About FosterSupport.org

The foster care system loses willing families at every stage. We build the technology that stops the bleeding.

Our Mission

There are right now. Over . In Texas alone, — navigating a system that still runs on technology .

Here's the painful truth: . Of those who do, . The problem isn't a shortage of willing hearts — it's a system that was never designed to support them.

FosterSupport.org exists to change that. Our mission is to empower and support foster and adoptive parents by leveraging technology, data, and platforms to enhance advocacy and care.

Children in U.S. Foster Care

Children in Texas Foster Care

Interested Families Never Finish

Foster Parents Quit in Year One

Remove Barriers

70% of families who want to foster never finish the process. We build technology that guides them step by step, so paperwork never stands between a child and a home.

Data-Driven Decisions

Caseworkers carry 3–4x the recommended caseload. We turn fragmented data into actionable insights so overworked professionals can focus on what matters: the children.

Support the Community

Half of foster parents quit within their first year. We build systems that connect and sustain the foster care community — parents, agencies, caseworkers, and respite providers.

Champion Accessibility

Texas still runs child welfare on a system built in 1996. Every foster family and youth deserves modern tools, regardless of ability, device, or background.

Our Story

FosterSupport.org was founded in 2020 by licensed foster and adoptive parents in Plano, Texas. After navigating the fostering process firsthand — the mountains of paperwork, overwritten monthly reports, systems built in the 1990s, and fragmented support — our founding team saw a clear opportunity to apply modern technology to problems the child welfare system has tolerated for decades.

The experience confirmed what the data already showed: the system loses willing families at every stage. Not because people don't care, but because the infrastructure designed to support them was never built for the families it serves. Goal tracking was done on pad and paper. Compliance reports were managed over email and outdated portals. Data that could drive awareness and action was buried in government PDFs.

Our team brought together expertise in enterprise technology, product management, data science, and human-centered design to build what the system should have provided all along. What started as a single tool evolved into four integrated programs — each addressing a critical failure point in the foster care pipeline.

In this TEDx talk, Yves Hughes shares the personal journey that led to FosterSupport.org — from becoming a foster parent in Texas to confronting a system that loses willing families at every stage, and the decision to build something better.

2018

The Problem Exposed

Our founding team became licensed foster parents in Texas and experienced the system’s failures firsthand — fragmented data, overwritten reports, and outdated technology at every turn.

2020

Organization Founded

FosterSupport.org was established as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit with a mandate to apply modern technology to the foster care system’s most persistent operational failures.

2022

Platform Development

Engineering began on compliance automation, collaborative reporting, and data visualization tools built on the Salesforce platform — designed to integrate with existing agency workflows.

2024

Four Programs Launch

The organization scaled to four distinct programs — Accessibilify, FamilyLog, FosterData.org, and NextChapter — each targeting a critical gap in the child welfare pipeline.

Leadership

A team of technologists, designers, and child welfare professionals united by a common goal: modernizing the foster care system through technology.

Staff

Payton Williams

Executive Director

Leads day-to-day operations and program execution, driving organizational strategy and partnerships to expand FosterSupport.org's reach across Texas and beyond.

Coco, Steve, Jasmine & Adam

AI Agents & Staff Support

Because we're a technology-forward organization, you'll find dedicated AI agents working around the clock to help achieve our mission. Occasionally you may hear from one of us — we'll always let you know when you're not speaking with a human.

Board of Directors

Yves Hughes

President of the Board

Founding member, former foster parent. MBA in Technology Management, MS in Data Science (SMU). Founded FosterSupport.org after experiencing the system's failures firsthand.

Khalila Hughes

Board Member

Founding member, former foster parent. MS in Document Design. Leads human-centered design across all programs, ensuring tools are accessible and intuitive for families, caseworkers, and agencies.

Shama Hyder

Board Member

Brings strategic communications and brand-building expertise to amplify FosterSupport.org's mission and expand awareness of foster care challenges.

Da'Shena Payne

Board Member

Advocate for foster youth with experience in community organizing, program development, and child welfare policy.

Our Programs

Four programs. One mission. Each addresses a critical failure point in the foster care system — from licensing to aging out.

Accessibilify

AI-powered home safety compliance. Room-by-room walkthroughs with automatic standard checking and timestamped reports — so families can pass inspections with confidence.

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FamilyLog

The end of last-minute report scrambling. Foster parents log life as it happens, co-parent collaboratively, and auto-generate the monthly reports agencies require.

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FosterData.org

328,947 children. One story at a time. We turn dense government reports into shareable data stories that move people from awareness to action.

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NextChapter

15,000+ youth age out of foster care every year. NextChapter connects them with mentors, housing, career training, and educational grants before they fall through the cracks.

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Get Involved

Every partnership, every sponsorship, every dollar accelerates our work. The children in this system can't wait — and neither should we.

A diverse group of community members gathered in a warm, supportive circle

Partnerships

No single organization can fix this alone. We partner with agencies, nonprofits, and technology companies to integrate our tools where they're needed most.

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Sponsorships

Align your brand with measurable social impact. Sponsors fund the development and expansion of programs that foster families depend on daily.

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Donate

As a 501(c)(3), we depend on supporters like you. Every dollar removes an administrative barrier so a parent can spend more time with a child.

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Have a question or want to discuss how you can help? Contact us

The System Won't Fix Itself

Every dollar removes a barrier. Every partnership expands our reach. Every share brings someone off the sidelines. Join us.

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