Statements

Mission

Tennessee Kids Belong (TKB) is a 501c3 launched in 2016 as an affiliate of the national non-profit, America's Kids Belong. TKB provides an innovative, holistic, proven model that dramatically improves the experiences and outcomes for kids in foster care by equipping leaders within multiple sectors of our society-Business, Government, Faith, and Creative, TKB finds ways for EVERYONE to do SOMETHING to make a sustainable impact.

Background

Three focus areas of effective programming:

1. Family Recruiting - - - A family for every child. - - -

We help recruit and retain foster parents alongside state government and private agencies. Working closely with the state on recruitment efforts through Governor's Initiatives with both the past two administrations-foster parent certifications far surpassed state goals 5 years in a row.

Our I Belong Project™ is a flagship program that creates videos of kids in foster care eligible for adoption to help them find forever families. Since 2016, we have produced just over 600 videos and over 400 of those children are now in forever families.

2. Community Engagement - - - A community for every family. - - -
We equip local businesses, faith communities and civic organizations to become Foster Friendly™ and connect these supportive groups to foster families via our innovative Foster Friendly™ App.

We train churches and faith communities to embrace at least two of our three best practices for Foster Friendly™ faith communities- : trauma awareness training for staff and volunteers, teaching on the intersection between faith and fostering in regards to the needs of their direct community, and building a ministry to Wrap Around and support foster families.

We work closely with businesses of all industries to offer services and discounts that help foster families thrive and continue saying yes to this important work. From car dealerships offering larger rental cars to keep siblings placed together- to coffee shops providing a safe space for foster parents to recharge together, or have 1:1 Time with the new teen in their home- all businesses have a role to play.

3. Sustainable Change - - - Hope for the foster care community. - - -
We create coalitions for change by working with the Governor and mayors' offices, child welfare, and other leadership voices across faith, business and civic sectors to raise awareness and collaborate to drive sustainable change in foster care.

TKB has worked closely with the past 2 Governor administrations to launch successful foster care initiatives, surpassing state recruitment and permanency goals 5 years in a row.

Impact

Since launching in 2016 Tennessee Kids Belong has seen tremendous impact in the foster care community.

- Foster Parent Recruitment goals surpassed for state child welfare 5 years in a row (since the launch of TKB's First initiative alongside the Haslam administration)
- Over 200 churches launching supportive Wrap Around ministries, Teaching on the needs of the vulnerable foster care community in their area, and training staff and volunteers on trauma informed care.
- A first of it's kind Foster Friendly App was developed by TKB to connect local businesses with ways to serve foster families.
- Over 450 companies are now on the app , from Car Dealerships who are helping keep siblings placed together, to hair salons specializing in showing foster parents how to care for ethnic hair.
- Over 2000 foster families are now utilizing this Foster Friendly App.
- Over 700 adoption eligible children have been filmed through the I Belong Project since the launch in 2016.
- Over 400 of those children are now in their forever home!

Needs

Successfully Film and Recruit for 125 adoption Eligible children in 2023 across the state. ($125,000)
Launch DEI specialized foster family recruitment, faith and business recruitment to match the kids in care being served. ($15,000)
24 Foster Care Q&A panels, and recruitment events throughout the state in 2023- ($25,000)
Expand Foster Friendly Business Program to rural parts of state where foster families need the most support ($5,000)
Provide WRAP Around ministry training to over 50 churches - ($60,000)

CEO Statement

Having worked in various capacities of social work over the last 17 years, I am humbled and honored to be a part of this holistic approach to serving vulnerable children in the foster care system. Bringing together government, faith communities, non-profits, creatives and businesses and giving everyone SOMETHING they can do with their platform, skillset, network, and expertise. This village of change provides lasting impact not only on the children and families it serves, but on those ignited to help, in ways other than fostering or adopting themselves. This isn't an issue for the 1-2% of the community who will actually open their hearts and homes, but an issue we can all play a part in.

We believe it is irresponsible to to recruit foster families without simultaneously recruiting support for these families. With the programs and collaborative initiatives Tennessee Kids Belong leads, we are seeing long term sustainable change occur for those impacted.

There is a lot of work to do, and we are up for the challenge. If you're reading this, I challenge you to explore ways you can use your current job, giftings, home, or talents to impact kids in foster care.

~Kristin

Board Chair Statement

Thank you for this opportunity to share from a governance perspective the successes and challenges facing Tennessee's Kids Belong (TKB) and how they being addressed. Personal Passion Allow me to start with my personal passion for the issue and the organization. My wife and I started fostering in 2005. In 2007 I was personally challenged by a child welfare recruiter in our county to help her. What she said was, "In the 26 year history of child welfare in our county, there has never been a single day where kids weren't waiting for grown ups to care for them. Will you help me change who waits? Let's have so many grown ups who care for these kids, its them who are waiting and not the kids." Within a year, we helped her achieve that goal. It's that challenge that continues to inspire us. There are kids - from toddlers to teens - in (virtually) every county in Tennessee who are waiting for the grown ups to step up and care for them. Successes In the 10 months since TKB launched the Tennessee Fosters Campaign, we have seen many incredible successes. The two primary goals expressed by the Commissioner of DCS and the Governor were to? 1) Increase foster family recruitment by 10% over the prior year. 2) Place 100 kids (whose parents have permanently lost legal custody) into adoptive families. This year, so far? 1) There has been a 42% increase in the number of Tennessee foster homes! 2) 96 kids have already been placed in an adoptive family! There are many other ancillary successes that have originated from this movement. Here are few to serve as examples: * Chris Tomlin concert at Bridgestone Arena. 15,000 heard about the children, being challenged by an artist, as well as the Governor to find a way to engage. * I Belong Project - created 128 videos since launching in TN. Once videos are made live on websites and shared in the community via churches, social media, over 50% have been placed in adoptive homes. * DCS expressed need for Spanish speaking recruitment materials. TKB produced video footage of a Spanish speaking foster parent as a resource for DCS. * Churches in multiple regions holding events, talking about foster care in their services, donating tangible and financial resources to families in need. Challenges Cleary, a large part of our strategy is mobilizing latent assets and elevating active assets that already exist in the state. The campaign acts at the catalyst and our organization acts as the backbone agency for these efforts. And though we aren't doing it all (in other words this is a collective impact effort), we are leading an initiative that covers the entire state with a very lean team. So, in Tennessee our primary challenge has to do with scaling. Similarly, because of our influential connections in various spheres (Gov't., Business, Arts, Faith, etc.) we are often presented with tempting offers to take on too much at once. This is, in large part, why we are engaging you. By increasing our resources, we will be able to respond in a responsible way to these great opportunities and continue to improve in our statewide initiative. We are grateful for your consideration. Sincerely, Brian Mavis President America's Kids Belong, 2018

Service Categories
Primary Category:	Human Services  - Children's and Youth Services
Secondary Category:	Community Improvement, Capacity Building  - Nonprofit Management
Tertiary Category:	Civil Rights, Social Action, Advocacy  - Children's Rights

Areas Served

Tennessee Kids Belong works throughout the entire state. Primary office and mailing address is in Franklin, Tennessee. With staff spanning the state- from Memphis to Johnson City, each region has a Community Relations staff member working deep in their community.

TN