This is a unique opportunity to demonstrate to community leaders what it's like to be a child entering foster care. During this three-hour event, each participant is assigned the role of a particular child and gets a glimpse of many aspects of the system, from the social worker who comes to take him or her out of the home to the police officer who has questions about allegations of abuse, neglect or abandonment that happened in that home to the doctors, lawyers, teachers who all have a part to play and finally the judge who has the power to decide the rest of the child's life.

With many stops along the way, business people, government and elected officials see exactly what happens as a child comes into the public child welfare system and have the chance to gain an entirely new perspective on what it means to the person most directly affected -- the child -- as well as how it affects the entire community.

The first Journey Home took place in 1999 in Racine County, Wisconsin. Through the generosity of Jockey Being Family®, the corporate citizenship program of Jockey International of Kenosha, Wisconsin, ARW was able to bring the tour to LaCrosse, Dodge and Waukesha Counties in Wisconsin in 2011.

We created this microsite to show you what a powerful tool the Journey Home can be and to give you the tools to create one of your own.