Story
Adults who were formerly in foster care know the pain of feeling lonely and uncertain. Their experience often gives them an extra dose of compassion for children currently in foster care. Laura, a woman who spent time in foster care during her childhood, was determined to help as many children as she could. She and […]
Life at the Hill: Sarah’s Story
Sarah’s family has a legacy of foster care. Her grandparents fostered several children, and they adopted her uncle. Sarah felt called to continue the work, but after she and her husband married and had a daughter, they realized they didn’t know where to start. That’s when our partner Coyote Hill came along, and Sarah’s family […]
From Fear to Family: Lindsey’s Story
When Lindsey arrived at House of Providence, one of our partners, she had been through a lot for a young girl. At 11 years old, she already experienced heartbreak, loss, and distrust. Her needs weren’t being met, and her circumstances forced her to grow up too quickly. But because of the attentive and compassionate care […]
Limitless Love: How an Aunt and Uncle Became Mom and Dad
“Ben” and “Hailey” believed their days of child-rearing were over. With their biological children in adulthood, the husband and wife planned for a future with just the two of them. They never expected to become parents again. Then they received terrible news; Ben’s sister had passed away suddenly, leaving behind her two small children. We […]
Christmas Camp: Treasured Memories Together
What do camp and Christmas have in common? Answers include hot chocolate, staying up late, a warm fire, and sweet snacks. The most important one, however, is togetherness. Camp and Christmas provide a unique opportunity to connect with others away from daily distractions and routines. Yet in both cases, many kids in foster care never […]
Lela’s Story: A Home for the Holidays
“There’s no place like home for the holidays,” sings Perry Como. But what about those who don’t have a home? The 2022 Annual Homelessness Assessment Report estimated about 580,000 people were homeless in the United States. Lela, a single mother of two, found herself in that exact situation. After escaping an abusive situation, Lela and […]
