At Friends of the Children, we are serving more children and families than ever before. This year, the national network grew to 48 locations, spanning rural, Indigenous, suburban, and urban communities across 23 states, including partnerships with Sovereign Tribal Nations: the Oglala Lakota Nation, the Confederated Salish-Kootenai Tribes, the Klamath Tribes, and the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes.

As part of Friends of the Children’s priority to sustain and grow the impact of our work, we added new locations in Denver, Colorado; Fort Hall, Idaho; and San Fernando Valley, California.

The San Fernando Valley expansion marks a tremendous milestone for the Friends of the Children – Los Angeles chapter, which now serves the entirety of Los Angeles County. This growth reflects the power of our model. Data from a 6-year pilot project show that when families at the highest risk of foster care entry have a Friend, children don’t go into care: not a single child with a Friend has entered the system. In response, Los Angeles County has invested over $22M and adopted our program county-wide as part of its foster care prevention strategy.

And we are not stopping there! This fall, we look forward to adding two locations in San Diego, California, and Miami, Florida—bringing our long-term, professional mentoring model to even more youth and families who need a Friend.