Pressley Ridge is proud to announce its selection as a recipient of the Momentum Initiative Grant (MIG) from the West Virginia First Foundation (WVFF).

The grant, totaling $974,751, will support efforts to deliver Family Centered Treatment (FCT), an evidence-based family preservation model, to help kinship families heal and grow together across the state. This investment aligns with Pressley Ridge’s mission to do whatever it takes to create success for children and families and the organization’s strategic goals to expand family preservation services and support for kinship families.

“We are incredibly grateful for this opportunity to bring Family Centered Treatment to families providing kinship care for youth in West Virginia,” said Angie Hamilton-Thomas, Executive Director of West Virginia, Pressley Ridge. “With support from the West Virginia First Foundation, we can use FCT to strengthen kinship families and build stability, ultimately helping children achieve permanency or reunification more quickly.”

The Momentum Initiative Grant reflects WVFF’s continued commitment to responsible stewardship of opioid settlement funds and to supporting projects and organizations that strengthen systems of care across West Virginia.

“The Momentum Initiative Grant was designed to support organizations that are ready to scale, collaborate, and deliver lasting results,” said Jonathan Board, WVFF Executive Director. “The work of Pressley Ridge reflects the kind of leadership and local insight needed to move this effort forward.”

Through MIG, WVFF is advancing nearly $18 million to support projects across the state that address prevention, treatment, recovery, and workforce needs; building on lessons learned and focusing on accountability, sustainability, and long-term impact.

In September 2026, Pressley Ridge will hold a statewide Embracing Kinship Caregivers Conference. Stakeholders will learn more about the outcomes of the FCT

implementation, sustainability efforts and experience the launch of our new Embracing Kinship Caregivers training for professionals who are working to support kinship caregivers. More details will be available soon.

Phased rollout of Binti’s Licensing Module supports faster certification, saves staff time, and builds consistent processes across states

Pressley Ridge, a leading nonprofit agency providing services to children and families, is partnering with Binti, a mission-driven technology company, to address the shortage of families for children in the foster care system. With nearly 9,000 children in care across the organization’s 70 programs, Pressley Ridge is growing–and this partnership will support its growth while strengthening outcomes for the children and families Pressley Ridge serves.

Like many child welfare agencies, Pressley Ridge has faced growing caseloads, heavy documentation requirements, and the limitations of manual workflows–all of which have led to cumbersome processes for both the parents and foster care workers. However, through a phased implementation of Binti’s Licensing module, Pressley Ridge will be able to digitize the application process, leading to an increased number of certified foster families, shortened time to approve them, and consistent processes across regions.

“Binti has been a game changer as a recruiter,” said Hannah Rutter, Pressley Ridge Recruitment and Certification Specialist. “The convenience of having everything in one place–from the step-by-step process to the reminders for families and staff–makes it nearly impossible to miss something in the licensing and recertification processes. This eliminates paper waste and the need to independently upload documents as they are received, which helps our families move through the process faster.”

Across Binti’s network, agencies have seen a 30% annual increase in approved foster and adoptive families—resulting in an increased number of loving, stable homes for children in foster care. Pressley Ridge is on a path to realize those same outcomes.

“From the start, we knew this was more than converting paper forms but an innovative opportunity to engage foster parents in a process that was streamlined and efficient. Thus, maximizing their time and ours,” said Rhonda Sullivan, Executive Director of Treatment Foster Care and Kinship Care for Pressley Ridge. “Partnering with Binti allowed the flexibility to start small, listen to feedback, and scale thoughtfully. Early outcomes show great promise, and we have begun exploring an additional opportunity with Binti related to our evidence-based Treatment Parent training curriculum.”

By launching the technology in phases, Pressley Ridge is able to continuously gather feedback, make data-informed adjustments, and build internal momentum for broader transformation. Since implementing the first phase in November 2024, they have already seen an increase in efficiency and have been able to identify best practices for future roll outs.

“Pressley Ridge is modeling what modern, human-centered technology implementation looks like,” said Felicia Curcuru, CEO and Co-Founder of Binti. “Their willingness to iterate and adapt is helping them build momentum while laying the foundation for deeper systemic change. We’re honored to partner with them on the important work of licensing more families more quickly for children.”

This partnership highlights a broader shift within child welfare toward embracing flexible, results-driven technology that enhances coordination and delivers real impact. The need for such innovation is more pressing than ever, as agencies nationwide work to recruit more foster families to support children and families in crisis. You can find out more about Pressley Ridge foster care, including becoming a foster parent through the Binti electronic portal at www.pressleyridge.org/foster.

At the heart of all they do, Pressley Ridge believes that children grow best in healthy families – ideally their birth families, but in reality, that is not always possible. In times when youth need additional support or higher levels of care outside of the home, they deserve to be in a nurturing environment with caring, supportive adults.

Pressley Ridge is a national leader in Treatment Foster Care, a specialized level of care for youth who have experienced trauma and may have significant emotional or behavioral needs. Youth who enter treatment foster care are temporarily placed with foster parents who provide a safe home and help the children stay connected to their family and community. Treatment foster parents are specially trained to support the child’s emotional and developmental needs and serve as a key team member, working to help change behaviors and build new skills.

Pressley Ridge developed the first therapeutic foster care program in the U.S. in the early 1980’s, which has since evolved into a nationally recognized Treatment Foster Care model and evidence-based pre-service training. Through over 40 years of practical experience and research, the Pressley Ridge Treatment Foster Care (PR-TFC) pre-service training has been designed to prepare treatment foster parents to care for traumatized children in their homes. The PR-TFC curriculum is focused on an understanding of how to change behavior and rooted in trauma-informed care and the importance of a strong relationship between foster parents and youth.

