2022-2023 Annual Report : simplebooklet.com

Right now, there are 3,600 children in Colorado foster care:50% of those children are with kinship caregivers8 new children enter foster care every day400 Colorado children are waiting for adoption200 children annually exit foster care without a family at 18 50% of foster families quit after serving one yearThere is a shortage of foster and adoptive families in Colorado.That means some children are separated from siblings, mustchange schools and experience frequent moves while in fostercare. Children who exit foster care at 18 without a permanentfamily often experience a lifetime struggling with poverty,unemployment, early pregnancies, homelessness and about25% will be incarcerated. A new vision statement: Every child in a nurturing, well-supported familyA new mission statement: Engage, inspire, recruit andresource churches and families to serve children in ourcommunity through faith-based family preservation, kinship care,foster care and adoption.A new tagline: Kids Need Families. Families Need You!THE CRISISNEW SOLUTIONS

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Dear Friends,Imagine a Colorado where every child had a nurturing, well-supported family. A Colorado where children only left foster careto be safely reunited with their biological family or to beadopted. Imagine a Colorado where biological, kinship, fosterand adoptive families had more than enough support to stayengaged in caring for their children. At Project 1.27, we spend lots of time learning, praying, andimagining new ways to better serve children and families. As amatter of fact, our theme for this year is based on Isaiah 43:19,“Behold, I am doing a new thing”. Over the last year we’veseen God guide us to many new things including a new vision,mission statement, and tagline.We’ve launched two new programs, FamiliesCare, designed tolower the number of children coming into foster care and theNeighbor Program, designed to provide additional support tokinship and foster families. We’ve also continued to recruit, trainand support kinship, foster and adoptive families. Kids need families and families need people like you!Individuals, churches, businesses, foundations, and communitypartners who believe that every child does deserve a nurturing,well-supported family and are willing to invest in that vision untilit becomes a reality. SHELLY RADICProject 1.27 President

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In early 2023, Katie and her husband Daniel, heard aboutFamiliesCare at their church. As adoptive parents, Katie andDaniel knew the additional trauma children experiencewhen removed from their biological parents and wanted tobe part of keeping children safely in the home. Afterreceiving training from Project 1.27, the couple began leading aFamiliesCare group. In 2022-2023 Project 1.27 designed the FamiliesCareprogram, implemented it in Arapahoe, Weld and MesaCounty and matched the first three families with a FamiliesCare group. FAMILIESCARETheir group was matched with a single mom, Kristin* and hertwo children, one with significant special needs. From the firstconnection, Kristin made it clear that she wasn’t into religion orrelationships and it was many weeks before Kristin felt safeenough to accept support from her FamiliesCare group. WhenKristin had a medical emergency, she reached out for someoneto pick up needed prescriptions. Since then, the group has beenable to serve Kristin throughspecialized child care andtransportation. Kristin now hassomeone to call when she needssupport and enough trust to makethat call.

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Foster families- WhenJames and Christina beganwelcoming foster children in2017, they committed tosticking with the kids theycared for. They are keepingthat promise today, staying intouch with children in the twosibling groups they fostered. KINSHIP & FOSTERIn 2022-2023, Project 1.27 served 238 kinship andfoster families, who in turn served 388 children.Kinship families- Joe and Veronica didn’t expect to be parentsagain, but when their grandchildren needed a home, theyquickly said yes. Project 1.27 was able to smooth thetransition back to being kinship caregivers with aThanksgiving meal, new placement gift cards and connectionsto other resources. Soon, they will start foster certificationtraining through Project 1.27 so they will have more tools andresources as they care for their grandkids. Recently, James and Christina helped two of the kids theyfostered move into their first apartment.

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Sam and Mallorie determined they would be all-in for anychild placed in their home. Since becoming certified in 2019,the couple and their two daughters have welcomed ninechildren into their home. Recently, the couple adopted 3 ofthose children, a sibling set who are now able to grow uptogether. Sam and Mallorie continue to foster and may haveanother adoption date coming up in 2024! They truly are all-infor kids!Since 2005, 516+ children have been adopted byProject 1.27 families. ADOPTION

