1. Is iFoster really free?Yes! iFoster is a non-profit with a mission of helping raise children who are living outside of their biological homes. We've started with trying to close the funding gap by bringing free and discounted resources to the community from private, public and government service providers.
2. Who qualifies to be an iFoster member?
We provide membership for free to:
- Transition-age foster youth (ages 16 to 24)
- Families and Caregivers (foster, kinship, relative, near-kin, legal guardian, adoptive)
- Case Workers, Social Workers, Attorneys, CASAs, Judges, Agency Administrators
- Direct Service Organizations (i.e. group home, transitional housing, FFA, ILP)
- Other Support Organizations (i.e. CASA, support/advocacy groups, associations, government)
3. Should my organization have one membership, or should each employee and beneficiary have their own?
Each membership is unique and cannot be used by more than one member. We encourage each organization to determine how they want their staff to use iFoster. Direct service staff who are in constant communication with caregivers, families and youth may want to have their own membership so they can search for resources for their cases. We also encourage your caregiver and youth beneficiaries that qualify to register for iFoster as there are resources available to meet their unique needs.
4. What information do you collect and why?
We respect your privacy and information and do NOT share it. We collect your name, email, state, zip code in order to provide you with the national, regional and local resources that can meet your needs. We also ask for your member type and the child welfare serving agency or organization you are associated with in order to verify you are of the community.
5. Is iFoster a non-profit?
Yes, iFoster is incorporated as a public benefit corporation, 501(c)(3), with the EIN #80-0627614. iFoster is supported by philanthropic foundations, government grants, and public support.
6. Why are you doing this?
iFoster is of the community for the community. Everyone at iFoster has ties to child welfare and as such care deeply about improving the lives of the children and youth who, through no fault of their own, live outside of their biological homes due to abuse, violence or neglect. We believe in the power of community and are aggregating what is a highly fragmented system into one powerful group who will transform child welfare. We're starting at the bottom, getting our community the resources they need and closing the funding gap. But our goal is much higher. By building a strong, supportive, inclusive community, we believe we can raise a collective voice to force change - change in public perception of children in care and change in the system. It is only when every child has the opportunity and the tools to become successful, independent adults and reach their full potential that iFoster will met its goal.
7. Does iFoster restrict or exclude groups?
We are a community with one thing in common, our collective efforts to raise our most vulnerable children and youth. iFoster does not exclude any individual or group based on race, beliefs, sexual orientation or income level. We do observe state and federal laws, and comply with requests from legal and regulatory agencies.
8. How can I help out?
There are three ways in which you can help out:
a) Spread the word! If you are interested in spreading the word to others in our community, we can provide iFoster outreach materials to you. Please contact us at 1-855-936-7837. Coming soon, we are formalizing this into iFoster Ambassador roles for foster youth to gain work experience and class or THP credit (as well as some great iFoster incentives).
b) Give us feedback! We need community input to continuously improve what we do, how we do it and how we represent the community. You can send us feedback through the website (click on the notepad icon) or email us at support@ifoster.org or call us at 1-855-936-7837. We will routinely be posting surveys too which is a great way for you to let us know what you think.
c) Help us out! iFoster is funded by donations and every little bit counts. If we've helped you out, consider adding us to your company's employee giving, giving yourself or introducing us to your really, really rich very, very old uncle (preferably one named Buffett).
9. How can my company participate?
Invite us in! Do you know how many of your employees may qualify for iFoster? How many foster, kinship, relative, adoptive parents are your employees? How many are former foster youth? We are an employee benefit for your company. Of course, we'd also love to work with your organization. See the section on Our Partners to learn more and call us at 1-855-936-7837 to discuss.
10. How long has iFoster been operating?
iFoster launched in October of 2010. Since then, iFoster has become one of the largest and most inclusive online communities in child welfare, helping raise over 2 million children and youth in all 50 states.
11. What recognition has iFoster received?
While by far the best recognition is when a member calls in and says thank you! Even better is when we hear the great success stories (we post them on our wall)! But it is also pretty cool that iFoster has earned some prestigious recognition including:
- Citizen Innovator, The White House Office of Social Innovation and Civic Engagement
- Echoing Green Fellowship 2012
- America's Leader of Change, National Urban Fellows 2012
- "1 Laptop per Foster Youth" recognized as one of the best Microsoft Refurbisher Programs globally by Microsoft (2012-2013)
12. Where is iFoster located?
iFoster is virtual and operates in all 50 states plus Guam and Puerto Rico. Our headquarters is in beautiful Lake Tahoe, CA because as a virtual organization we can work anywhere so why not make it a mountain paradise. If you are ever in the area, please drop in to see us, we love meeting our members face-to-face:
iFoster Inc.
10049 Martis Valley Road, Unit C
Truckee, CA 96161
1-855-936-7837
support@ifoster.org