Connect Our Kids

What Connect Our Kids does

Connect Our Kids is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit technology company, founded in 2015/2016 and headquartered in Falls Church, Virginia, that builds free or subsidized software tools to help child welfare professionals locate extended family and other permanent connections for children in foster care. Its core platform, Family Connections, is a visual relationship-mapping tool that organizes extended networks of relatives, mentors, and community members around a child; this is paired with People Search, which queries over 300 public-record data sources for contact information on hard-to-find relatives. The product suite is completed by REC Center (templates and engagement scripts), All Connected (a trauma-informed video academy developed with lived-experience contributors), Connect Our Kids University (CE-credited online courses), and an Apple iOS mobile application.

The underlying technology is a cloud-based SaaS platform whose relationship-graph and people-search approach was originally inspired by national-security analytical techniques, applied to the very different problem of foster-care kinship finding. The company holds SOC 2 Type 1 compliance, achieved in August 2024, and its co-founder and CEO, Dr. Jennifer Jacobs, has a nuclear-physics and White House Fellow background. The platform is delivered as hosted web applications at family.connectourkids.org and search.connectourkids.org, with no public API; integrations are not formally documented in the source material.

Connect Our Kids operates a hybrid revenue model: discounted or donated software licensing to child welfare agencies and nonprofits (tiered at roughly $2,000/year per individual user, $5,000/year for major upgrades, and $10,000+ for full state-agency onboarding), tax-deductible philanthropic donations that subsidize adoption of the tools by budget-constrained agencies, modest online course revenue ($4.99–$19.99 per course), and corporate/nonprofit partnership programs. Go-to-market is sales-led and event-driven, with national channel partnerships (Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption, Wendy's Wonderful Kids/Adopt America Network) extending reach into hundreds of grantees. The company claims 100+ agencies and organizations across 40+ states, with 50,000+ children with newly identified connections since founding.

Name

Connect Our Kids

Legal name

Connect Our Kids

Website

https://connectourkids.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Connect Our Kids is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that builds cloud-based family-finding software for child welfare agencies and social workers, using visual relationship-mapping and 300+ data sources to help foster children locate permanent family and kin connections.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Child Welfare Technology / Social Services Software

NAICS

Child and Youth Services (62411), Child and Youth Services (624110), Educational Support Services (611710), Individual and Family Services (6241)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Prepackaged Software (7372), Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Family Resource Centers & Wraparound Support Services (EDACALAH)

akta.pro secondary industry

Parent Support Groups & Peer Networks (EDACALAG)

Keywords

• Family finding software
• Child welfare technology
• Foster care solutions
• Kinship placement tools
• Relationship mapping platform

Headquarters

HQ city

Falls Church

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Software Licensing to Agencies: Connect Our Kids provides technology tools to child welfare agencies, nonprofits, and government organizations. While tools and training are transformative, they are not free for agencies to utilize. Donations help subsidize adoption for agencies with limited budgets.
2. Donations and Philanthropic Support: Tax-deductible donations from individuals and organizations fund development, maintenance, and expansion of essential tools. Multiple giving tiers designed for maximum impact.
3. Online Course Sales: Connect Our Kids University offers online courses with CE credits including Neuroplasticity & Relationships ($14.99), Why Relationships Matter ($19.99), All Connected curriculum ($4.99), and All Connected video courses (free to register).
4. Corporate Partnership Programs: Partnership opportunities for fellow non-profits to access family finding tools, training, and support services.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Connect Our Kids builds and licenses cloud-based software tools that help child welfare professionals find extended family members and build support networks for children in foster care. Its flagship offerings include a visual relationship-mapping platform (Family Connections), a People Search tool that queries 300+ data sources, a REC Center resource hub, a trauma-informed video academy (All Connected), an online learning platform with CE-credited courses (Connect Our Kids University), and an iOS mobile app.

