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Case Study
Organization Type: Child Placing Agency
Services:
Full Service
Focus Area:
Full Service support, STAGES planning and growth.
"Partnering with Rock Solid has been one of the best decisions our Foundation has made. Through STAGES and their broader support, they provide a comprehensive approach that helps us build and maintain a healthier, more sustainable agency."
Lee
Executive Director
From Vision to Roadmap: How STAGES Helped Lee's Foundation Build for Lasting Impact
When Lee founded his Child Placing Agency in 2024, he brought together three important strengths: experience in the foster care industry, a background as a business owner, and a deep passion for serving children and youth.
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Having previously worked as a case manager, home developer, and trainer for another Child Placing Agency, Lee understood both the meaningful work CPAs perform and the operational demands required to sustain that work. The idea of starting his own agency first came from the Executive Director of the organization where he worked. Over time, that idea developed into a larger vision for an organization capable of creating lasting change for children, families, and communities.
The Challenge: Building the Infrastructure Behind the Vision
Lee had a clear vision for his organization to become a successful and impactful organization. However, transforming that vision into a strong, sustainable agency required addressing the many interconnected responsibilities involved in operating a CPA.
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Policies and procedures, regulatory requirements, finances, staffing, documentation, quality assurance, technology, and daily operations all needed to work together. It quickly became evident that building the organization would require more than passion and experience.
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“Having a vision is important, but you also need the infrastructure and the right people to turn that vision into something sustainable.” states Lee.
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Lee needed a way to look beyond immediate operational needs, define the organization's long term direction, and identify the practical steps necessary to move forward.
In This Story
Expanding the Mission Beyond Foster Care Placements
The STAGES process also helped Lee define a vision that extended beyond the duration of an individual foster care placement. Two initiatives, the Community Resource Closet and Scholarship Fund, demonstrate how the organization is already putting that vision into action.
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The Community Resource Closet helps meet practical needs for children, parents, and caregivers. The Scholarship Fund creates opportunities to invest in the futures of young people beyond their involvement in the foster care system.
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Together, these initiatives reflect the organization's commitment to become more than a provider of foster care services. The organization is working to strengthen children, families, and communities in ways that create meaningful, lasting impact.
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As Lee puts it so well, “Our mission cannot end when a foster placement ends.”
A Partnership Built on Industry Understanding
Because Rock Solid Foundation understands the foster care industry, its guidance is grounded in the actual challenges, expectations, and operational demands CPAs face.
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This comprehensive support allowed Lee and his team to devote more time and energy to his CPA's core values, mission, and vision while continuing to strengthen the operational side of the agency.
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“In my opinion, partnering with Rock Solid Foundation has been one of the best decisions our organization has made.”
Looking Ahead
Lee entered the STAGES process with a meaningful vision for the organization's future. Through the process, that vision developed into clearer long term goals and a stronger understanding of the infrastructure required to bring it to life.
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Today, Lee and his team are building the systems, policies, and partnerships needed to pursue the organization's three-year and ten-year goals responsibly. Their progress demonstrates what can happen when an ambitious mission is supported by a thoughtful strategy and an experienced partner.
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For other organizations considering the STAGES process, Lee offers a powerful reminder:
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“You don’t have to build everything alone. Having a knowledgeable partner who understands both where you are and where you’re trying to go can make a tremendous difference.”
The Solution: Turning a Broad Vision Into a Strategic Roadmap
Through Rock Solid Foundation’s STAGES process, Lee and his team began translating the organization's vision into clearly defined goals and an actionable roadmap.
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STAGES guided the organization through the elements necessary to build a compliant, successful, and thriving agency. The process encouraged Lee to consider where he wanted the organization to be in three years and ten years down the road.
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Instead of concentrating solely on the immediate demands of operating a CPA, Lee began thinking more strategically about:
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• Organizational structure
• Responsible growth
• Long term sustainability
• Community impact
• Compliance and quality
• Team development
• Strategic partnerships
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“STAGES helped us take a broad vision and begin turning it into an actual roadmap.” said Lee.
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The process also challenged Lee to think beyond traditional expectations for a foster care organization. The organization's goals became more intentional, its priorities became clearer, and its vision expanded to include the broader impact it could have throughout the community.
We build the systems behind better care.
1 in 5
approved submissions to DFPS in 2026 were submitted with Rock Solid Foundation.
100%
of Rock Solid Foundation's T3C applications are approved by DFPS.
99%
client satisfaction across T3C credentialing partnerships.