Centering lived experience in the national conversation

Policy & Practice

Think of Us Urges Swift Passage of Strengthening Families Act

TOU supports the Protecting America’s Children by Strengthening Families Act, recently introduced by the House Committee on Ways and Means. This legislation aims to overhaul title IV-B programs, bolstering family support and reforming child welfare systems.

News

New Class Action Settlement Process Engages Impacted Youth in Designing Solutions

Read how young voices are shaping reforms in the child welfare system through a new class action settlement in Washington State.

News

Op-Ed: Kinship Care Is the Superpower Right in Front of Us

I Will Never Forget That I Could Have Lived With People Who Loved Me

Announcement

Think of Us Welcomes Robert L. Matthews as Inaugural Chief Program Officer

Robert L. Matthews joins Think of Us as Chief Program Officer from July 15, 2024. With extensive experience in child welfare, including as Director of D.C.'s Child and Family Services Agency, Robert spearheaded initiatives like the "Kin-First" program and achieved federal approval for D.C.'s Family First prevention plan.

News

Robert L. Matthews Bio

Robert L. Matthews, Chief Program Officer at Think of Us, brings nearly two decades of child welfare leadership to his role. Learn more about his past work and achievements.

Announcement

Think of Us Welcomes Visionary Leader as VP of the Center for Lived Experience!

Sebastian Johnson joins Think of Us as VP of the Center for Lived Experience, leveraging his extensive background in policy, education, and criminal justice reform to drive systemic change.

Policy & Practice

National Town Hall: Priorities for Transition-Age Youth

Discover key initiatives from a virtual town hall supporting transition-age youth, and explore the influential read-out report shaping the Children's Bureau's work plan.

Press Release

Think of Us raised $50M through the Audacious project

The funding is one of the largest investments that has ever been given to a systems change leader of color with lived experience in the child welfare field.

News

White House Proposed Budget Holds Unprecedented Focus on Foster Care 

Biden's 2024 budget proposes $19B for child welfare, with investments in kinship care, family support, and transition-age youth, marking an unprecedented focus.

Center for Lived Experience

An Ethic of Care for Research Participants as Trauma Survivors

Learn how to create a research environment that cares for trauma survivors with five steps

Blog

A Close Look at the AFCARS Report

This week, Think of Us is looking closely at the data in the newly released AFCARS Report #29, which reflects data on children in care in Federal Fiscal Year 2021 (October 1, 2020 to September 30, 2021). 

Impact

Away From Home Study Shifts National Conversation

Our report accelerates momentum for the national movement to end the need for group home placements for foster youth

Blog

Changing the Conversation

We’re shifting mental models about what’s working and what’s possible in child welfare.

Sixto

Sixto Cancel, CEO & Founder,Think of Us | 2022 Concordia Annual Summit

Remarks: Sixto Cancel, CEO & Founder,Think of Us | 2022 Concordia Annual Summit

Center for Lived Experience

Trauma Responsiveness in Participatory Research

Research can be a site of harm and trauma for both participants and researchers. How can we be trauma-responsive in our research practices?

Center for Lived Experience

Fostering Hope, Driving Change - Think of Us & Sixto Cancel

Using technology to forge critical human connections may seem counter-intuitive, but the innovative and life-changing work Think of Us is driving in the US foster care system is doing exactly that!

Announcement

Think of Us Names Former Senior Federal Official as New Vice President of Strategic Project

We have exciting news to Share! Sonali Patel, has joined the leadership bench at Think Of Us as the new Vice President of Strategic Projects.

Press Release

Think of Us Calls for Reform, Increased Transparency

Statement on Senate Investigation of Maltreatment at Youth Residential Treatment Facilities

Center for Lived Experience

From Foster Care to Founder - Tanya talks to Sixto Cancel

Tanya talks to the CEO and Founder of Think of Us about his personal journey through foster care; redesigning the foster care system; and healing childhood wounds through “radical service.”

Policy & Practice

Learning From Lived Experiences: Sixto Cancel

Center for Lived Experience

Our Lived Experience Network in Action

The Think of Us Lived Experience Network helped inform USA Today articles on failed adoptions.

Policy & Practice

Juvenile Law Center presents a conversation with Sixto Cancel and Dorothy Roberts

Blog

The Facts: Foster Care Reform & President Biden’s Budget

A breakdown of the proposed budget and what it means for you.

Impact

Care Not Cages: Invest in Families and Communities

The Problem of Institutionalizing Youth is Bigger than Foster Care

Impact

We Did the Impossible: the Check for Us Initiative

How Think of Us demonstrated a new approach to streamlining government support.

News

PBS News Hour - One former foster child's simple approach to fixing a broken system

News

COVID Relief for Thousands of Foster Youth Has Expired. Will Lawmakers Renew It?

The continuing conversation around how to support foster youth through the pandemic.

Policy & Practice

It’s Time for Our Wake Up Call: We Need Youth-Driven Care in the Child Welfare System

We have a responsibility to listen to youth, hear their voices and help them make their voices heard.

News

An Evening of Lived Experience on the Harms of Institutionalizing Youth.

Think of Us, Paris Hilton, and Breaking Code Silence hosted an event featuring leaders of different movements that share a common goal: ending unnecessary youth institutionalization.

Policy & Practice

Foster Youth Need Love and Support, Not Institutionalization.

When I first read the Away From Home report, I felt my current mission with North Carolina’s youth take on new dimensions; I felt my sense of urgency be redefined.

Policy & Practice

Healing, Preparing, and Supporting Youth in Foster Care

Aged Out Report - Across the country, far too many young people age out of foster care into appalling circumstances.

News

Focus Must Stay On The Child When Providing Care.

The goal for children who need therapeutic care should be to support them through timely permanency in foster care or kinship placements...

News

We See You, We Hear You, And Your Feelings Are Valid.

Think Of Us launches 'Away From Home Youth Experiences of Institutional Placements in Foster Care'