Think of Us, a national nonprofit that works to center the lived experience of foster youth in research and policy discussions around the country, has hired the former head of Washington, D.C.’s child welfare system to oversee strategy.
Robert Matthews, who will be the 9-year-old organization’s first chief program officer, held child welfare leadership positions in Tennessee and Maryland before being tapped to lead the D.C. Child and Family Services Agency. He has also consulted with the Annie E. Casey Foundation on child welfare reform efforts in several other states.
Think of Us Founder Sixto Cancel trumpeted Matthews’ role in building a “kin-first” initiative in D.C., meant to increase reliance on relatives and other family connections when it was decided that children should be removed from their homes. The city has precipitously decreased its overall use of foster care — according to federal data, down from 1,034 youth in 2013 to 427 in 2022 — although some advocates for kinship caregivers have voiced concern that the use of relatives often comes through diversion, meaning they aren’t supported with monthly payments like foster parents.
Think of Us has been among a coalition of nonprofits working to get states to make use of a new rule issued by the Biden administration that seeks to simplify the process of licensing and paying kin as foster parents. Several states have already been approved for an alternative path to licensure for kin, and the coalition has put out a set of model licensing standards for other states that are interested in moving in that direction.
Cancel also emphasized the importance of building nonprofit leadership beyond the vision of its inaugural leaders.
“I have witnessed organizations reach a plateau when they remain founder-centric,” Cancel said, in an email introducing Matthews. “To achieve the greatest impact and scale, there inevitably comes a point where additional leadership is necessary to deepen organizational competencies, align more closely with the sector’s overall strategy, and drive further innovation. This decision is ultimately about being in service to the work itself, and for me, this announcement represents far more than just the creation of a new role. It signifies a pivotal milestone in our organization’s evolution.”
Last year, Think of Us received a commitment of $47.5 million from TED’s Audacious Project, one of the larger single philanthropic investments in child welfare policy and advocacy in history. Among the organization’s programs is its Center for Lived Experience, which involves system-impacted youth in the development of research and policy reform discussions.