As a parent on the path to reunification, your voice is a powerful tool that can impact the planning and decision-making process of your case plans. Your input can help develop the right support services for families involved in the child welfare system. And your feedback can be used to influence larger agency policy so that the child welfare system can truly function using a family-centered approach.

This May, visit the Children’s Bureau’s National Foster Care Month website to find information to help you navigate the child welfare system. Let your voice be heard and help the child welfare system honor its commitment to strengthening families and supporting reunification as the primary goal.   

Parents can directly support National Foster Care Month in the following ways:

• Read through these resources designed to assist you in navigating the child welfare system and to help you find support, and share them with others who could use this information.  
• Contact the foster care agencies in your state to access important information about foster care and learn where to direct your questions.
• See how others are raising their voices by accessing real-life stories of parents, youth, service providers, and caregivers involved in foster care.

Visit and bookmark the National Foster Care Month website today at https://www.childwelfare.gov/fostercaremonth. Tell us what you think by taking our survey at http://sgiz.mobi/s3/6267b61c0b84 .

For more information, contact Child Welfare Information Gateway at NFCM@childwelfare.gov or 1.800.394.3366.