Think of Us is an advocacy group focused on the foster care system that advocates keeping children in foster care in settings close to their families and for the provision of resources to financially struggling families to prevent children from entering the foster system. ¹ Think of Us partners with government agencies, lawmakers, providers, advocates, and foundations to support “kinship care” and similar family-unification-based systems. ²

It also seeks to expand benefits programs to young people who age out of the foster care system. ³ Think of Us claims to use research and technological development to eliminate systemic inequities and integrate youth-centered approaches into decision-making that supports youth and their families. ⁴

Activities

Think of Us’s LifeSet platform claims to provide resources for young people transitioning out of foster care. ⁵ The group’s “Unpacking the Data” report identifies disparities in foster care outcomes and proposed actionable solutions such as the advocating for the Protecting America’s Children by Strengthening Families Act. ⁶

Funding

As of 2023, Think of Us secured a five-year grant totaling $47.5 million from the Audacious Project, a social-impact funding initiative by the TED Talks nonprofit. ⁷

Think of Us also is aligned with the Annie E. Casey Foundation on kinship-first approaches that prioritize placing foster children with relatives first, and advocates for increased benefits programs for older youth, including those who had aged out of foster care. ⁸

Advocacy

Think of Us supported the Protecting America’s Children by Strengthening Families Act proposed in 2024. The proposed bill would seek to reauthorize and reform Title IV-B programs while increasing investment in families by permanently allocating an additional $75 million annually to the MaryLee Allen Promoting Safe and Stable Families Program. The group claimed this would help enhance family preservation and reunification while assisting adoption promotion efforts. ⁹

Think of Us partnered with Foster America, New America, and Bloom Works on the Child Welfare Playbook project, which advocates for kinship placements in the foster care system, among other policies. The Child Welfare Playbook was supported by the A.L. Mailman Family Foundation, the Aviv Foundation, the Ballmer Group, the Beeck Center for Social Impact and Innovation, the Doris Duke Foundation, the Greenbridge Family Foundation, New America’s New Practice Lab, Schmidt Futures, the Stand Together Trust, and the North Forty Group. ¹⁰

1.  “Your Donation Helps Transform Child Welfare.” Think of Us. Accessed January 3, 2025. https://www.thinkofus.org/donate/donate.
2. Rodgers, Josh. “Sixto Cancel’s Foster Care Experience Led Him to Create a Nonprofit That Could Transfer $1.3B to Families.” AfroTech, May 11, 2023. https://afrotech.com/sixto-cancel-is-helps-foster-families-access-billions.
3. “Sixto Cancel, Founder & CEO, Think of Us.” PBS, May 31, 2023. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/brief/447461/sixto-cancel.
4. Think of Us. Systems Change. Accessed January 13, 2025. https://www.thinkof-us.org/systems-change.
5. Think of Us. Data and Technology. Accessed January 13, 2025. https://www.thinkof-us.org/data-technology.
6. Think of Us. Impact Report 2023. Accessed January 13, 2025. https://www.thinkof-us.org/impact-report-2023.
7. Tiano, Sara. “Think of US Receives $47.5 Million from Ted’s Audacious Project.” The Imprint, April 17, 2023. https://imprintnews.org/youth-services-insider/think-of-us-receives-47-5-million-from-teds-audacious-project/240425
8. The Annie E. Casey Foundation. “Think of US Raises $47.5 Million to Improve Child Welfare Systems.” The Annie E. Casey Foundation, April 18, 2023. https://www.aecf.org/blog/think-of-us-to-expand-its-efforts-with-investment-from-the-audacious-project.
9. Think of Us. “Think of Us Urges Swift Passage of Strengthening Families Act.” Think of Us. Last modified July 25, 2024. Accessed January 13, 2025. https://www.thinkofus.org/news/swift-passage-of-strengthening-families-act.
10. “About the Child Welfare Playbook.” About. Accessed January 3, 2025. https://www.childwelfareplaybook.com/about/.