Family, Foster & Adoption

This is a general timeline. You'll adapt it to your community's specific needs.

• Week 1-2: Assess Your Community's Needs.
  • Gather data on the number of children in out-of-home care, foster home availability, kinship care numbers, and adoption wait times in your area.
  • Talk to local child welfare agencies, foster parent associations, and kinship care groups. What are their biggest challenges?
• Week 3-4: Identify Key Stakeholders.
  • Who needs to be at the table? This includes agency leaders, judges, community organizers, faith leaders, current foster and kinship caregivers, and maybe even former foster youth.
  • Schedule an initial meeting to share findings from weeks 1-2 and discuss the pathway's goals.
• Week 5-6: Focus on One Area (Kinship, Foster, or Adoption).
  • Based on your assessment, pick the most urgent need to start with. Don't try to fix everything at once.
  • Start reviewing one of the linked action playbooks (Recruit Foster Families, Fund Kinship Caregivers, or Support Reunification).
• Week 7-8: Brainstorm Local Solutions.
  • Hold a workshop with stakeholders. What are creative ways to address your chosen focus area?
  • For example, if it's foster recruitment, think about local businesses that could help spread the word, or churches that could host information sessions.
• Week 9-10: Develop a Pilot Project Plan.
  • Outline a small, achievable project based on your brainstorming.
  • Define clear goals, a budget (even if small), and who is responsible for what.
• Week 11-12: Launch and Communicate.
  • Start your pilot project.
  • Communicate your efforts and early wins to your community. This builds momentum and encourages more involvement.
  • Plan for regular check-ins and adjustments to your pilot.

How to begin today

1. Contact your local child welfare agency. Ask about local needs for foster or kinship homes.
2. Talk to a current foster parent or kinship caregiver. Ask about their experience and what support they need.
3. Research existing local support groups. Are there organizations already doing this work? Connect with them.
4. Share information. Help educate your community about the importance of these roles.
5. Review the linked action playbooks. These offer concrete steps for specific areas.

Common pitfalls

• Doing it alone: This work requires a community effort. Don't try to tackle it without partners.
• Ignoring the "why": Always remember the children at the heart of this. Lose sight of that, and it's easy to get bogged down in bureaucracy.
• One-size-fits-all solutions: Every community is different. What works in one place might not work in yours.
• Not celebrating small wins: This is long-term work. Acknowledge progress along the way to keep motivation high.
• Forgetting about reunification: While foster care and adoption are vital, the primary goal for many children is to safely return to their birth parents. Support for reunification is crucial.