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Until Every Family Thrives

Foster America is transforming the way our nation supports families. Together with communities and local governments, we’re creating a just, equitable alternative to today’s child welfare system – so parents and children stay together with access to the resources they need to thrive.

To foster a future where all children and families thrive, we:

Drive Innovation

We are designing solutions alongside our nation’s boldest governments and communities. Together, we demonstrate that increasing support for families is an effective alternative to referring them for a child welfare investigation that may lead to the separation of families.

See Our Impact

Develop Changemakers

We’re building a network of people with the imagination – and determination – to transform the child welfare system. We nurture and connect leaders, growing their skills and amplifying our collective impact.

Meet Our Changemakers

Disseminate Knowledge

We share what works, so more families and more organizations in more places have the support they need. Our workshops and training allow child welfare practitioners, community leaders, and those who have experienced the foster care system firsthand to learn from our team and one another.

Access Our Resources
"We must reimagine child welfare — beginning with the belief that parents love their kids, and our job is to foster their well-being.”
Marie Zemler Wu, Co-Founder & Executive Director

Foster America centers equity and drives change using four strategies.

Co-design
Learn
Collaborate
Finance
Equity

Co-design

We center the perspectives of parents, young people, and community leaders to put their vision at the heart of new solutions.

Learn

We ensure qualitative and quantitative data informs decisions, fuels continuous improvement, and promotes accountability.

Collaborate

We coordinate with government partners, nonprofits, civic and corporate leaders, to break down barriers and align efforts to support families effectively.

Finance

We help identify funding opportunities for programs that proactively offer the types of support families need and want – an alternative to harmful and costly traditional child welfare approaches.

Co-design
We center the perspectives of parents, young people, and community leaders to put their vision at the heart of new solutions.
Collaborate
We coordinate with governmental partners, nonprofits, civic and corporate leaders, to break down barriers and align efforts to support families effectively
Finance
We help identify funding opportunities for programs that proactively offer the types of support families need and want – an alternative to harmful and costly traditional child welfare approaches.
Learn
We ensure qualitative and quantitative data informs decisions, fuels continuous improvement, and promotes accountability.
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Every year, 7 million children are reported to a child abuse hotline,
and 600,000 of them enter the foster care system.

Foster America envisions a reality where those numbers are far smaller, with families receiving the support they need before encountering child protective services and the threat of family separation.

The latest news from Foster America

/22 November, 2024
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Foster America hosted child welfare experts from the White House at the 2024 Fiscal Leadership Circle Convening...
/30 October, 2024
Foster America is now recruiting for the inaugural Technology Leadership Circle (TLC), a fellowship aimed at refining tech-based solutions to support...
/24 October, 2024
The Foster America team is deeply saddened by the loss of our board member and friend, Lola Adedokun. Lola was...
/16 October, 2024
At Foster America, we believe those closest to the challenges of the child welfare system hold the most valuable insights...
/30 July, 2024
DENVER — Some of the most innovative minds in finance convened in Denver last week for Foster America’s first Fiscal...
/3 May, 2024
BOSTON—Innovation thrives at the intersection of unexpected collaborations. This week, Foster America and MIT brought together experts from two fields...
/19 April, 2024
Foster America is pleased to announce 13 finance professionals selected to join the 2024 Fiscal Leadership Circle. Each fellow holds...
/8 March, 2024
Transforming the child welfare system is a truly collective effort, requiring bold changemakers from across sectors to imagine a new...
We're hiring! Find open positions here.