Children do best when the important adults in their life communicate and collaborate. Co-Care encourages and supports two-way communication between parents and the foster or kinship parents caring for their children.

The practice builds on federal recommendations from 2020. Indiana child and family welfare professionals reviewed how foster care operates in our state. We soon realized that the biggest barrier to communication between parents and the foster and kinship parents was the professionals supporting them. Experts from Indiana foster care and home based agencies, the Department of Child Services, the State CASA/GAL Office, parents, and foster and kinship parents teamed up to create opportunities for collaborative communication that improve care while a child is out of home and builds a path to longer term support upon reunification.

We began by coming up with an action plan and statement of principles (pdf). We then created trainings and videos featuring the experiences of people who had practiced co-care principles to familiarize everyone with how it works. Because of this work, we’re on a path of reimagining foster care in our state.

IARCA thanks everyone who helped to conceptualize co-care in Indiana, provided their insights, and shared their experiences. View the Experts List Here. We also thank United Way of Central Indiana for their partnership and financial support that allowed us to make the below videos and this website.