On Wednesday, January 31, the Brookings Institution was the location for the 2018 CHAMPS kick off. Last December the coalition sponsored a briefing on Capitol Hill. CHAMPS – children need amazing parents is a campaign that promotes the need for state and local agencies to establish a new partnership between foster parents and child welfare agencies to ensure that children and families have the foster parents they deserve.

As discussed at that December event, the campaign goal is seeking to partner with 20-25 states to improve the quality of the foster care system through policy reforms and partnering with foster parents. The CHAMPS Policy Playbook addresses state-level interventions but does not specifically address federal action.

The January event featured opening remarks by co-chairs Jeremy Kohomban, Children’s Village (NYC), Jennifer Rodriguez, Youth Law Center San Francisco and brief remarks, by Mary Boo, North American Council on Adoptable Children, Akin Abioye, Foster Club, Jason Weber, and Christian Alliance for Orphans, Mary Lee Allen, the Children’s Defense Fund and the Zach Laris, American Academy of Pediatrics. The event also includes a state panel discussion as well as some recent resurvey data from Rita Soronen of the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption.

For more information on CHAMPS, click here.