Greishen’s foster mom planted something in her before she even knew what to call it. Now, years later, she can name it: the Protective Factors, in their most human form. Greishen shares her honest, personal reflections about love, dementia, and why spaces like Parent Cafés matter for former youth in care.

Robyn spent 25 years as a foster parent. She owes it not to her own grit or extraordinary abilities, but because she refused to do it alone. Her tribute to the women and communities that kept her going is also a direct challenge to agencies to build real connection into how they support foster parents.

Most social workers never get to see how the story ends. BSF's Robyn Harvey wrote this open letter during Social Work Month to the guidance counselors, caseworkers, placement workers, and therapists whose small decisions quietly shaped the course of her life and the lives of the children in her care.

Walking into the room on Saturday, May 20th, there was excitement in the air. It was a feeling of guarded optimism. Tables had been set with beautiful flowers and a presentation of statements of appreciation from youth in care in Illinois to the people who had shown them care over the years. This event was meant to honor, acknowledge, and celebrate foster parents, and an opportunity to promote camaraderie amongst Youth in Care and Foster Parents.

No one ever talks about successful foster homes. A BSF staff member shares her own story of being removed from her home in Puerto Rico as a teenager, to finding the foster family she calls her forever home. A powerful reminder of what it means to truly belong.

Vanessa Banks lost her children, her home, and nearly her hope. What brought her family back together wasn't a magic wand — it was the Protective Factors, activated one hard-won step at a time. This is her story.

After two decades as a foster parent, Robyn Harvey confesses — she wasn't always a good one. Her reflection on empathy, shame, and the relationships that make foster care work is a must-read for anyone who cares about keeping families together.

"Your children are not your children." Kahlil Gibran's words take on new urgency when we consider the separation of migrant families at the US border, and the echoes of a much longer American history of tearing families apart. Dena Chapman reflects on what we value, and what it means to truly believe that it takes a village.

Family engagement is one of the most-cited and most poorly executed goals in child welfare. A parent with lived experience breaks down why the gap between philosophy and practice persists, and what relationship-based approaches can do to close it.