Central Missouri Foster Care & Adoption Association

Central Missouri Foster Care & Adoption Association (CMFCAA) is a state-recognized Family Resource Center serving 24 counties across central Missouri. We provide ten comprehensive, free programs that reduce barriers for children in foster care, adoption, or kinship care. Our work focuses on equipping families with the tools, support, and resources they need to create stable, nurturing homes where children can thrive.

Betty’s experience in the video above is just one example of what kinship caregivers face every day. Many grandparents, aunts, uncles, and extended relatives step up during crisis, doing everything they can to give children safety and stability — but they often need help navigating the legal system to make that possible.

When Linda became the full-time caregiver for her two young grandchildren after her daughter passed away, she was determined to give them the security they deserved. But without legal guardianship, she couldn’t enroll them in school, make medical decisions, or ensure they could stay safely in her home. Every day brought the fear that they could be taken from her.

Then, CMFCAA stepped in. Through our Kinship Legal Assistance Program, we connected her with an attorney and helped cover the legal fees. Within weeks, guardianship was finalized — and two children gained the safety and permanence they needed.

Stories like Betty's and Linda’s are far from isolated. Across our 24-county region, caregivers are ready to provide permanent, loving homes, but legal fees create barriers they can’t overcome alone. Often, the only thing standing between a child and a stable future is the cost.

To remove these barriers for families, we’ve set a year-end goal of $10,000 — enough to finalize permanency for multiple children before the new year.

What Your Gift Makes Possible:

Every dollar directly supports the legal steps required to finalize guardianship or adoption:

• $100 – helps process required documentation

• $250 – covers court filing fees

• $500 – provides an attorney consultation

• $1,000 – supports the full legal process for guardianship or adoption

• $2,500 – finalizes permanency for an entire family

Every gift — at every level — moves a child one step closer to a safe, loving, permanent home.

Our Mission:

CMFCAA is committed to providing essential services and support to the kinship, foster and adoptive children, youth, and families in Central Missouri. 

Our Vision:

To build loving families and improve the future for children by breaking the cycle of abuse, neglect, and poverty. Loved children live better.

Our Values:

CMFCAA C.A.R.E.S:

C: Child-Centered—Children are at the heart of our organization. We work to pair abused, neglected children with families. We support those foster, adoptive, and kinship families with programs and resources.

A: Advocacy—We fight for the vulnerable children who don’t have a voice by partnering with policymakers to support this often-forgotten demographic and by working with child welfare professionals to improve the system.

R: Resources—We provide numerous free resources to anyone in the foster, adoptive, or kinship community within our 24-county area. That includes everything from backpacks for children to training and other resources for adults to respite events for children and adults.

E: Engagement—We maintain a strong presence in our communities by educating the public about the need for foster/adoptive parents, sponsoring our own events, or supporting other events and organizations with similar visions.

S: Stewardship—We are good stewards of the donations we receive. We build trust by advancing our vision and honoring our donors’ intentions.