FosterStrong
Your Trusted US Foster Care Resource Hub
Where lived experience meets lasting support.
Feel Seen. Feel Supported.
Be Inspired.
At FosterStrong®, we know the foster care journey because we’ve walked it ourselves. That’s why we created a free, ever-growing resource hub designed to make support easier to find when you need it most.
No complicated searches. Just real connections and resources.
This space is for everyone touched by foster care; youth and alumni, caregivers, adoptive families, child welfare professionals, and allies. Here, you’ll find not only practical tools and programs from across the U.S., but also the lived wisdom of people who’ve been there. Those who understand the challenges and the hope.
Our mission is to remove barriers, share knowledge, and build community through stories, education, advocacy, and collaboration. Whether you’re navigating the system, standing alongside someone who is, or searching for ways to help, FosterStrong® is here to remind you that you are never alone on this path.
who grow up to change it."
Our Story
We are chosen kin who seek to make the world better for those impacted by foster care in the US. Through our unwavering commitment we work to make a meaningful and enduring impact on those impacted by foster care, equipping them with the tools they need to thrive (not just survive!) in adulthood.
Our Mission
To create, develop and maintain the nation’s greatest online and connecting resources serving the US Foster Care Community.
Our Vision
A community where we elevate awareness about foster care issues and inspire healing and kindness; an inclusive educational platform and resource hub.
Foster Care in the US
A Call to Connect Systems, Strengthen Supports, and Honor Young Lives
Every year, hundreds of thousands of children and youth in the United States enter foster care. According to the latest data, about 343,000 children were in foster care as of fiscal year 2023. These aren’t “cases”; they are young people with dreams, identities, and potential, often navigating instability and uncertainty.
While many children spend varying lengths of time in care, the promise of permanence remains elusive for far too many. The median time in foster care hovers just over 21 months, and many youth experience multiple placements; two-thirds of youth in care for more than a year face two or more moves. In fact, federal estimates suggest that 22 – 70 % of youth in foster care experience placement changes in a given year.
Perhaps most heartrending is the transition to adulthood. In fiscal year 2023, 15,590 youth “aged out” of foster care. While some sources cite higher numbers (around 20,000 – 23,000 youth aging out annually) depending on definitions and states, the message is the same: too many young people leave the system without a permanent family or adequate support.
The consequences of exiting without support are stark:
- Within four years of leaving care, 25% of these youth will experience homelessness.
- Roughly half of those who age out struggle to gain stable employment by their early 20s.
- Only a small fraction go on to complete higher education - in one report, as few as 6% of alumni achieved a two- or four-year degree.
These outcomes are not inevitable. They are preventable. But prevention and protection require more than well-intentioned efforts; they demand intentional, coordinated action across systems: child welfare, education, health care, housing, workforce development, mental health, and community support networks.
These numbers reflect real lives; lives marked by potential, by relationships, by struggle and resilience. We at FosterStrong® believe in a future where no young person leaves care unmoored, where systems truly partner around the youth, and where the transition to adulthood is a launch not a fall.Together, We Can Turn Awareness into Action and Help Every Child Thrive
A FosterStrong® Call To Action
The Imperative of System Bridging & Sustained Support
No Siloed Efforts
Lifelong Relationships Matter
Resources Must Follow Need, Not Arbitrary Cutoffs
Data-Sharing And Accountability Across Agencies
“Transition-Age” Must Mean Intentional Planning, Not Reactive Scramble
Together, We Can Turn Awareness into Action and Help Every Child Thrive
Get Involved Today
Make A Difference In The Foster Community
Our Journey From Lived Experience to Lasting Impact
Discover the powerful stories that inspired foster care alumni to create FosterStrong® and champion change.
From System-Involved to System-Changer by Constance Iannetta
For as long as I can remember, the child welfare system has been part of my family’s story. Generations of my family have been touched by it - sometimes through necessity, often through cycles of trauma and instability that felt impossible to break. Foster care wasn’t just a headline or a statistic to me; it was woven into the fabric of my life.