Amira is 7 years old and will quickly tell you she is the oldest between her and younger brother Amir, she is described as a social butterfly, with a bubbling personality, she loves being active, outdoors, gymnastics, swimming, very animated and expressive, give her a microphone with a platform! Amira loves school she catches on [...] Continue Reading
Late one winter night in 2008, 7-year-old Tarah* and 8-year-old Anthony came into foster care because their mom was addicted to heroin and struggled with mental illness. They were immediately split up and placed with strangers. Their caseworker was brand new. She tried to contact relatives but found fewer than 10. With no known father, [...] Continue Reading
“All you need is love” and “skin color doesn’t make a difference.” We hear these comments all the time in conversations about transracial parenting. While people say these with the best intentions, they can become a barrier to engaging in deeper thinking, self-evaluation, and conversations around the complexities of transracial families. These conversations can have [...] Continue Reading
Meet Mackenzie (4), Amani (3), and Ronald (3)! These fun-loving siblings love to go go go! Playing with toys, going on new adventures, and hanging out together at the park are a few of their favorite things. Mackenzie, the oldest, takes pride in being a great big sister. She loves lending Amani and Ronald a [...] Continue Reading
Davonte is a fun, curious 12 year old who loves all things Basketball. He loves and is good with animals, especially dogs. Davonte likes to build things, and he is an easy child to have fun with. Davonte is always observing his surroundings, and although he can be reserved at times, he comes out of [...] Continue Reading
Tyler is a 13 year old star whose smile will light up your heart. You can find him involved with anything to do with music and dancing. He loves to sing in the church choir and can perform a flawless dance routine at the drop of a hat. His favorite artists are T Swift and [...] Continue Reading
December 04, 2019 - St. Louis, Missouri - Ian Forber-Pratt, a Distinguished Alumnus from the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis and a graduate from Principia College, and his team have received a grant from a private donor to formally launch the Institute for Child Welfare Innovation. The Institute is a spin-off 501c3 [...] Continue Reading
We were thrilled at the outpouring of interest in our last blog post: Why Traditional Parenting Fails Children with Trauma. In that post, our Director of Family Works, Anne Zink, discussed Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy (DDP), the only evidence-informed therapy for children with complex trauma between the ages of 2-21. As Anne discussed in the last [...] Continue Reading
It’s not necessarily the sun shining through the windows that will brighten your mornings when Sean is in the house. It’s likely his smile, as he spends most of the day beaming! If you couple Sean’s silly sense of humor with his great grins, you’ve got an amazing young man who makes the dullest days [...] Continue Reading
Much of traditional day-to-day parenting assumes that the child feels safe at home and is able to trust their parent and their motives when they discipline them. They may not like the discipline but they never doubt the underlying security and unconditional love. This traditional parenting, based on social learning theory, assumes that children learn [...] Continue Reading
Del-Vyon is an extroverted 11-year-old who is always smiling! He’s always looking for ways to make you smile too, so he’s quick to bust a dance move or tell you a joke to capture your attention. Being smart, athletic, and full of curiosity are some of his best qualities. Del-Vyon likes playing football and basketball [...] Continue Reading
Ashiauna is an outgoing 13 year old girl. Social, humorous, and compassionate are a few words that immediately come to mind when describing her. In her spare time, she enjoys playing basketball and soccer for her school team, hanging out with friends, and keeping up with the latest fashion trends. Ashiauna is currently in 8th [...] Continue Reading
Issue Spotlight: Transition-Age Youth (TAY) in Foster Care Do you remember being 21 years old? Maybe you have memories of signing your first lease, going off to college, searching for jobs or trying to find yourself. Oh, a time of change and endless possibilities… and stress, confusion and the overwhelming feeling of “having no idea [...] Continue Reading
Time flies when you’re having fun! Camps, vacations, and pool days are winding down, and reality is slowly sinking in; it’s already time to prepare for the school year. We know this is often a tough season for foster, adoptive, and guardianship families. That’s why we do everything we can to make this transition seamless. […]
Karissa is a 16-year-old girl who is very articulate but can be a little hesitant with people she does not know well, once Karissa gets to know someone, she will open up and can carry on great conversations. Karissa is creative and it shows through her love of drawing. Music is a passion she listens [...] Continue Reading
It had been a tough day for 16-year-old Marcie*. She had just learned that her brother was being adopted. She was glad for him, but couldn’t help but wonder when she would find her forever family, too. She missed him already. Edna, The Coalition’s Wendy’s Wonderful Kids Recruiter, recognized that she needed a little extra [...] Continue Reading
Six year old Chance lights up every room that he walks into. He has a megawatt smile and sweet nature. He has brownish red hair and sparkling green eyes. He is cheerful, loves to help, and you will be his best friend the minute you meet him. He loves to do chores such as taking [...] Continue Reading
Hannah is an energetic and artistic 16-year-old. Her smile and joy light up the room when she walks in. Hannah’s dream day would include lunch at Taco Bell, spending time playing with and caring for animals, heading to the mall to go shopping for clothes, and dinner at Taco Bell (yes, you read that right). [...] Continue Reading
Find out how Foster & Adoptive Care Coalition, winner of Council on Accreditation’s 2018 Innovative Practices Award, is leading the charge to create stability for kids in the chaotic world of foster care.
