About Us

We are disrupting & rebuilding an inequitable system.

We’re a research & design lab with a goal to fundamentally change how the child welfare system works . Today, we work with government agencies, lawmakers, providers, advocates, and foundations to drive novel, scalable solutions at the federal, state, and local levels.

Our foundation

Our work is led and shaped by people with lived experience in child welfare. Decades of efforts to reform this inequitable system have failed because these most crucial voices were overlooked by decision makers.

Our approach

We look system-wide to identify opportunities for the greatest impact. Alongside lived experts, we engage across the ecosystem – from Federal policymakers to front-line workers and everyone in between – to create and co-implement novel, scalable solutions.

Our process

To ensure that leaders in child welfare have access to data and evidence that reflects the “on-the-ground” reality of those impacted by the system and to create mechanisms for impacted youth and families to influence practices and policies. When this process happens continuously, we create proximity at scale.

Our story

Founded by former foster youth and driven by a commitment to centering lived experience, Think of Us has evolved from a technology nonprofit in 2016 into a research & design lab, taking a novel approach to driving widespread change.

Diversity, equity & inclusion

Just as we are focused on shifting power structures in child welfare, we hold the same commitment to equity and distributed power throughout our team culture. This informs who we hire and how we work.