Our primary goal is to safely return children who come into the foster care system to their families by assessing and building on the family's strengths and resources. This requires a plan of care specific to each child and family we serve
We include input from the family in securing services based in the family's community so the family can continue to have resources available to them when the child(ren) is (are) returned home. When our best efforts are unable to ensure that the strengths and resources are adequate to cover a family's vulnerabilities and risk factors, Cornerstones of Care looks for other ways to ensure that a child has a permanent family.
Our philosophy is to seek relatives or persons who know the child who are willing, able and committed to meet the needs of that child through adoption or guardianship. If we have exhausted those resources, we search for and recruit other persons to become that child's forever family.
We have continued to exceed the outcome goals set for the children in our care, and have moved more than 400 children into safe and permanent homes through reunification with parents, adoption or legal guardianship.
How to become a foster or adoptive parent
There are many opportunities to open your heart and home to a child in need.
Visit our Seeking Forever Families Waiting Child Gallery and read about how you can become involved in a child's life.
Family Link offers support and resources for families with foster kids or who are in the adoption process.
Kids Have Questions provides answers for kids in foster care or adoption counseling. |
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Cornerstones of Care provides Foster Care Case Management and Adoption Services for over 400 children each year in four western Missouri counties: Andrew, Buchanan, Clay and Jackson. Our performance based contract with the Missouri Children's Division requires that we provide quality care for the children and families referred to us.
We want the children and families we serve to reap rewards from our efforts in helping them navigate the Child Welfare System.
Each of our established outcomes is monitored by the Children's Division. Each year, we seek creative and improved methods to meet these outcomes.
The long-term outcome is to achieve permanent living situations for 30% of our children, which includes reunification, adoption, or guardianship. Short term success is measured by additional contractual outcome goals that ensure ongoing safety in foster placement and efficiency of permanent placement.
Additional outcome goals for the children in our care include:
- 91% will not re-enter care within 12 months of permanency;
- 99% of foster placements must not have substantiated child abuse/neglect reports with the alternative caregiver listed as perpetrator;
- 82% with two or less foster placement moves.
Progress is monitored monthly by senior management and state contract oversight staff through statistical reporting and review of the above outcomes and other internal measurements. |
