This week, in partnership with the state Department of Children, Youth, and Families, Amara launches a new program to strengthen families in the Aberdeen and Spokane areas and help prevent the need for foster care. Our Parent FOCUS (Family Outreach, Connections, and Unconditional Support) program supports families who have been referred by the state for
Category: Blog
Sometimes Timing Is Perfect – Generous Gift Helps Kinship Family
It takes courage to reach out for help. And we’re honored a grandparent caring for their two school-aged grandchildren in King County entrusted us to help their family through our new Kin Connections program for support. Soon after reaching out to us, the grandparent shared that one of their family’s greatest needs was new tires
Amara and Nonprofit Partners Work Together To Expand Access to Food and Other Essentials
Being in community as a nonprofit can make a huge difference for families experiencing tough times. And when nonprofits partner to serve more families together than they could individually, they can reach and help more people. A great case in point is how Amara and the Making a Difference Foundation are working together to expand
Connection Can Bring Healing
Sometimes difficult childhoods can drive people to become change-makers as adults. For Devon, that has meant fostering nearly two dozen kids with her husband James over the last several years. Together they have cared for infants, young children, school-age kids, tweens and teens. Through it all, they’ve provided support, guidance, and plenty of love. Amara
Speaking of Change: How Parent and Caregiver Partnerships Can Help Children Thrive
“Relationships are what change people.” Shrounda Selivanoff, a parent and kinship caregiver who also is the Director of Public Policy at the Children’s Home Society of Washington shared this important truth as a panelist at our Speaking of Change conversation on “How Parent and Caregiver Partnerships Can Help Children Thrive.” Amara’s Speaking of Change
Kin Connections to Serve Kinship Families in King and Pierce Counties
One of the new programs Amara is launching this fall will directly help kinship families in our King and Pierce county communities. Kin Connections will help kinship caregivers connect to the resources and supports they need to parent relative children, many of whom often arrive in their caregivers’ homes with little notice. To help ease
Lived Experience Advice for Foster Caregivers During Back-to-School Season
It’s exhausting being a teen in foster care. That exhaustion increases during the first few weeks of school. It’s important for foster caregivers to understand this and provide the teens and tweens in their care with plenty of “space and grace” as they navigate all the stresses of back-to-school, according to Korah Loyd, who spent
Washington Will No Longer Pursue Parents of Kids in Foster Care for Child Support
The state of Washington will no longer attempt to collect child support payments from parents whose children have been placed in licensed out-of-home care. The Washington State Department of Children, Youth, and Families ended this practice as of September 1, 2022. A recent study found that referring parents to child support collection lengthened the time
Amara in Community – South Seattle
When community cares for one another, incredible things happen. Our first Community Resource Giveaway event helped dozens of families get the supplies they need for back-to-school and beyond. An additional 200 families got much-needed supplies like diapers and books, thanks to another nonprofit that attended ours to gather items for them. It was wonderful to