Foster care is tough on everyone involved—kids, birth families, and foster families. When we reduce the stigma, we can improve the day-to-day experience for children and youth in foster care, support parents who are working to reunify with their children, and make it easier for people to step up to become foster parents. By providing more support for children and families experiencing foster care, we improve their outcomes and prevent the cycle from continuing.
Katie Ferguson, Amara’s Fostering Family Manager, takes us on a deep dive into the creation of Fostering Family and how everyone can (and should!) find their role in supporting kids and families experiencing foster care in their community.
Listen to the podcastFostering Family is a community-wide initiative led by Amara, in partnership with businesses and non-profit organizations across the Puget Sound region, to raise awareness of children in foster care and inspire community action to support kids and families.
Becoming a foster parent or kinship caregiver isn’t the only way to support the nearly 4,500 kids in foster care across the Puget Sound area. Whether it is volunteering, donating, cooking a meal, or simply challenging our own perceptions, we all have a role.
We work every day to improve the experiences of children in foster care, adoptees, and their families. Our initiatives center the voices of people directly impacted by child welfare and adoption as we work together to boldly pursue new solutions to long-standing and systemic challenges.
In 2018, Amara purchased 29 acres in Pierce County seeing it as a key moment to build something for – and with – children and families who are at risk of experiencing foster care, not just once they’re a part of the child welfare system but to support their wellbeing and prevent separation.
