children are missing right now.
That number comes from NCMEC — the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.
But here's what nobody tells you—
AFCARS — the federal system that tracks every child in foster care — relies entirely on state-submitted data. There is no federal field verification. A state could undercount by 30% and the system would never flag it.
Source: HHS Administration for Children & Families, AFCARS Technical BulletinTitle IV-E reimbursement is calculated directly from state-reported foster care numbers. Report fewer children → less scrutiny. Report more → more money. Both incentives are perverse. No external formula checks the inputs.
Source: Title IV-E, Social Security Act §472–479In our database alone: 630,263 Form 990 Schedule I grants totaling $89.1 billion — distributed with virtually no outcome verification. The IRS checks if paperwork was filed, not whether a single child was helped.
Source: IRS Data Book / PMC CivicOps Database (630K+ grant records)Board members and executives of child welfare nonprofits contribute to campaigns of legislators sitting on child welfare oversight committees — the same committees that approve their next round of funding. We cross-reference 213M+ FEC records to map these connections.
Source: FEC Individual Contributions Database (213M+ records)The CFSR — the federal government's primary child welfare oversight tool — uses state-submitted data as its baseline. The auditor's source material comes from the entity being audited. The loop is closed. There is no external reference point in the entire chain.
Source: HHS Child & Family Services Review (CFSR) Process Guide
There is no external reference point in the entire chain.
Every measurement instrument is pointed inward.
The greatest secret a government keeps from its people
isn't classified.
Until now.
In the 1980s, missing children's faces appeared on milk cartons at every breakfast table in America. It worked — until the AMBER Alert made it obsolete. We're bringing that awareness back, powered by technology and the belief that when citizens learn to see the system clearly, the system has no choice but to change.
We teach families and communities how child welfare systems actually work — not how they describe themselves. CPS navigation, legal literacy, and the tools to see through the gaps.
Open-source intelligence, funding flow analysis, nonprofit financials, and political donation cross-referencing. We trace the money. We map the networks. We publish what we find.
Investigative journalism, state-by-state analysis, and educational content reaching 29,000+ readers. If we find it, we publish it. Facts, not fear. Data, not drama.
Watch what one person with our tools uncovers about a single state.
Oklahoma's rate is 15.2 per 1,000 children — more than double the national average of 5.7. That's not just "a lot of foster kids." That's a system pulling children at an extraordinary rate, and nobody asking whether that rate itself is the problem.
Source: HHS AFCARS Report, FY2023Title IV-E reimburses states per child in care. More removals = more revenue. The federal match rate for Oklahoma is 68.4% — meaning for every dollar spent, the feds cover 68 cents. The financial incentive runs in the opposite direction of family preservation.
Source: Title IV-E Federal Match Rates, FMAP TablesWhen three organizations share board members and collectively control two-thirds of a state's child welfare funding, they don't compete — they coordinate. IRS Form 990 Schedule I shows where the money goes. Cross-referencing officer names reveals the network nobody draws on a whiteboard.
Source: IRS Form 990 / PMC CivicOps Database (630K+ grant records)This is the loop: nonprofits receive grants → executives donate to legislators → legislators sit on committees that approve the next round of grants. It's not illegal. It's not hidden. It's just never been cross-referenced before. We match 213M+ FEC records against nonprofit officer lists automatically.
Source: FEC Individual Contributions + IRS 990 Officer DataA child who enters Oklahoma's system has a 44% higher chance of being maltreated again than the national average. Funding increased 12% over the same period. The money went up. The outcomes didn't move. That's not a funding problem — it's an accountability problem.
Source: HHS CFSR Round 4, NCANDS Child FileFive queries. Five minutes. A story nobody else is telling.
This was one state. There are fifty.
Every other platform teaches you the system as it describes itself.
“When one dwells, one becomes ruled eventually —
even by the nicest intentions.”
— Andrew Fayal, Founder
Don't dwell. Become a steward.
Both tracks start with training. You'll learn the tools before you use them.