Our Approach
Redesigning the system so doing it well becomes easier than doing it poorly.
The Fostered views child welfare as a complex adaptive system — drawing from systems science, implementation science, public administration, and organizational theory.
Systems Design Philosophy
Not "how do we change one policy?"
The organization asks a deeper question: how do we redesign the system so good implementation becomes easier than poor implementation? Interventions emphasize the disciplines below rather than isolated fixes.
Disability Justice
No body or mind left behind.
The Fostered's work is guided by the Disability Justice framework — an intersectional movement created in 2005 by disabled queer and trans people of color. It expands on traditional disability rights by recognizing that ableism is inherently intertwined with racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, and capitalism, and is defined by 10 guiding principles. We did not create this framework — we apply it. Foster youth experience disability at far higher rates than their peers, too often unidentified, misdiagnosed, or managed through overmedication rather than support. We center Disability Justice as a foundational lens on every pillar of this work.
Created in 2005 by disabled queer and trans people of color — including Patty Berne, Mia Mingus, Stacey Milbern, and Leroy F. Moore, Jr. — through the work of Sins Invalid. The Fostered applies this framework; we did not create it.
Intersectionality
Acknowledging that ableism, racism, sexism, homophobia, and classism operate together — and that foster youth live at their intersections.
Leadership of Those Most Impacted
Ensuring movements and design are led by those experiencing compounded oppressions, including disabled foster youth.
Anti-Capitalist Politic
Rejecting a system that measures human worth by economic productivity — a youth's value is never their output.
Commitment to Cross-Movement Organizing
Building coalitions across disability, racial, economic, and youth justice struggles.
Recognizing Wholeness
Valuing individuals for who they are, apart from capitalist definitions of utility or compliance.
Sustainability
Pacing the work and recognizing the physical and emotional limitations of those doing it — youth and adults alike.
Commitment to Cross-Disability Solidarity
Respecting all types of physical, sensory, cognitive, intellectual, and developmental disabilities.
Interdependence
Recognizing that all living systems are interconnected — and that the myth of independence harms communities.
Collective Access
Moving beyond basic legal compliance to creatively build environments and tools that welcome everyone.
Collective Liberation
Committing to a future where no body or mind is left behind.
Implementation Science
Many reforms fail not because they're poor ideas — but because implementation is weak.
Implementation Drivers
Competency
Skills, knowledge, and coaching for those delivering the work.
Organizational Supports
Systems, data, and infrastructure that enable practice.
Leadership
Driving and sustaining the change at every level.
Implementation Stages
Implementation Outcomes
Programs are evaluated not only on outcomes — but on whether implementation occurred as intended.
Change Management
Large public systems resist change. We plan for that.
The goal is not merely policy adoption but sustained behavioral and organizational change.
Kotter's Eight-Step Process
ADKAR
Prosci
Lewin's Change Model
Continuous Quality Improvement
Learning Organization Theory
Adaptive Leadership
Collective Impact
Project Management
Structured governance, cross-functional by design.
Collaboration intentionally includes youth, advocates, researchers, attorneys, agencies, legislators, and community organizations.
Data Strategy
Data as strategic infrastructure — not a byproduct.
Integrated data systems supporting implementation monitoring, trend analysis, dashboard reporting, legislative reporting, policy evaluation, quality improvement, and organizational learning.
The objective is to make invisible implementation failures visible.
Future dashboards may monitor
Systems Improvement Framework
Every recommendation asks five questions.
This shifts the conversation away from blame and toward sustainable improvement.
What is the intended policy?
What actually happens?
Why does implementation diverge?
What organizational conditions produced the gap?
What system redesign would prevent recurrence?
Youth Leadership
Young people are not advisory participants. They are organizational partners.
Compensated listening sessions, leadership fellowships, and participatory research ensure lived experience remains central to every aspect of the organization's work.
Youth shape