Karen Phillips didn’t plan to become a child welfare changemaker—she simply said yes to becoming a foster parent. That yes set her on a path to help families in crisis long before the foster care system gets involved.

In this episode of The Forgotten Adoption Option Podcast, Karen shares how her lived experience fueled the creation of the 100 Families Initiative at Restore Hope Arkansas. Together with her team, she’s building tech-powered, community-based solutions that bring together nonprofits, agencies, and families to prevent foster care entry.

🎧 You’ll hear:

• How Karen’s journey into foster care turned into statewide impact

• What the 100 Families model looks like in action

• The surprising ways technology is bridging gaps across systems

• Why prevention is both possible and powerful

This is more than a story—it’s a blueprint for hope.

Eva Amador is a retired adoption attorney from Puerto Rico. She spent her the final years of her career navigating the legal process to help children find forever families.

Connie Going has spent over 25 years working in the child welfare system and is the adoptive parent of two teens including Davion and another young man - the boys became good friends and referred to themselves as brothers when living at the same group home.