Meet Tylei! There’s never a dull moment with Tylei, an energetic and fun 8 ½ year old. He is starting 2nd grade this fall. Tylei’s favorite subjects are reading and math. He’s an action hero fan and his favorite character is “Ironman.” Tylei is an active and engaging young man who will tell you he [...] Continue Reading
Final projects turned in, desks cleaned out, and the classroom doors are closed … summer has arrived! For many families, there is much to anticipate: sleeping in, vacations, and camps. But for foster parents, it is often a season of uncertainty as the kids in their care adjust to a new daily routine, away from […]
It was a sea of smiles at Wells Fargo Advisors last month, as the Coalition welcomed longtime supporters to our 30 Years of Volunteers Luncheon. It felt more like a family reunion, bringing together extraordinary individuals and groups who have been committed to serving our most vulnerable kids for the last three decades. The room [...] Continue Reading
How many times have you heard the following? We don’t have enough foster parents. There aren’t enough qualified parents to care for our kids. There is a crisis-level shortage of available homes. If you live the child welfare life, we’d guess every day. But that’s not the full story. Those statements would lead you to [...] Continue Reading
Click here to download a pdf. “Pain is inevitable, suffering is optional” Caring for children and youth who have survived severe and complicated trauma can be exhausting and finding peace among the chaos can be daunting. When we enter survival mode, we can lose perspective and situations can quickly spiral out of emotional control. WHAT […]
Part 3 of a 3-part blog series about The Coalition’s National Program Advisor, Ian Forber Pratt On July 11, 2018, Ian Forber-Pratt boarded a plane to St. Louis. Over the last 9 years, he’d been at the forefront of a movement to change the face of child welfare in India. Now he was headed back [...] Continue Reading
Part 2 of a 3-part blog series about The Coalition’s National Program Advisor, Ian Forber Pratt In a cluttered, sweltering government building in Rajasthan, India, Ian Forber Pratt stood sweating in the office of the Director of the Department of Child Rights (DCR). He had come to ask permission to do something unprecedented: create a [...] Continue Reading
Part 1 of a 3-part blog series about The Coalition’s National Program Advisor, Ian Forber Pratt Ian Forber-Pratt went to the courthouse in 2009 to begin his first case as an Extreme Recruiter. He entered the courtroom to the sound of screaming. Ian backed against the wall as Mallory*, age 14, was wheeled out of [...] Continue Reading
We sat down with Tess Gaeng, a recent “graduate” of our Dennis & Judy Jones Family Foundation Foster Care & Adoption Program, and mom to four-year-old Ayden. Why did you decide to foster? I always knew I wanted to be a parent, but I wasn’t sure that biological children was the way that would happen. [...] Continue Reading
Maliek was hospitalized after a terrible beating by his father. Lost to addiction, his mother was unable to care for him. 30 Days to Family® found that his maternal grandma wanted him. As a refugee from the Rwandan genocide, however, she didn’t have a good grasp of English. Family Court said that because grandma couldn’t […]
With his awesome sense of humor, Jason is a lot of fun to be around! An affectionate and friendly kid, Jason is a great conversationalist with an engaging personality. He is super enthusiastic and is always eager to help others. He takes pride in his strengths, and says he is loyal, creative, and puts others [...] Continue Reading
“What began as a handful of reform-minded dreamers is now a cutting-edge leader in policy and practice. 30 years in, our groundbreaking and data-driven work has created dramatic change in the lives of our region’s most vulnerable children.” In the late 1980s and early 90s, the United States was gripped by a drug epidemic. Cheap, […]
Joseph is an active and engaging 16 year old young man who has a huge heart! Joseph’s creativity is a great strength of his and often leads to masterpieces made with Legos. Like your typical teenage boy, Joseph also really enjoys playing video games, especially car racing games. Sometimes he also likes to relax and [...] Continue Reading
During the holidays, we are inundated with messages from a number of sources (movies, music, TV, social media, commercials) about how we should be feeling joyful, happy, and thankful. Surrounded by loving (and attractive) family, laughter, fancy food served at perfectly set tables and loads of expensive gifts, these images rarely reflect the truth for […]
Brandon is an active, kind, and friendly young man. This 13-year-old is a pleasure to be with and his smile will light up any room! By others, Brandon is described as talkative, social, and inquisitive. He describes himself as smart and funny; saying he likes to humor others with his jokes and stories. When he’s [...] Continue Reading
Colton has great big brown eyes and a smile that will light up a room! This 5-year-old cutie is naturally happy, curious, and loving to the people in his life. He is easy to smile, giggle, and make eye contact to show his preference and affection for those closest to him. His favorite things are being [...] Continue Reading
Serenity is a beautiful 15 year old who is ready for a family! She is a happy child, who likes to sing and dance. Serenity loves all things girly. She enjoys doing her makeup, getting her hair and nails done, and anything regarding fashion. Serenity is very bright. She does well in school overall but [...] Continue Reading
Kejuan is a 15-year-old young man who loves sports. He enjoys watching and playing any type of sport, but specifically has a strong love for basketball. He could tell you anything you’d want to know about it and lights up when discussing his favorite teams, players, and their performance statistics. Kejuan is in the 10th grade [...] Continue Reading
