CHALLENGE

To Increase qualified applicants to Foster America's fellowship program from the technology, design and business sectors

Foster America’s mission is to improve the lives of America’s most vulnerable children by building a pipeline of leaders and cultivating innovation to transform the child welfare system. In order to do so effectively, the system needs leaders with perspectives from other sectors to address its complex challenges. While social work perspective is critical, top talent from technology, business, and design sectors is largely absent. 

Our team had 4 days to come up with a possible solution and pitch it back to Foster America.

INSIGHT

The issues in the child welfare system are largely unknown by outsiders

40,000 infants are placed in foster care every year.  Of those 40,000 about 20% will in stay in the system over 5 years.   Our team found that on average most technologist do not have a full understanding of the current state of the child welfare system. They want to be involved in projects that do social good but the child welfare system is not one they are fully aware of.  By increasing awareness of the problems foster children face on a daily basis we will be helping technologists realize that the child welfare system needs major innovation from technology leaders.

APPROACH AND SOLUTION

Through the eyes of a foster child

Our team pitched the idea of rethinking the current messaging and content strategy used by Foster America.

By focusing on foster children and there needs will allow potential applicants to empathize with the current state of the child well fare system.  Our team reimagined the Foster America website as a way to get the story out of what it is like to be a foster child and how it impacts the daily lives of the child.  We wanted to give a reason for people from different industries to empathize and join in a cause that is ripe for innovation.  

The idea we choose to pitch was creating a new section of the Foster America website which would house numerous interactive stories of foster children.  These stories would show the circumstances that lead that specific child into the system, there daily struggles and how the Foster America fellowship program helped.  Our hope was that this would bring awareness to the current situation and potentially attract the right applicants into the system.

Foster America gave us extremely positive feedback and found other ways to possible apply this type of approach to there messaging and website.