Once you see it, you can’t unsee it. Hundreds of thousands of parents and children are in need. We are called to act. We are called to be For Others.
There is no single solution to this crisis. It demands local solutions for local problems, a state-by-state approach that involves the local church, government, nonprofits, and businesses. We aim to be the architect of a collaborative effort, uniting the right people and services to combat this crisis. This is our blueprint to end the child welfare crisis in America.
For Others raises awareness and empowers best-in-class organizations to end the child welfare crisis in America.
FamilyCentered
FOR OTHERS
EXISTS TO
END the child welfare crisis in America. As Jesus-followers, we believe we have been called to care for the most vulnerable in our nation. Parents and kids are at the heart of why we must end this crisis. God designed families to reflect His image and care for His creation. He commanded man and woman to be fruitful and multiply. However, in Genesis 3, sin entered the world as an attack on the family. We believe that through restoring and redeeming families, we can help children and their parents thrive. We believe in their value, their future, and their well-being. We believe that together, we can end the child welfare crisis in our lifetime.
Our Role
WE RAISE AWARENESS TO inform millions of people about the child welfare crisis facing their state and show them a path for change. Awareness is accomplished through events and experiences, celebrity partnerships, digital platforms, and building one-on-one relationships with key stakeholders.
Awareness involves knowledge of the child welfare crisis, but it also involves making those already doing work in child welfare aware of each other, too. That includes stakeholders such as state governments, businesses, churches, nonprofits, volunteers, and more –
anyone with an interest and ability to serve vulnerable children in their communities.
Secondly, we empower best-inclass organizations by fueling them as they adapt and repeat scalable solutions for localized problems. We help build collaboration between stakeholders, ensure data-driven outcomes, invest in cutting-edge tech platforms, share best practices, and secure funding. By empowering a network of organizations within the child welfare space, we achieve collective impact. Many hands make light work, and collaboration ensures a holistic approach to the child welfare crisis.
In short, we want to show a path to meaningful change and make it easy for others to get involved. Together, we can end the child welfare crisis.
The Crisis
Symptoms of the Child Welfare Crisis
MANY PEOPLE VIEW statistics like these as the central reason for the child welfare crisis. Numerous organizations are doing great work addressing these symptoms, and while these numbers heartbreakingly represent real families and children in need, we recognize they are indicators of a deeper issue.
7.5 million children have an open child protection case
606,000 children interact with foster care in a given year
67% of these cases are due to preventable neglect
214,400 foster parents were available for 361,100 kids last year
≈108,800 kids are eligible for adoption right now
20,000 youth age out yearly with 96% in chronic poverty
1/4 of youth in care attempt suicide
Sources: *fosterva.comand usafacts.org and acf.hhs.gov, **adoptioncouncil.org
Defining the Crisis
THE SYMPTOMS
not only reveal the immediate challenges faced by children and families but also point to a larger, systemic issue that remains unsolved. We face a complex problem, but we believe we’ve identified the missing solution.
Scan to learn about the history of the child welfare system in America.
Problem
A disconnect in community solutions for community problems to move families from crisis to stability to thriving.
Missing Solution
A collaborative network of stakeholders bridging the private and public sectors to effectively work together.
Strategy
Well-Being Support Ecosystem
FOR OTHERS’ WORKING
solution theory is to help establish an adaptive and repeatable Well-Being Support Ecosystem. We have an unwavering commitment to serve individual states’ existing public and private stakeholders to collaboratively solve their specific needs—ending their specific crisis.
Ecosystems
are God’s design for the flourishing of creation, and, when working properly, will heal themselves.
Three Priorities of the WellBeing Support Ecosystem
PRESERVATION & REUNIFICATION:
Preservation involves keeping families together by supporting birth parents and kinship caregivers. Reunification is the process of safely returning children in foster care to their birth families with necessary support.
RECRUIT & RETAIN:
The process of finding and keeping ideal foster and kinship placements to ensure children are placed in homes that best meet their needs and minimize trauma.
COMMUNITY EMPOWERMENT:
Creating holistic support systems for families and workers, emphasizing continuous communication to effectively serve their needs.
