October 2025 — Foster Family Alliance of North Carolina (FFA-NC) is celebrating the success of its 2025 Teaming with Teens statewide conference, held Saturday, September 27 at the Greenville Convention Center. The event convened nearly 300 youth, caregivers, child welfare professionals, volunteers, and vendors, all united in their commitment to supporting transition-age youth in foster care.

We’re proud to share that our executive director, Gaile Osborne, is featured on the By Their Side podcast—where foster care and child welfare advocacy take center stage through candid conversations with professionals and people with lived experience.

In this episode, Gaile opens up about her journey as a foster and adoptive parent to more than 28 children. She shares:
• Why every foster family needs a “village” of support
• How respite care has been critical for preventing burnout
• The reality of secondary trauma and the importance of setting boundaries
• Why policy change is essential to get children into permanent homes faster

Listen HERE

At a recent national gathering of conservative think tanks, I listened to a panel discuss the crisis in foster care. One of the panelists said it was a hard topic to make a priority for conservative advocacy groups, since the answer may not be “less government.” But even the most limited government hardliners (which likely includes the author of this piece) tend to see funding law enforcement, courts, prisons, and child protective services (like foster care) as legitimate functions of government. And as such, they should be done well, not just grudgingly.

A few issues stood out in the discussion and appeared to be areas of agreement among the panelists:

Keep Reading HERE

Almost a year after a federal lawsuit accused state officials of tolerating a crisis inside North Carolina’s child welfare system, problems persist. Wake County officials recently confirmed that children and teenagers have been sharing one shower and sleeping on air mattresses on multiple floors of a Wake County government building while waiting for evaluations and placements.

Read more HERE

We’re excited to announce that our Executive Director, Gaile Osborne, has been selected to receive the Collaborative Leadership Excellence Award at the 2025 Family Champion Awards, hosted by The Institute for Family on September 30 in Charlotte.

This honor celebrates leaders who bring people and sectors together to strengthen families and create lasting change. Gaile’s ability to build strong networks, foster collaboration, and keep family well-being at the center of every conversation is exactly why she’s a true champion.

We can’t wait to cheer her on as she’s recognized alongside other incredible advocates from across North Carolina

OPINION: North Carolina’s foster care system is in crisis. It doesn’t have to be

By Gaile Osborne

July 30, 2025

For the past 15 years, I’ve opened my home — and my heart — to more than 40 children in North Carolina’s foster care system.

I’ve welcomed toddlers still trembling from trauma. I’ve celebrated with teenagers as they crossed high school stages in caps and gowns. I’ve held the hands of birth mothers during supervised visits and stood silently behind protective glass in jails, watching families shattered by addiction and incarceration. I’ve waited in emergency rooms and ridden in the back of ambulances with children I love like my own.

After Stein signs anti-trans bill, LGBTQ+ advocates wonder what comes next

Gov. Josh Stein vetoed an anti-trans bill he called "mean-spirited" on July 3rd. But on that same day, he signed the Parents' Protection Act, which limits child abuse protections for transgender adoptees and foster youth. Now, some foster families and advocates worry about the law's impacts — and whether state Democrats can hold the line against other anti-trans legislation.

Many foster parents were caught off guard by the passage of the Parents’ Protection Act, including a woman in Asheville, North Carolina, who spoke to WHQR on the condition of anonymity to avoid harassment. Since 2020, she and her partner have opened their home to young people in need, with a special emphasis on queer and trans youth.

WATCH NOW: New law brings major changes to North Carolina’s foster care system

House Bill 612 is now law. 

It aims to improve how children in foster care are protected and supported across North Carolina. Signed into law today by Governor Josh Stein, the bill gives the state new authority to step in when county Department of Social Services (DSS) decisions put a child at risk.

Foster care overhaul advances in NC Senate

A bill that would overhaul North Carolina's troubled child welfare system is drawing praise from many stakeholders, but some adoption advocates say it could destabilize adoptive families.

Each June, National Reunification Month honors the families who persevere through adversity to reunite with their children, and the community partners who walk alongside them. This year, Foster Family Alliance of North Carolina (FFA-NC) is recognizing the resounding strength behind those reunions, spotlighting personal stories of healing, progress, and possibility.

Mountain Xpress 05.28.25

By the time Nikki Owen was 16, she had lived in more homes than she could count, pinging among relatives, group homes and shelters.

WebWire- As National Foster Care Month Begins, Foster Family Alliance of North Carolina Urges Action Amid Shortage, Celebrates 50 Years of Impact

May marks National Foster Care Month, a time to honor the resilience of the more than 390,000 children and youth in foster care across the United States — including nearly 11,000 in North Carolina — and to recognize the families, social workers, and advocates who work tirelessly to provide them with safe, loving homes.

A foster mother's journey: Schultz family helps Onslow County children

May is National Foster Care Month, and one Onslow County woman is doing her part, both at home and at work, for the many local children in the foster care system.

WRAL- Bill aimed at revamping NC foster care system moves closer to becoming law

House lawmakers unanimously approved a foster-care reform bill on Tuesday that seeks to give the state more oversight of county social services departments.

Responding to Hurricane Helene- A pan-University effort

The UNC-Chapel Hill community has mobilized to support those impacted by the storm.

In response to the devastation across western North Carolina caused by Hurricane Helene, UNC-Chapel Hill has mobilized efforts to serve our state.

NC HEALTH NEWS by Grace Vitaglione
The legislation would increase state oversight of local social services departments and aims to find placements more quickly for youth with behavioral health needs.

Gaile Osborne is a foster parent to six children. She would’ve had seven if her first foster child had been allowed to stay with her, she said.

WILMINGTON, N.C. (WECT) - North Carolina lawmakers are moving forward with an effort to reform the state’s foster care system, which critics have called “broken.”

House Bill 612, filed Monday with bipartisan support in the state house, would make a series of changes to oversight of foster care in North Carolina.

“If this bill passes, many children can exit foster care, and spend less time in foster care, and also less time spent in court, which is a good thing,” said Lisa Cauley, a division director for the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services.

On Wednesday, FFA was proud to stand at the NC General Assembly as lawmakers introduced the Fostering Care in NC Act (HB 612) — a bipartisan bill aimed at fixing our state’s broken foster care system.

WRAL covered the announcement and the voices behind the movement, including our Executive Director, Gaile Osborne, who has fostered 40 children. Her words say it all: “This is the highlight of the last 15 years of my life.”

Published March 25, 2025

NC lawmakers propose new watchdog office to oversee foster care system

After a WRAL documentary exposed systemic failures in North Carolina's foster care system, state lawmakers have proposed legislation to establish a Child and Family Welfare Ombudsman office to provide independent oversight and advocate for children's best interests. 

Published Monday, March 24, 2025

Meet FFTA's 2025 Dr. Laura Boyd Champion for Children & Families Award Winner, Gaile Osborne. Join us in celebrating her accomplishments at our Public Policy Institute this May!