The National Foster Parent Association (NFPA) is a non-profit organization established in 1972 to address the concerns of several independent groups of foster parents and child welfare professionals to provide foster families with opportunities for advocacy, networking, and education. Organized by Helen D. Stone, MSW, Foster Care Program Director at the Child Welfare League of America (CWLA), and Beatrice L. Garrett, MSW, Specialist on Foster Family Services at the U.S. Children's Bureau, the NFPA was created as a non-profit association with a volunteer Board of Directors and paid staff. The NFPA has grown from an original group of 926 foster parents, 210 social workers, and 59 other professionals to an organization that represents thousands of foster families nationwide through foster parent affiliate associations organized by a Council of State Affiliates.