Overview:
In order for complex social issues, like the foster care system, to be addressed effectively, a backbone organization must emerge that sets the table for community leaders, government agencies, faith communities, and other nonprofit organizations to come together.
Every Child Oregon embodies the collective impact model described by Stanford Social Innovation Review at the local county level, while also creating a robust learning community of likeminded backbone organizations across the state. As an affiliate, or federation-model, Every Child provides a unique opportunity for local-level initiatives to pave the way for collaboration in their contexts, while also participating in statewide collaboration on many levels.
The Every Child Oregon Service Center (ECSC) helps to get the effort launched in new counties, and provides technical assistance, consulting, government relations, marketing, branding, data management, and inquiry responses ongoing. The local Every Child affiliates are responsible for the on-the-ground volunteer and foster family recruitment, coordination, and support in their respective county, while regularly connecting with their local DHS offices.
Mission + Core Values
Every Child Oregon aims to provide love, care, and support for vulnerable children and families in Oregon in partnership with Oregon’s Department of Human Services.
The core values of Every Child Oregon are:
Determined: Every Child relentlessly fights for children in crisis, and commits to finding safe, nurturing places where they can flourish.
Hopeful: Every Child believes in a hopeful future for children and families in Oregon.
Collaborative: Every Child connects individuals, businesses, families, and faith communities with acute needs.
Every Child Oregon invites all Oregonians to participate with the child welfare system in any capacity, recognizing that each individual’s contribution creates a more fortified, healthy, holistic experience for kids and youth and those who care for them.
In general, the on-ramps available through Every Child Oregon include:
Tangible Goods or Services: Welcome Boxes, Boxes of Love, Launch Boxes, DHS Emergency Needs, etc.
Volunteering: One-time projects like makeovers of visitation rooms, cleaning days, hospitality for DHS staff; and ongoing opportunities like transportation to/from visits, Office Buddies, etc.
Foster Parenting: Recruitment efforts are both organic (as individuals get involved as volunteers and interact with kids or youth in care) and intentional through Explore Fostering Coffee House events, or the #ShowUpOregon campaign.
Support for Foster Parents: Although not a foster parent advocacy organization, Every Child Oregon is leads signature events like the Respite Mix & Mingle or Foster Meet Up, and is piloting new community-based volunteer initiatives in seven counties that include a new box, wrap-around models, events for foster families, and more.
Impact
The efforts that began in Portland in 2012 have now expanded across the state through Every Child Oregon. Local communities are stepping up in radically generous ways to lean into the foster system!
Tangible Goods or Services
• 25,000+ Welcome Boxes (~$35 each; estimated total value: $875,000)
• 1,000+ Launch Boxes (~$100 each; estimated total value: $100,000)
• 500 Boxes of Love (value $500 each; estimated total value: $250,000)
• More than 2,000 tangible needs requests from DHS Caseworkers met
Volunteers
• More than 6,728 volunteers
• More than 18,000 Oregonians following social media efforts, and engaging with counter-narrative
• 49 Makeovers of DHS visitation rooms, staff break rooms, wellness rooms, lobbies, and more (estimated value: $750,000)
• More than 125 DHS staff appreciation events, in partnership with businesses like Salt + Straw, Intentional Espresso, New Seasons, Trader Joes and more
• 100 Office Buddies
• Clothing Closets, Snack Pantries, and Supply Closets stocked and managed by community volunteers at 22 child welfare offices
Foster Family Recruitment and Support
• More than 700 certified foster families as a direct result of this effort, and a 22 percent matriculation rate of foster parent inquiries that develop into certifications
• 24% of foster and adoption inquiries from communities of color (an increase from 9% just two years ago)• 16 Foster Parent’s Night Out (FPNO) sites serving more than 180 foster families
• 35+ signature events hosted annually to provide relational support and respite care for foster families—Explore Fostering Coffee Houses, Respite Mix + Mingle, Foster Meet Ups, Foster Family Fun Day, etc.
• Launch of Flash Box—boxes full of family activities, gift cards, and encouragement for foster families—in November 2019
• Wraparound support pilot project for 20 foster families in four counties in Oregon
Learn More About Every Child
Every Child Oregon aims to provide love, care, and support for vulnerable children and families in Oregon in partnership with Oregon’s Department of Human Services.
Emerging Leaders
Review a snapshot of our 2019 impact and learn more about our goals for 2020!
Act Six
Act Six is the Oregon’s full need, full tuition scholarship for urban and community leaders.
Every Child has transformed how Oregonians think about and engage with Oregon’s Department of Human Services.