Our Mission:
The mission of The Homestead at Alder Cove is to provide a stable home where every child feels safe, secure, valued, and able to nurture their sense of personal worth.

The Challenge:
There is a tremendous demand for foster homes in the state of Washington.  In 2006, 15,000 foster children were placed in “out of home” care.  Of these children, 61% were neither reunited with their families nor adopted permanently.  These children remained in foster care, most of them for more than two years.  There is also an increasing demand for foster homes due to the many children who return to the system from failed adoption placements.  Children in the foster care system are subject to multiple moves during foster care placement, which can often lead to lower self-esteem and futures at-risk.

Our Solution:
The Homestead at Alder Cove will provide a consistent nurturing and safe home for children between 8 and 18 years old. We will maintain a vacancy factor for children returning from failed placements.  We will work with the State of Washington and other local agencies to provide a safe, loving and stable home for these children.  We will also serve as an adoption agency and facilitate adoption placements, as needed.

The Homestead will be operated by qualified staff, overseen by a professional Board of Directors.  It will be licensed by the State of Washington Dept of Social and Health Services (DSHS) and will provide on-site offices for DSHS staff, health care professionals, as well as Pierce County Juvenile Court personnel.

The Homestead at Alder Cove will be situated on 45 acres in Vaughn, Pierce County, Washington.  We will start by building a cluster of residences surrounding a common area for recreation and administration.  At maximum capacity, the facility will provide housing and services for 192 foster children.