Casey Family Programs

Casey Family Programs is an American charitable organization and national operating foundation devoted to child welfare, foster care, and family support. Established in 1966 by James E. Casey, the founder of United Parcel Service, it began as a child welfare agency serving the Seattle area and later developed into a national organization combining direct services, technical assistance, research, data analysis, and public-policy work. The foundation’s stated purpose is to provide and improve foster care while ultimately helping prevent the circumstances that make foster care necessary. Its work is directed at children, young people, families, tribes, courts, government agencies, policymakers, and other institutions involved in the child-welfare system. Rather than functioning as a conventional consumer-facing product brand, Casey Family Programs operates as a mission-driven service and knowledge organization whose brand is associated with child-welfare expertise, systems improvement, and family-centered practice. Casey Family Programs works across all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. Its activities have included community-based direct services, consultation with public child-welfare agencies, independent research, analysis of administrative data, and the development and distribution of practical tools for professionals and families. The organization has maintained offices in locations including Arizona, California, Colorado, the District of Columbia, Georgia, Idaho, New York, Texas, and Washington. Through community-based offices, it has provided foster care and related services to children and families, while its national work has supported broader changes in policy and practice. Its consulting and technical-assistance activities address issues such as child-welfare strategy, agency performance, data use, court and government processes, and the design of systems intended to keep children safely with their families whenever possible. Its public-policy work supplies child-welfare information and analysis to federal, state, tribal, and local governments. Among its recognized tools is the Ansell Casey Life Skills Assessment, which helps assess and support the independent-living skills of young people, including youth preparing to leave foster care. The organization’s institutional history is connected to the Casey family’s wider philanthropy. In 1966, the family’s philanthropic efforts, operating through the Annie E. Casey Foundation, initiated a Seattle-area child-welfare agency. When UPS moved its headquarters from Seattle to New York in 1973, James E. Casey provided sufficient support for the Seattle organization to become independent of the Annie E. Casey Foundation. That independent organization became known as Casey Family Programs. Over time, Casey Family Programs expanded beyond the delivery of traditional foster-care services. Its strategy increasingly emphasized national reach, prevention, evidence-informed practice, and collaboration with public systems. By 2015, the organization stated that it was active throughout the United States, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. Related Casey family initiatives include Casey Family Services, which operated in New England until 2012, and the Marguerite Casey Foundation, established in 2001 to support low-income families. Casey Family Programs was also a founding member of Foster Care Alumni of America. Casey Family Programs remains an active nonprofit foundation rather than a publicly traded company. Its operating model combines philanthropy with direct implementation and advisory work, allowing it to test practices in communities while sharing research, tools, and recommendations with child-welfare systems nationwide.

Casey Family Programs was established in 1966 through the Casey family’s philanthropic activity and initially operated as a child-welfare agency serving the Seattle, Washington, area. The organization’s early work centered on foster care and related services for children and families. The organization’s origins were linked to the Annie E. Casey Foundation. In 1973, after United Parcel Service moved its headquarters from Seattle to New York City, James E. Casey provided funding that enabled the Seattle child-welfare agency to become a separate and independent organization. It subsequently developed under the name Casey Family Programs. During its early decades, Casey Family Programs focused primarily on direct foster-care and child-welfare services. Its role later broadened as the organization sought to influence child-welfare practice beyond the communities in which it directly operated. It added technical assistance, research, data analysis, and strategic consultation for public agencies, courts, policymakers, tribes, and other participants in the child-welfare system. The foundation also developed practical resources for children, young people, families, and professionals. The Ansell Casey Life Skills Assessment became one of its notable tools, supporting assessment and preparation for independent living among young people, including those with foster-care experience. Casey Family Programs expanded its geographic and institutional reach through community-based offices and national partnerships. Its direct-service activities have included foster care and other support for approximately 1,100 children and families through offices in nine locations, while its consultation and policy work has operated on a broader national basis. By 2015, the organization reported work in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. The Casey family’s broader philanthropic network also includes related organizations. In 1976, James E. Casey created Casey Family Services, which served New England states until its operations ended in 2012. In 2001, Casey Family Programs founded the Marguerite Casey Foundation to support low-income families. Casey Family Programs was also a founding member of Foster Care Alumni of America. The organization’s development reflects a transition from a regional foster-care provider to a national operating foundation. Its current model combines direct practice with systems consultation, research, information, and public-policy work. The long-term objective remains to strengthen families and public child-welfare systems so that children can receive safe, stable care and fewer children require foster-care placement.

• 2015

  National geographic reach reported

  [1]Casey Family Programsen.wikipedia.org

  By 2015, Casey Family Programs reported work across all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.

• 2001

  Marguerite Casey Foundation founded

  [1]Casey Family Programsen.wikipedia.org

  Casey Family Programs founded the Marguerite Casey Foundation to support low-income families.

• 1976

  Casey Family Services created

  [1]Casey Family Programsen.wikipedia.org

  James E. Casey established a related East Coast initiative that became Casey Family Services and served New England until 2012.

• 1973

  Organization becomes independent

  [1]Casey Family Programsen.wikipedia.org

  Following UPS’s move from Seattle to New York, James E. Casey provided funding that allowed the Seattle child-welfare organization to separate formally from the Annie E. Casey Foundation.

• 1966

  Seattle child-welfare agency established

  [1]Casey Family Programsen.wikipedia.org

  The Casey family’s philanthropy, operating through the Annie E. Casey Foundation, established a child-welfare agency in the Seattle area to provide foster care and related services.

A national operating foundation that combines direct child-welfare services, evidence and data, technical assistance, and public-policy engagement to improve outcomes for children and families and reduce reliance on foster care.

• Assessment and youth development tool

  Ansell Casey Life Skills Assessment

  A life-skills assessment associated with Casey Family Programs that helps child-welfare professionals, caregivers, and young people identify strengths and developmental needs related to independent living. It is particularly relevant to youth in foster care and those preparing for transition to adulthood. The tool reflects the organization’s broader emphasis on practical support, youth preparation, and improved outcomes for children and young people involved with child-welfare systems.

• Professional services

  Child-welfare consulting and technical assistance

  Casey Family Programs provides technical assistance, strategic consultation, research support, and data analysis to child-welfare systems, policymakers, courts, tribes, and government agencies. The work is intended to improve organizational practice, decision-making, system performance, and outcomes for children and families. It represents a major part of the foundation’s evolution from a regional direct-service provider into a national operating foundation.

• Child-welfare services · 1966

  Foster care and direct family services

  Through community-based offices, Casey Family Programs provides foster care and related direct services to children and families. These services form the organization’s practice base and allow it to work directly with communities while informing its broader systems, research, and policy activities. The foundation’s stated goal is not only to improve foster care but also to help prevent the circumstances that lead to foster-care placement.

1. 1Casey Family Programsen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Casey Family Programs official websitecasey.org