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SUPPORTHave you ever been part of an egg-drop challenge? That’swhere students provide supports to cushion a raw egg andkeep it from breaking when dropped. Project 1.27 works withchurches, volunteers, and community partners to provide thatsame type of “cushioning” and keep families from breakingapart under the pressures that complex traumas often brings.Church staff and volunteers acrossColorado participated in Trauma-Informed Training to learn how tocare for children who’veexperienced trauma. The trainingfocuses on connection andempathy-based strategies sochildren feel loved and cared. Inthe training, attendees learn tohave a new lens and approachwhen helping children with bigbehaviors, learning tools andstrategies to help them serve thefamilies and children in theirchurches. Project 1.27 provided 17 Trauma-InformedChurch Trainings with over 400 participantsSUPPORT FROM CHURCHES:TRAUMA-INFORMED TRAINING

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SUPPORT FORFAMILIES1,160 children benefited from practical resourcesprovided through Project 1.27.Across Colorado, Project 1.27 supports kinship, foster andadoptive families by providing practical resources that makecaring for kids, especially kids who arrive with little notice,easier. Providing the small things allows kinship, fosterand adoptive parents to focus on the big things, likebuilding trust, cheering kids on at events and fun familyactivities. Across Colorado, Project 1.27also provides many resourcesdirectly and through local fosterclosets. Community partnersand donor funds provide newplacement gift cards, bedding,shoes, socks, coats, clothes,toiletries, school supplies andfun things like bikes, books andtoys. In Mesa County, we do that through an online platform calledCarePortal which allows caseworkers to share a need, likebunkbeds or roof repairs, with church communities who canmeet that need. Last year, 19 churches met the needs of 93children, providing practical resources with a value of $30,679.

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ECHOflex provides families with the opportunity to developtools to build positive mental health and deepen familyconnections. In a recent ECHOflex series, the Martz* family, afoster family caring for a sibling set used an iceberg diagram tolearn more about one another. One daughter shared, “I feel alot of big emotions and I don’t know how to handle them orask for help.” ECHOFLEXLast year, Project 1.27 trained 188 support teammembersSupport Team Training is part of Project 1.27’s pre-certificationtraining. Future foster and adoptive families invite at least 4friends and family members to learn how they can support thefamily and the children they serve. Like volunteer Neighbors, In 2022-23, 129 children in 48 families participated inan 8-session ECHOflex cohort. SUPPORT TEAM TRAININGAfter the group, this statement led toa deeper mother-daughterconversation about those bigfeelings. Project 1.27 also provideda therapist referral so this girl couldfurther explore those big feelings. Support Team members bring meals,encouragement, and help with householdtasks, transportation, and childcare. As aresult, Project 1.27 families feel supportedand continue fostering longer than thenational average.

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NEIGHBOR PROGRAMNEW! After seven years serving foster families throughvolunteer neighbors who offer a meal and encouragement,the Neighbor Program moved to Project 1.27. We wereexcited to join forces, offering additional support andcommunity to kinship and foster families because we knowwell-resourced families provide better, more sustainablenurturing for children in foster care.Survey from Neighbor Program participants100% would recommend the program92% said it made them feel more connected 83% said they continued receiving support andfriendship from their Neighbor even aftergraduating from our programRegan brings a meal every otherThursday to her matched NeighborProgram family, the Harms. Shedoubles the recipe so they haveleftovers or can freeze a meal. Whenthe Harms took in an infant on shortnotice, Regan enjoyed doing a little"baby shopping" and dropped somethings off to the Harms and ensuredthey had what they needed at themoment. Neighbors offer an extra layerof support helping with foster familyretention.

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In the last year the 1.27 National Network has grown toinclude more ministries serving more kids around thecountry and more offerings to strengthen those leading theorganizations.Highlights from this year include:Four new organizations joined: Spokane 1.27, Defend theFatherless, The CALL in Arkansas, and Hope Local.Two book studies (Create vs. Copy and The ProductivityZone)Four topic-based cohorts (Outcomes vs. Outputs inpartnership with SEED fundraising for Executive Directorsonly, social media for bridge ministries, monthly donorengagement for bridge ministries, and up-front speaking forleaders.)Executive Director retreat with 11 attendees from 9organizations participating."I loved how the cohort was broken down so the whole process oflearning and development wasn't overwhelming. I enjoyed hearingfrom others who have programs in place already as well asbrainstorming with folks who are still in the development stage." Caitlin Sund, Executive Director, Defend the Fatherless, South Carolina"This is a must attend event for me each year! Thank you!!!" Executive retreat attendee

2022-2023 Annual Report

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