A Holistic Strategy
OUR STRATEGY TO END the child welfare crisis is grounded in the belief that holistic well-being is best achieved through an ecosystem approach. This approach mirrors the interconnectedness of God’s creation seen in nature, ensuring every service needed for flourishing is present and working in harmony. To achieve this, we leverage the four categories of services created by an ecosystem: provision, regulation, support, and cultural.
THE TRUE STRENGTH OF our approach lies in the combined efforts of our three priorities — Preservation and Reunification, Recruit and Retain, and Community Empowerment — and an ecosystem’s four categories of services. With the Well-Being Support Ecosystem, we create a comprehensive, holistic strategy that leaves no gaps, ensuring all necessary services are available to vulnerable parents and kids in need.
CULTURAL SERVICES
offer non-material benefits that enrich human life, focusing on emotional, recreational, spiritual, and cultural well-being.
PROVISION SERVICES
focus on direct care services and tangible products obtained from ecosystems.
REGULATION SERVICES
ensure that processes and outcomes are maintained effectively, focusing on governance, standards, and data-driven decision-making.
SUPPORT SERVICES
provide the necessary infrastructure and resources to sustain and enhance other services, ensuring they can scale and remain accessible.
A Local Approach
OUR
LOCAL APPROACH
addresses state-specific needs by focusing on local solutions for local problems. There is no one-size-fits-all nationwide solution. We seek to understand before being understood, considering the dynamics between public and private sectors, government policies, and the roles of various departments and communities. By building trust and activating collaboration among faith communities, nonprofits, and service providers, we empower both the private and public sectors. We believe what’s missing at the local level is the collective impact model.
Collective Impact: A unified effort to create lasting positive change
BY EMPOWERING A network of organizations within the child welfare space, we enact a collective impact approach. Instead of isolated efforts, collective impact leverages the strengths and resources of various stakeholders to address complex social issues more effectively. Each stakeholder shares a common agenda, shared measurement system, mutually reinforcing activities, continuous communication, and a backbone support organization to ensure progress. Scan to learn about collective impact from the Stanford Review.
By adopting a collective impact approach, we achieve more significant and sustainable change, addressing complex issues by engaging the strengths and resources of various partners. We can ensure our efforts are aligned, coordinated, and more effective while building a robust network of support for families and children in need.
Stakeholders
Private and Public Stakeholders
THE BEAUTY OF THE Well-Being Support Ecosystem is that there’s a role for everyone, from churches and nonprofits to private businesses and individuals.
The Church plays a vital role in preservation, reunification, and community empowerment by bridging gaps across all sectors. The Church offers Provision Services like food, transportation, and financial assistance; Support Services like wraparound care and volunteer programs; and Cultural Services through weekly gatherings, encouraging community, and sharing the hope of Christ.
Nonprofits are essential for delivering specialized, community-focused solutions. They adapt to local needs, leaving no family unsupported.
Businesses contribute resources, innovation, and leadership that sustain and expand efforts to end the child welfare crisis. They provide Support and Cultural Services like financial backing, job training, and fostering a culture of corporate responsibility.
Individuals drive the movement. Each person’s contributions fuel momentum for lasting change. They offer Support and Cultural Services through volunteering, mentoring, fostering, funding, and community-building activities that uplift children and families.
Be a Part of the Collective
1
USE YOUR GIFTS
Identify your talents – Not everyone is called to become a foster parent, but everyone can do something. No matter your talents, there’s almost always a way to use them on behalf of vulnerable children. Doing what you’re good at for others is doubly rewarding.
Identify your passions – Is there an aspect of the child welfare crisis that really tugs on your heart? Look into ways to help address the crisis in that area.
2
USE YOUR INFLUENCE
Make others aware – Spread the word on social media, or tell your friends and family about the child welfare crisis and how they can make a difference.
Why Donate to For Others?
THINK OF FOR
OTHERS
as your nonprofit hedge fund toward ending the child welfare crisis. Our hedge fund approach strategically invests donations to generate high impact with data-driven outcomes.
This method uses comprehensive research and thoughtful decisionmaking to ensure that every dollar you contribute has the greatest impact. For Others focuses on identifying and supporting best-in-class organizations, taking on the complex work of vetting and empowering them to deliver sustainable and measurable results.
