Kidsave International

International permanency programs:ukrainekidsave began working in ukraine in 2016 as part of a movement to reform ukraine's child welfare system and is also a founding member of the ukraine national mentoring association, which was established in 2018 to implement Kidsave programs in ukraine. Creating two programs in ukraine, Kidsave began helping ukrainian children find forever families or gain successful, independent living through our mentoring and training programs. Kidsave's corporate mentoring program, pathway to success, for older children who will soon age out of government care, has been at work in kyiv since 2018. In addition to mentoring work,. Kidsave's family visit program was created to help safely and effectively move older orphaned children into family care. Plans were underway to expand our programs to three more regions when the invasion began. On february 24, 2023 the war in ukraine reached its first anniversary and the conflict continued. Our angels of hope, a child sponsorship initiative that provides food and medical supplies to children, continued to risk their own lives delivering food, medicine, portable water, and other supplies to villages destroyed by the violence. Since the war began, through december of 2023, our angels of hope evacuated 31,000 people to safety-13,685 of them children. In 2023 our team delivered 1,774 tons of aid, supporting basic monthly necessities for more than 25,000 people and delivering medical supplies and equipment to hospitals in communities ravaged by the war. Kidsave's angels of hope team is one of the few groups that still travel into active combat zones to provide aid. During 2023 Kidsave's team continued to work diligently to ensure its core programs continued in ukraine. Our corporate mentoring program, pathway to success, provided mentorship and career-readiness training to teens exiting or soon-to-exit institutional care. During 2023 the team also provided a vital lifeline to these youth, providing trauma therapy and resources to help them cope with the effects of this devastating war. In 2023 two hundred and two (202) teens participated in pathway to success, and 144 orphaned children were placed in families. One hundred (100) youth in the pathway to success program participated in the taking flight with boeing project, and more continued to join in 2024. One thousand and seven (1,007) teens have participated in pathway to success since 2018. In late 2022, a ukrainian partner of Kidsave was gifted 4.5 acres of land in the carpathian mountains of western ukraine, where Kidsave and ukrainian partner organizations began construction of the Kidsave miracles center (center). While some spaces were already operational and the center hosted its first trauma therapy training in 2023, construction is expected to continue through 2025.the center is designed to serve as a multifunctional campus that will encompass training, conference, and office spaces, modular housing for children and prospective families to connect, a wellness center, a fishery, a commercial kitchen, and sports and recreation areas.the center will be a place of connection, opportunity, and wellbeing for orphaned children and youth, the families who want to adopt them, and the dedicated professionals who support them. It will provide meeting and recreation spaces for children and potential families to connect and participate in our family mentoring program; youth in our pathway to success program will meet there as a group with their mentors.one such project is the colyba cultural caf, an on-campus eatery serving authentic ukrainian cuisine which plans to employ young adults who grew up in foster care, orphanages, and institutions. All caf revenue will support the center's ongoing social programs while providing ukrainian youth with valuable work experience and benefiting the local community.in 2022, as a result of the organization's extensive involvement in ukraine and the development of the Kidsave miracles center to support permanent family placement of ukrainian orphaned and abandoned children, Kidsave management determined it necessary to operate an office there. In december 2022 the organization opened its representative office as a subdivision of Kidsave International. Kidsave's office in ukraine is currently located in western ukraine, at the Kidsave miracles center property in the carpathian mountains. Instead of operating offices in numerous countries globally, Kidsave has built local capacity through training and strong partnerships with nongovernmental organizations in colombia and sierra leone.colombiakidsave's family visit program supports the colombian government's priority of family inclusion for children in government protection. Fundacion apego became independent of Kidsave in 2018 and continues to successfully operate Kidsave's family visit model/super amigos program and mama mentora program. Fundacion apego is an indigenous colombian organization that focuses on the fundamental rights of children, teens and families, and works with girls in early pregnancy to develop strong maternal bonds and break the cycle of child abandonment. Kidsave continues to share lessons learned and provide fundacion apego with training and support as needed, which serves our joint commitment of finding families and mentors, and assisting with the development of life skills, for older orphaned and abandoned children in colombia. Sierra leone, africakidsave's sierra leone program moves children out of orphanages and, whenever possible, reunites them with extended family members (kin). When reunification with kin is not possible, Kidsave identifies new families for these children through community connection events that help the children and interested families get acquainted. These families host the child in their homes, which provides the child with stability, support and an opportunity to remain in school. Most of these children were orphaned due to the ebola virus. Kidsave works with its partner, integrated development initiatives (idi, formerly known as foundation for integrated development (fid). Idi continues to provide family tracing, case mining, reunification, training of families and para-social workers, and monitoring of children placed with kin or host families. Children are monitored to ensure they are healthy, happy, going to school, well fed, and generally provided for appropriately. Monitoring takes place at one-month, three-month, and six-month intervals after placement. Kidsave also provides school support for these children when needed, including books, bookbags, uniforms, and school fees. In 2023, Kidsave conducted family tracing and case mining for older orphans who believed that they had living relatives who could raise them. As a result, 146 children were placed with kin or host families. All of these children and their families were provided with school support and reunification kits; 64 families also received agricultural support. Kidsave and idi trained 3,600 caregivers, social workers, and stakeholders (approximately 300 each month) about the rights of children, their proper care, and how to monitor and protect them. Kidsave and idi also developed 20 acres of inland valley swamps for rice and vegetable production in four communities in the pujehun district of sierra leone. This development is an expansion of an economic strengthening program Kidsave started in 2019 for 40 households in this district. Since Kidsave began working in sierra leone in 2010, this program has helped 1,440 children.

