We’re a Service Design Award finalist for 2025!

We have big news! Bloom is a finalist for the Service Design Award for 2025. This award, established by The Service Design Network (SDN), recognizes outstanding service design projects. SDN named us as a finalist for our work creating kin-specific licensing standards for child welfare agencies and organizations.

Bloom has conducted many projects in the child welfare space, and this work was funded and made possible by Marina Nitze from the Child Welfare Playbook.

About the work

The kin-specific licensing standards were validated by leading national child welfare organizations and published as the Recommended Standards of National Organizations for Kin-specific Foster Home Approval.

The standards were informed by 430+ participants and 50+ child welfare agencies from across various U.S. states, territories, and tribes—including partners at Washington DCYF, Maryland DHS, and Tennessee DCS.

State partners have reported that the new standards save money, time, and stress for both families and caseworkers. And most importantly, they help keep children with their families and communities, where they have better outcomes.

Since the standards were rolled out, every state and at least 5 tribes have expressed interest in adopting or have already adopted them.

How to support us

If you want to support the work, take a few minutes to vote for Bloom Works for the Public Choice Award.