Let’s Reimagine What’s Possible—Together
The MIT Media Lab’s Affective Computing Group and Foster America invite you to the second annual Fostering Futures Forum—a dynamic convening where lived expertise, human-centered design, and emerging technology come together to imagine a better way forward for children and families.
Why We’re Coming Together
Each year, more than 600,000 children enter foster care—most not because of abuse, but because their families lacked access to the resources and support they needed to stay safely together. These separations often deepen harm, disrupting families and reinforcing cycles of trauma and inequality.
Too often, families seeking help are met with surveillance—not support. When someone calls a child protection hotline out of concern, the vast majority of reports are “screened out”—meaning the system decides not to investigate and offers no meaningful help. Families are left to navigate serious challenges alone, until things worsen and removal becomes the only response. Foster care is not a neutral safety net—it often causes harm. That’s why prevention must be the goal.
But prevention alone is not enough. For those already impacted by the system, we must also reduce harm, restore dignity, and build new tools for healing, belonging, and opportunity. That’s the work this Forum exists to advance—by lifting up ideas and solutions shaped by those who’ve lived it, and creating space for bold collaboration across sectors.
Whether you're building technology, shaping policy, designing systems, advocating for change, or living the realities these systems impact—your voice is essential. Together, we’ll explore what’s possible when we center care, creativity, and community-led innovation.