Summer and winter miracleskidsave's summer miracles program brings older children (age 9 to 15) who need permanent families from colombia to the u.s. for summer visits. These are children who live in institutions and foster homes, have no chance of returning to biological families, and have little or no chance of finding adoptive parents in their own country. Families who host the children help them enjoy a rich cultural experience and, more importantly, work together with Kidsave staff and volunteers to champion the children, reaching out to their circles of friends, acquaintances, and communities to find families interested in adoption. In 2023 Kidsave facilitated family visit programs in the summer and winter bringing a total of 47 children from colombia, to stay with host families in the u.s. of the 47 kids who traveled, 41 were found to be ready for adoption in the u.s. of the 41 children who were open to adoption, 31 (76%) have a family pursuing adoption. Since the program's inception in 1999, two thousand one hundred and fifty-one (2,151) older children have participated in this program.prior to the summer and winter visits in 2023, Kidsave helped the colombian child welfare agency, instituto colombiano de bienestar familiar (icbf), identify children who were appropriate for Kidsave's summer miracles program and recruited american host families. Before traveling to the u.s., the children and host families had the opportunity to meet each other via zoom. During the time the children are in the u.s., they enjoy events filled with fun activities, and experience many "firsts," such as visiting amusement parks, swimming, bowling, attending baseball games and other sporting events-all while building relationships with their host families. After the children returned to colombia, Kidsave provided support to prospective adoptive families and worked collaboratively with partner adoption agencies. Kidsave also began outreach efforts to recruit prospective host families for the summer 2024 program. In 2023 Kidsave's summer and winter miracles communities were led by volunteer coordinators in the new york tri-state area (new york, new jersey, and Connecticut), dc metro area (district of colombia, Maryland, and Virginia), Minnesota (twin cities) and southern California. All community volunteers, host families, and Kidsave staff championed each child to find them an adoptive family. In addition to the children hosted in summer miracles communities, these children are placed with host families in cities throughout the continental u.s. The government of colombia has incorporated the premise of Kidsave's hosting model, family visits for youth in foster care and orphanages, as its primary strategy for finding families for older, hard-to-place youth. Over the 24 years that summer miracles has been in operation, more than 65 placement agencies and nonprofits have operated summer hosting visits.

Weekend miracleskidsave's weekend miracles program helps older kids and teens in foster care (ages 9-18) find host families, permanent families, and devoted mentors. These children have spent years in the child welfare system. They are languishing in foster care with little hope for adoption, or a lasting connection with a caring adult. Weekend miracles provides these children with opportunities to meet people who might be willing to host, mentor or adopt them. The program provides monthly interactive events designed to make it easy and fun for older children and teens in foster care to meet new people. An important part of the program is that it provides youth with a voice and choice in whom they get to know and develop relationships with, which empowers and engages youth in the process, and builds their confidence and self-esteem. Once interested families and kids meet and get to know each other at Kidsave's monthly connection events, relationships develop naturally. Youth who are interested in adoption are matched with host families who either hope to adopt or work with Kidsave to find families in the community who are interested in adopting an older child. Youth who are not interested in adoption are matched with a caring host mentor who provides support and guidance. In some cases, host families adopt the foster youth they host. In others, youth meet families who adopt them through other advocacy efforts. Kidsave's goal is to find families and mentoring support systems for older kids by making it easier for adults in the community to meet and engage with older youth in foster care who would otherwise not have the opportunity. Los angeles countyweekend miracles los angeles (wmla) is a public/private partnership, launched in october 2005, between Kidsave and the county of los angeles department of children and family services (dcfs). In 2023 wmla hosted monthly connection events, serving 87 kids. Of the 87 children and teens served, 76 actively participated in the los angeles program throughout the year. Forty-one (41) of the 76 (54%) youth have achieved legal or relational permanency; 18 youth (44%) entered an adoptive match; 7 youth (17%) now have legal guardians; 6 (15%) were reunified with biological family and 10 youth (24%) were connected with a mentor. Since october 2005 when wmla was launched, 609 older foster youth have participated in wmla. Sixty-five percent (65%) of the foster youth who have participated in wmla have found adoptive families, devoted mentors or legal guardians.during 2023, wmla partnered with dcfs, fosterall, and expressions 58 to organize and facilitate the second annual camp connect, an overnight weekend camp experience. Camp connect focused on helping older foster youth (ages 12-17) who were reluctant to trust and build healthy relationships with adults to become more open to building safe adult connections. The weekend experience included team building activities, interactive art workshops, as well as inspirational speakers who addressed how to identify healthy relationships and safe boundaries. Additionally, youth and adults who had experienced foster care or had been adopted shared their experiences and the importance of adult connections. After evaluating the post-camp surveys, 65% of the youth reported being open to an adult connection. Houstonweekend miracles houston (wmh) hosted its first connection event in october 2020. Since then, 135 children and teens have been served by this program. In 2023, the houston program served 61 foster youth, 49 of whom remained active throughout the year. Fifty-one percent (51%) of the active youth were connected to weekend hosts, adoptive matches, legal guardians or nonrelated extended family members. Wmh held 14 in-person connection events in 2023. The children served by wmh in 2023 come from more than 19 counties across Texas, spanning eight dfps regions.

