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Every fall, the Wisconsin Family Connections Center (WIFCC) — a program of the Coalition for Children, Youth & Families (the Coalition) — hears a familiar question from caregivers across the state: My child was doing fine in school. What changed?
It’s the question WIFCC’s Fall 2026 newsletter opens with, through the story of a girl we’ll call Keesha. After moving to a new foster home and a new school in eighth grade, Keesha went from consistently making honor roll to barely passing — not because she stopped trying, but because something more fundamental had shifted.
Chronic stress, fear, anxiety, and trauma push the brain into what’s often called “survival mode.” In that state, the prefrontal cortex — the part of the brain responsible for learning, retaining, and recalling information — simply can’t fully engage. Put simply: kids need to feel physically and emotionally safe before they can learn. Effort alone can’t override that.
This is exactly the gap WIFCC exists to help close. Operating through a statewide contract with the Wisconsin Department of Children & Families (DCF), WIFCC gives foster, adoptive, and kinship caregivers the tools to build that sense of safety — whether that’s a free tip sheet from the WIFCC Resource Library on supporting school success, or a recorded WIFCC Classroom training like Special Education: Keeping It Real From Birth to 21, which helps caregivers navigate the IEP process with more confidence and a lot less overwhelm.
Sometimes it looks like a conversation instead of a resource. WIFCC’s resource team is available by phone to caregivers who just need to talk something through — no case number, no waiting for a crisis, just a person on the other end of the line.
And sometimes it looks like showing up in person. This past July, WIFCC’s annual Back-to-School Bash in Eau Claire — held in partnership with Jockey Being Family — sent 88 kids home with a brand-new pair of shoes and a backpack full of school supplies, alongside haircuts, a photo booth, and a coffee cart for the caregivers who brought them.
None of it happens in isolation. WIFCC’s work is made possible by the Coalition for Children, Youth & Families, an independent nonprofit that has spent more than four decades building the resources and connections families navigating the complexities of child welfare and adoption need to thrive.
The Coalition empowers families navigating the complexities of child welfare and adoption, providing resources and connections to help them thrive.
Empowering Families One Connection at a Time.