Product overview

Connect Our Kids offers a suite of technology tools focused on family search and engagement for child welfare professionals. The core products are the Family Connections Platform (visual relationship-mapping tool) and People Search (searching over 300 data sources). These are complemented by the REC Center (resource hub with templates), All Connected (trauma-informed video academy), Connect Our Kids University (online learning management system with CE-credited courses), and an Apple iOS mobile app. The platform enables professionals to find extended family members, build support networks, and facilitate connections for children in foster care.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Family Connections: A powerful, visual relationship-mapping tool that helps child welfare professionals uncover and organize the extended networks surrounding vulnerable children.
• People Search
• REC Center
• All Connected
• Connect Our Kids University

Products and services

• Family Connections Platform A visual relationship-mapping software tool that helps child welfare professionals uncover and organize the extended networks surrounding vulnerable children, identifying relatives, mentors, teachers, and community members to build meaningful support systems.
• People Search A search tool for child welfare professionals and volunteers to find contact information for extended family members and other connections by searching over 300 sources of data, without requiring case data and without tracking searches.
• All Connected A trauma-informed video academy designed for creating connection and belonging, developed in collaboration with trauma therapists and advocates with lived experience in foster care and prison systems.
• Connect Our Kids University An online education platform and learning management system designed for professionals and others seeking to understand why relationships matter and how to support children and families, offering courses with CE credits.
• Apple iOS Mobile App An Apple iOS mobile application providing social workers and advocates access to Connect Our Kids' suite of family-finding tools in the field.

Quantifiable outcome

• 6x more family connections found in half the time previously needed
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Dave Thomas Foundation for AdoptioncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational partner providing access to Connect Our Kids technology across their network of hundreds of grantees and partner organizations. The foundation's president Rita Soronen has publicly endorsed the technology as significantly increasing ability to link extended family connections.
• Wendy's Wonderful KidscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerChild-focused recruitment model program that uses Connect Our Kids tools. Recruiters across multiple states including Kentucky, Vermont, and Ohio use People Search and Family Connections to find permanency for children.
• Adopt America NetworkcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOrganization running Wendy's Wonderful Kids program whose recruiters use Connect Our Kids technology. Amber, a recruiter from this network, found over 270 family members for a sibling group using the platform.
• Lund Family CentercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerVermont-based adoption organization using Connect Our Kids tools to help children like Earl find family connections. Adoption interns use the platform to piece together family trees and locate relatives.
• Cornerstones of CarecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerKansas-based child welfare organization using Connect Our Kids tools. Family Finding Manager used People Search and Family Connections to find half-sisters for a teen in care.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Casebook: Casebook provides case management and contact tools for child welfare agencies, serving social workers with similar buyer personas and procurement pathways as Connect Our Kids. Both target state and county child welfare agencies with technology built specifically for foster care workflows.
• iFoster: iFoster provides resources, training, and technology tools to youth in foster care and the professionals serving them. Its resource navigation platform shares Connect Our Kids' child welfare mission and serves overlapping stakeholder groups.

Broad incumbents

• Tyler Technologies: Tyler Technologies is a large government software vendor whose Odyssey platform is widely used by state and county child welfare agencies. It is the dominant incumbent case-management suite that child welfare agencies procure and to which Connect Our Kids often integrates.
• Bonterra: Bonterra (formerly Network for Good/Social Solutions) provides fundraising, CRM, and program management software to nonprofits. While broader than child welfare, it competes for the same nonprofit software budget and donor relationship layer that Connect Our Kids operates in.

Others

• AdoptUSKids: AdoptUSKids is a federally funded project of the Children's Bureau that supports adoption of children in foster care. It is a mission-aligned peer in the child welfare ecosystem, even though it is government-operated rather than commercial.
• National CASA Association: National CASA/GAL supports volunteer advocates for foster children and is a frequent referral source and partner for family-finding efforts. It overlaps heavily with Connect Our Kids' target user base of CASA volunteers and family recruiters.
• FosterClub: FosterClub is a national network for young people with foster care experience, providing peer support and advocacy tools. It shares Connect Our Kids' mission of supporting foster youth and has overlapping partnership channels in the child welfare ecosystem.
• Seneca Family of Agencies: Seneca is a large child welfare and behavioral health services provider serving foster youth and families. As a major agency in the same ecosystem, it represents the buyer profile Connect Our Kids targets and a potential enterprise customer.
• Wendy's Wonderful Kids: A signature program of the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption, Wendy's Wonderful Kids deploys recruiters across multiple states who use Connect Our Kids technology for family finding. It is both a customer/partner and a closely aligned peer in adoption recruitment.
• Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption: The Dave Thomas Foundation is a national adoption-focused nonprofit and a core strategic partner that channels hundreds of grantees toward Connect Our Kids. It operates in the same mission space and serves as both distribution channel and reference customer.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/connectourkids
• YouTubeyoutube.com/c/ConnectOurKids
• Facebookfacebook.com/connectourkids
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/connect-our-kids
• Instagraminstagram.com/connectourkids

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles13 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Connect Our Kids