For over 40 years, the core of our work has been services to children and families. We have enhanced our direct experience in the field with original, expert research. And we have formed partnerships with organizations that complement our body of knowledge about what works in child welfare. Six areas constitute our approach to improving the lives of children and families: 

Services for children and families
We operate nine field offices in five states – Arizona, California, Idaho, Texas and Washington – that serve about 20,000 children in foster care, their families, young adults who grew up in foster care and child welfare professionals. We like to think of our field offices as proving grounds for developing and demonstrating effective practice models that child welfare systems may adopt themselves.

Consulting services for child welfare systems in the U.S.
We offer strategic consulting services at no cost to child welfare systems in about half of the 50 states. Our consultants assist in putting practices in place that will benefit those systems – and, in turn, the children and families they serve.

Among other important issues, we help agencies address systemic biases that result in a disproportionate number of children of color in foster care.

Indian child welfare
We engage with tribal communities to develop effective and culturally appropriate Indian Child Welfare programs.

Education of lawmakers
We educate state and federal lawmakers on the need for public policy changes that will help child welfare systems improve services for children and families.

Nonpartisan research
We provide nonpartisan research so that child welfare professionals and lawmakers can make informed decisions based on data and evidence.

Partnerships for change
We partner with community organizations, associations, philanthropies and corporations to promote effective child welfare programs. This helps nurture the broad-based support that encourages lawmakers and policymakers to take action on behalf of children.