As the number of children in foster care in the US continues to rise, this blog post from the Brookings Institute highlights the "growing need to prioritize effective recruitment and retention for foster parents, including relative (or kinship) foster parents" and the foster parent recruitment and retention guide developed by the CHAMPS campaign and the Brookings Institution’s Center on Children and Families. The development of the guide was shaped by a national convening which "brought together 80 public and private child welfare agency staff, foster parents, former foster youth, issue experts, policy makers, advocates, and philanthropic leaders to share information about innovative solutions and best practices, including many examples from Quality Parenting Initiative sites."
"We know that one of the most powerful ways we can help children in foster care is by ensuring safe and stable family-based care," says the post. "We therefore urge state policy makers, program directors, and community leaders to commit to supporting excellent foster parents in their states and communities."