Advocacy
Advocacy
Our Advocacy Priorities
HOPE585 advocates for policies and practices that reduce harm to families involved in the Child Welfare System, while also advancing meaningful change for children and youth in the foster system.
We work to:
- Narrow the front door to Child Welfare
- Promote Prevention and Family Preservation
- Reform Mandated Reporting policies and practices
- Strengthen supports for young adults aging out of the foster system
- Protective and improve the well-being and future of children and youth in the foster system
- Center lived experience in Policy Change
Our advocacy is grounded in the belief that child safety and family stability are deeply connected. Lasting change requires both reducing unnecessary system involvement and improving outcomes for children who are already in care.
The Reimagine Initiative
Reimagine is HOPE585’s systems-change initiative focused on reducing unnecessary involvement in Child Protective Services by strengthening community-based responses to family need. Through policy advocacy, cross-sector collaboration, and the leadership of people with lived experience, Reimagine works to narrow the front door to CPS and shift resources toward prevention, dignity, and family stability.
Cost of a False Alarm
The purpose of this report is not to assign blame to individual caseworkers or agencies, nor to litigate specific cases. Rather, it seeks to examine systemic patterns and their broader consequences. By highlighting both the measurable fiscal costs and the less visible human costs of unfounded investigations, this report aims to contribute to a constructive policy conversation about how to strengthen child safety while reducing unnecessary harm to families. The goal is to support informed decision-making grounded in data, research, and community well-being.
