Stories and News

We are thrilled that the Washington State legislature passed the “Strengthening parent-child visitation during child welfare proceedings” bill (HB 1194) that officially went into effect on July 25, 2021.

Devon and James began their foster care journey with the intention of adopting a baby. But something happened along the way: the couple fell in love with foster care and quickly realized the tremendous impact they could have on children and families as foster parents.

The Board of Directors of Amara is pleased to announce the selection of Scarlett Aldebot-Green as its new Chief Executive Officer. Scarlett comes to Amara with extensive experience in nonprofit and government leadership. Scarlett’s official first day at Amara will be Monday, August 9, 2021. Until then, Jason Gortney will remain as Interim CEO.

We're peeling back the curtain on foster care and adoption! Join us on June 7th from 4:00-5:00pm for a critical conversation with key community members about how supporting kinship caregivers (typically relatives) is best for children and families experiencing foster care and a necessary step towards racial equity within child welfare.

Thanks to the South Seattle Emerald for reprinting Trey Rabun’s excellent post, “Kinship Care Can Help Transform the Child Welfare System.”  You can read it on their site or on our blog. 

Amara mourns the death of Ma’Khia Bryant, a 16-year-old girl in foster care, who was tragically killed by a police officer in Ohio this month. We are devastated and share in the collective grief of a nation over this senseless loss of life. 

Trey Rabun, Amara's Associate Director of Kinship and Community Services, writes about his professional and personal journey which led him to centering kinship care. He asks the question, "Why weren’t we truly prioritizing these families as placement options and then supporting them at the same level as foster parents?" Read more about why supporting kinship caregivers can transform the child welfare system and how Amara is shifting to meet this need.

That's right! We are looking for our next leader. Could it be you? Amara is celebrating 100 years of commitment to children and families in our community and we need someone to carry us into the future. 

We are proud of our partnership with Pierce County Juvenile Court to provide the Best for Babies program, an innovative, court-based program in Pierce County designed to ensure that infants and toddlers entering foster care receive support and services to promote secure attachment, safety, well-being, and an environment that supports early brain development with the goal to reunify families. It's exciting to see new solutions to child welfare expanding across our state!