Vision

KIDS MATTER envisions a future where "every child has someone in their corner," especially children being raised without a parent in the home. Today, one in ten children will spend part of their childhood in foster or kinship care. KIDS MATTER envisions a world in which no foster or kinship child is overlooked, and where children and their caregivers have equitable access to resources and support.

Goals

1. 1.Provide timely trauma-informed crisis counseling to support resilience among foster and kinship youth; keep positive childhood supports such as school & community connections, relatives and friends.
2. 2.Provide free trauma informed, strengths based guidance to relative caregivers to keep children safe outside of foster care when possible & to prevent the secondary trauma of placement disruption.
3. 3.Foster a culture of inclusion & equity for diverse and LGBTQ+ foster and kinship youth by developing advocacy skills and creating opportunity for youth leadership.