This National Foster Care Month (NFCM) event explores how agencies can partner with young people in the foster care system to build strong, supportive networks and achieve relational permanency.

Use this discussion guide with the “Reflecting on Racial Equity and the Family First Prevention Services Act” video to facilitate team discussions about your agency’s current practice and opportunities to take action.

Find out where evidence-based programs and services are being implemented to prevent children from entering foster care.

Learn about the definition and calculation of the CFSR statewide data indicator placement stability.

Learn about the definition and calculation of the CFSR statewide data indicator reentry to foster care.

Learn about the definition and calculation of the CFSR statewide data indicator permanency in 12 months for children in care 24 months or more.

Learn about the definition and calculation of the CFSR statewide data indicator permanency in 12 months for children in care 12 to 23 months.

Learn about the definition and calculation of the CFSR statewide data indicator permanency in 12 months for children entering care.

Use this brief to help your agency coordinate strategic and long-term planning, monitoring, and reporting processes—such as the Child and Family Services Plan (CFSP) and Child and Family Services Review (CFSR)—with agency continuous quality improvement (CQI).

Watch this recorded webinar to learn how other jurisdictions encourage kinship care placements and then discuss kinship support with your team.

Reveals how advocating for youth makes a difference in system change and in the advocates’ own lives. The Director of Policy and Advocacy at NMCAN and a youth advocate talk about their shared experience in testifying as expert witnesses for state legislative committees and how it created a strong bond between them.

Highlights the advocacy work of state and regional youth leadership councils. Two paid regional and state youth specialists and the Texas Director for Transitional Living Services describe how including youth voice by providing them a “seat at the table” at the state capital enhances the child welfare system. All three discuss the rewards and personal impact of their work.

Underscores the importance of consistency and encouragement in trusting relationships. A Fostering Success peer mentor gave impactful advice to the youth she mentored: Stop listening to the people who don’t believe in you.

Tells the story of the relationship between a youth in foster care and a BraveLife peer navigator. Both talk about the personal sharing and mutual trust that have forged a connection that will last a lifetime.

Demonstrates how showing up and listening are foundational to developing a nourishing relationship with youth. A young woman describes the constant support she and her family received from a social worker as she evolved from a youth into a teen mom and an advocate.