2017’s National Foster Care Month is underway! This year’s theme is “Empowering Caregivers, Strengthening Families.” The Children’s Bureau website, in partnership with the Child Welfare Information Gateway, is a fantastic resource, full of great ideas for participating in the month-long campaign to spread awareness and make a difference in your community. For example, they are running a Facebook storytelling campaign where you are invited to share your stories and experiences with the foster care system. There are plenty of other ways to participate, as you will see on their website. If you share posts and stories on social media, be sure to use the hashtag #fostercaremonth to join the effort.

Although the annual presidential proclamations to designate May as National Foster Care Month didn’t begin until 1988, the Children’s Bureau has nevertheless had a long and proud history of supporting the most vulnerable children in our country. They have worked with many partners and social services organizations to improve legislative protections for children at risk and to educate the public about the need for strong healthy foster families to provide safe, caring homes for the many young people in the United States foster system. For a great summary of their work, check out this page.