Supporting the Well-Being of Every Child

A focus on relationships: In 2004, the clinical social work team at Kindering, a neurodevelopmental center serving Washington state since 1962, developed a program to provide a safety net of services for child welfare systems-involved children living in out-of-home care, recognizing a need for specialized social-emotional support. This program was named CHERISH: Children Encouraged by Relationships in Secure Homes. In 2012, CHERISH secured funding to begin expanding the program model to other Early Supports for Infants and Toddlers agencies— CHERISH Replication training is now supported through both public and private grants, including the NW Children’s Foundation. Best Starts for Kids provided additional funding in 2018 to expand services to meet the needs of children ages 3-5 in foster and kinship care. In response to shifting statewide policies, provider and family feedback, and to meet the ever-growing need of support for families involved in the child welfare system, beginning in 2025 we have expanded CHERISH eligibility criteria to include all child welfare system-involved families (including children that have not been removed from their parent's care). Today we serve more than 500 foster children around Washington State each year.

Our Story: By nurturing trust and connections between the most important people in a child’s life, our therapists aim to minimize trauma, stabilize placements, and facilitate healthy transitions as needed. We advocate for best practice around caregiver-parent relationships and family time visitation as applicable, and provide ongoing support to help lessen the stress that children and families can experience during this time. While we do not advocate for a particular permanency plan, we do support reunification whenever possible and encourage connections between caregivers and parents.

Our programs offer specialized Infant Mental Health supports for children ages 0-3 and expanded services for children ages 3-5, with skilled providers trained to address the unique social and emotional needs of child welfare systems-involved children and their families. We know that every child has a unique story, so we provide individualized, trauma-informed support to help meet the emotional needs of children by promoting families’ understanding of developmental impacts of separation and other stressors, and talking with parents and caregivers about navigating boundaries and expectations.