Dei initiative - embraceblack children make up 22% of the foster care population, yet only 14% of children in the u.s. are black. While there is much anecdotal information about this problem, there is a distinct lack of quantitative data. To address the overrepresentation of black children in u.s. foster care and ultimately improve outcomes for marginalized children in care, Kidsave launched a national five-part project in partnership with the gallup center on black voices called embrace, which stands for expanding meaningful black relationships and creating equity.the embrace project is comprised of five phases: (1) quantitative data collection, (2) qualitative data collection, (3) data analysis and reporting, (4) amplification, and (5) policy reform. In 2023 we completed phases 1 through 3.published in november 2023, the study collected over 5,000 survey responses from americans, including an oversample of 1,400 black americans and nearly 1,000 hispanic americans. The study provides statistically significant data on perceptions, attitudes, and beliefs around foster care and adoption. Our goal is to dismantle the hurdles black families experience when it comes to fostering and adoption, in hopes of a better future for all children.collaborative partnershipsin 2023 in los angeles county, Kidsave was active in several public?private sector committees that address permanency for los angeles county foster youth, which include: (1) the los angeles county adoption consortium, a collaborative dedicated to educating stakeholders on new legislation, county policies, and issues affecting permanency; (2) the permanency collaboration committee, a partnership between Kidsave and the department of children and family services (dcfs) of l.a. county probation department, working to improve permanency outcomes for probation youth; (3) casa of los angeles, which mobilizes community volunteers to advocate for children who have experienced abuse and neglect; (4) fosterall, an organization that recruits prospective foster parents from faith communities and helps families select the agency that is best suited for them by providing ongoing personal support throughout their foster/adopt experience; (5) foster together network (ftn), a collective impact initiative of public and private stakeholders committed to increasing access to high quality care for children placed in los angeles county's foster care system; (6) Kidsave was active in ftn's equity committee, a subcommittee formed to increase and enhance the provision of culturally responsive and competent care for black children, in an effort to facilitate well-being and improve their life outcomes; (7) fostermore, a coalition of media and entertainment companies, foundations, non-profits, businesses and philanthropic organizations working to create greater understanding, empathy, and action to improve the future of youth in foster care; and (8) raiseachild, a national nonprofit organization that recruits and supports resource parents; they also advocate for adoptive homes for children in care. In 2023 in Texas, Kidsave was a member of the region 6 foster care stakeholder collaborative, the Texas alliance of child and family services, the greater houston lgbt chamber of commerce, the child welfare section of the Texas state bar, the Texas foster care association, the region 6 data workgroup, the region 6 ccss prevention workgroup, the region 6 ccss community advisory committee, and the region 6 ccss building capacity committee. Kidsave also had mous (memorandum of understanding, an agreement of two more parties) with hearts with hope gro/rtc, embracing destiny gro/rtc, open arms, open hearts gro/rtc, and the Texas department of family and protective services (dfps).kidsave partnered with the following child placement agencies in 2023: the sanctuary, arrow child & family services, and arms wide. Kidsave also collaborated with numerous additional gro/rtc organizations, ngos, and child placement agencies.support for permanency initiativesas a voice for global change, Kidsave works to build awareness among the public and in u.s. congress about the challenges that children in government care face, and ways to help them. Kidsave uses its direct service programs to demonstrate how its family visit model works, and shares information about its programs with child welfare professionals with the goal of increasing permanency outcomes for older youth. Public education and outreachkidsave's website, blog, and social media posts focus on sharing information about children in need of families and bolstering engagement and support for the children through hosting, volunteering, donating, and adopting. In 2023, Kidsave's advocacy images on social media platforms regularly reached 37,600, in turn generating hundreds of inquiries and responses.kidsave also uses events to educate people about Kidsave's mission: the need for children worldwide to live in families, and specific children who need permanent families. Kidsave held two in-person galas in 2023 - one in los angeles and the other in Washington, dc. Both galas sought to bring awareness of the need for older, forgotten children to have family connections, and raised funds to support permanency programs. Other events Kidsave held in 2023 include an in-person golf tournament in los angeles and hikes for foster youth in los angeles and redwood city, ca and Washington, dc.