Pressley Ridge operates treatment foster care programs in Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia, Virginia, Maryland and Delaware. The organization trains and certifies foster parents using PR-TFC and then places youth with those families. In addition, Pressley Ridge trains other foster care agencies in their methods. Currently, more than 200 agencies across the U.S. are training their staff and foster parents using the PR-TFC curriculum.

“We have always taken our role as a partner in the community seriously, with a responsibility to make improvements in the field when necessary and share our knowledge to better support children and families through best practices,” said Susanne Cole, Pressley Ridge President and CEO. “Our expertise in Treatment Foster Care combined with the knowledge of what it takes to be a foster parent who supports children who have experienced trauma and other challenges is what led us to develop this curriculum and share it with others.”

In the past three years, nearly 400 foster care workers from organizations throughout the country have been certified as PR-TFC trainers. In addition, Colorado and Kansas have adopted PR-TFC as the official training curriculum for treatment and therapeutic foster care agencies within their states. This rapid increase in organizations utilizing PR-TFC confirms the transformative impact this training has on foster parents and the youth within their care.

Pressley Ridge’s current strategic plan is focused on ensuring that youth with serious behavioral challenges are living with their families or in the most family-like setting possible​. Pressley Ridge is actively working to expand family preservation services and to improve the quality of foster and kinship care nationwide for youth with significant behavioral health needs. Within the next few years, Pressley Ridge plans to release a kinship training curriculum geared specifically toward helping child welfare professionals in their support of aunts, uncles, grandparents and other extended family who are caring for youth.

As part of this strategic direction, Pressley Ridge recently took on a new role in child welfare in Texas as part of the state’s transition to a community-based care model. Operating as Texas Family Care Network, Pressley Ridge is responsible for transforming and managing the child welfare system in the Deep East Region. The goal is to improve outcomes for children and families with specific measurable results, which includes returning children to their biological families or finding adoptive families as quickly as possible.

Susanne Cole believes the community-based care model is the future of child welfare. “Pressley Ridge has expanded into this new business line as part of our commitment to a model that is best for kids and families and works to prevent them from entering the child welfare system in the first place.“

For nearly two centuries, Pressley Ridge has continuously adapted to meet the ever-changing needs of vulnerable kids and families. As the child welfare system continues to evolve, you can be certain that Pressley Ridge will remain at the forefront of ensuring that children and families receive the support and care they need to succeed.

 September is Kinship Caregiver Appreciation Month. Pressley Ridge is leading the way in kinship care and on September 4^th, launched the Kinship Steering Committee Kick-Off. It was a day packed full of supportive conversations and brainstorming. 

A special thank you to the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services KinConnector Program for providing a beautiful variety of gifts and information for the Steering Committee. We also send out a huge thank you to Kansas Department For Children and Families for supporting Pressley Ridge’s development of a training curriculum geared specifically to help Child Welfare Professionals in their support kinship families. We are so excited to share the heart of why we are standing in the gap for kinship caregivers nationally. Great things are on the horizon!

This foster care month, one family offers hope to others who may be experiencing a similar situation.

Poor decisions prior to the birth of her youngest son led to the removal of all three of Shannon Fleeson’s children. Newborn Xander was placed in a Pressley Ridge treatment foster home with the Parker family, while the two older youth were placed with a different agency. This was a wakeup call for Shannon and her husband, and they began taking the necessary steps to better their lives and reunite their family.

Noticing how well Xander was being cared for and how supportive the Parkers were of their communication and family visits, Shannon requested that her other two children be placed in Pressley Ridge foster homes. “It always felt like Pressley Ridge was working to reunify our family. So, we pushed hard to get all kids to be under Pressley Ridge’s care.”

The foster parents and Pressley Ridge Program Supervisor Alexa Bean went above and beyond to support Shannon as she was building a better life. Alexa helped her get a new pair of glasses and always made sure that the Fleeson family was able to spend quality time together. Shannon recalls, “One time the power was out at the building where we usually had our visits. Alexa went out of her way to keep our visit, even with this setback. She set up a visitation outside at a park since we couldn’t use the building.”

While it was stressful to be separated from her children, Shannon was in regular contact with them, which made her own journey much more successful. She appreciated that Pressley Ridge encouraged the biological family and foster family connection. The Fleesons and Parkers worked as team, and Shannon believes that her son Xander truly benefitted from his time in foster care.

The Fleesons have worked hard to stay clean ever since Xander was born, and as a result the family has been reunited. They continue to stay in touch with the Parkers – even making them Xander’s godparents – as well as the Pressley Ridge staff. Shannon “Alexa takes her job to heart. The kids are not just another file. She gave us chance of retribution, a second chance.”

Shannon wants other families who are experiencing Child Protective Services cases to see that there are success stories, and they shouldn’t give up. She wants those families to see that foster care doesn’t have to be a negative experience; foster care workers are supportive of reunification.

Alexa Bean couldn’t be more proud of the effort of both the foster and biological families. “This is what family engagement looks like. Due to the foster parent’s willingness to be a support for the Fleeson family, they were able to build a positive bond and relationship that continues to this day. I am so proud of the work, time and effort that both the Fleesons and Parkers displayed throughout the case. I am thankful to be part of their successful reunification story.”