Organizations like ours spend a lot of time talking about WHAT we do. That’s easy to explain. A harder question is about our HOW – the things that make us different from another agency. But even more challenging is to talk about our WHY – the reason we exist and the belief behind everything we do.
At Parents by Choice, our WHY can be stated like this: We are passionate about kids and families, and will do whatever it takes to help solve the problems they face. This belief drives us to be creative problem-solvers, to do our work with excellence and to go beyond what is expected.
Parents by Choice (PbC) was founded in 2006 as a “Foster Family Agency,” an
organization that was built to serve the needs of children and youth in the child welfare system. Along the way, we realized that this single program wasn’t enough – we needed to do more to support vulnerable children and families!
Starting in 2011, we began to add programs around this original foster care idea. These additional programs didn’t come as a result of market research or because we needed to increase our budget. They were built to address the needs of the children and families we serve. For example:
- We wanted to help prevent children from ever entering foster care, so in 2012, we created the Positive Parenting Program to educate and support families.
- Too many foster children were languishing in the foster care system. So we became licensed as an adoption agency, to help them find permanency.
- Many of our youth would exit the foster care system without any support.
These youth were at risk of becoming incarcerated or homeless. So in 2017, we became licensed to provide transitional housing for youth aged 18-21. Now these youth can continue to receive services and support from our team while living independently.
- Every youth in foster care has experienced trauma. And yet these youth often lack the timely mental health services they need. So, in 2019, we became certified to provide mental health services. Today, our youth receive excellent care from highly qualified and licensed PbC clinicians.
These are just some examples of how our agency lives out the PbC WHY. I’m proud to be on a team that cares so deeply about the people we serve! From administrative staff to clinicians and social workers, the PbC team lives out the “whatever it takes” motto on a daily basis.
