With 6,800 children who spent at least one day in foster care last year in Oregon, there’s a shortage of safe and affirming homes for each of them. Our mission is to invite the community to consider opening their hearts and homes to children in crisis. We’ve become more data-informed in the past year, leading to stronger recruitment strategies. Now we’re able to identify more of the right homes to support the unique needs of those in the child welfare system. 

As a result:

• 2,229 total foster care and adoption inquiries were received, a 62% increase over the previous year.  
• 2,101 individuals expressed interest in becoming resource parents, reflecting growth by 81%. 
• ‘Ready Now’ referrals to Oregon Department of Human Services (ODHS) also rose by 62%, indicating greater readiness and follow-through among prospective families.  
• Foster/Adopt inquiries from communities of color increased from 32.9% in 2024 to 38.5% in 2025 as a result of relational investment.
  

These outcomes demonstrate strong momentum in our mission to ensure more children in care have safe and loving homes, all thanks to YOUR investment in innovative, data-driven strategies. 

Between July 2024 and June 2025, Every Child Oregon’s My NeighbOR Initiative continued to mobilize communities in powerful ways—meeting urgent, tangible needs for families and youth impacted by foster and kinship care.  

As a result: 

• 4,865 tangible needs fulfilled for Oregon families, thanks to a growing network of generous neighbors. 

• Support reached at least 1,498 families and youth, offering timely relief and dignity to those navigating the child welfare system.  

• Of the qualified needs submitted, 90% were successfully met. 

• More than $279,408 raised in monetary and in-kind donations, reflecting the deep generosity and commitment of our statewide community.

This program exemplifies what’s possible when communities are equipped to respond directly and compassionately to local needs. Every fulfilled request tells a story of connection and hope, and none of it would be possible without your continued investment.  
 

Every Child Oregon’s Resource Parent Peer Mentorship initiative strategically and intentionally pairs new and experienced foster parents with the goal of mitigating the overwhelm and isolation that often leads to new foster families closing their homes within the first 12 months. 

Program Overview: 

• A total of 82 mentor-mentee pairs were matched across 20 counties, creating meaningful, localized support systems for resource parents. 

• Mentees reported a significant increase in confidence and preparedness: from an average score of 3.77 at the start of the program to 5.08 at the end.  
• Most strikingly, 86% of mentorship participants continued fostering over the past year, compared to only 53% of retention among those without mentorship. 

This program is not only building confidence, but also reducing burnout and improving retention, a critical priority in ensuring long-term, stable placements for children in care.

Because of your support, resource parents aren’t doing this work alone. They’re being guided and encouraged by peers who’ve walked the journey before them.  

Fostering can be an isolating experience—but it doesn’t have to be.
My Community reminds families that they are not alone; caring neighbors are nearby to offer support and encouragement.  

• A total of 53 My Community groups were launched or continued. 
• These groups provide ongoing, highly-relational and personalized support through regular meals, random acts of kindness, and shared experiences.  
• My Community scaled this year to Linn, Benton, Lane, and Umatilla counties, furthering our reach and deepening localized care.  

Together, these programs demonstrate that when communities show up, families stay strong and resilient, allowing children to experience the consistency and belonging they deserve.

This year, Every Child Affiliates mobilized over 6,400 volunteers, more than doubling statewide engagement compared to the previous year’s 3,000 volunteers. Community members stepped up in these meaningful ways: 

• Hosting Foster Family Fun Days and recruitment events.  

• Providing hospitality and makeovers for ODHS spaces.  

• Serving as Every Child ambassadors across local efforts. 
    

This unprecedented surge in volunteerism reflects a growing culture of care—neighbors actively engaging to create stability and joy for families navigating foster care.  

Every Child Oregon is committed to ensuring that families and children impacted by foster care in all 36 Oregon counties have access to critical support through access to: 

• Tangible support through My NeighbOR.

• Relational support of Peer Mentorship. 

• Structural support with resource family recruitment efforts.  
   

We now have established local Affiliate leadership in 20 counties, anchoring our work in community-based ownership and ensuring long-term sustainability. This past year has made huge strides in strategic expansion efforts in Malheur, Grant, Harney, Umatilla, and Morrow counties: focused on launching new programs, conducting asset mapping, forming local task forces, and developing targeted action plans aimed at retention and recruitment of foster parents, and placement stability for children. 

A differentiated, data-driven model now guides our statewide strategy, aligning community capacity with tailored interventions to deepen impact where it’s needed most. My Community and Foster Parents’ Night Out are being piloted to build community resilience and provide sustainable support systems for foster families.  

This year marked a shift from simply growing bigger to growing smarter, rooting our expansion in local relationships, strategic data, and scalable models that prioritize the long-term well-being of Oregon’s children and families.