About Charlene’s Circle of Support

MVLS is proud to recognize Charlene’s Circle of Support as our Community Partner of the Month. Founded in 2023, Charlene’s Circle of Support is a trauma-informed nonprofit dedicated to uplifting youth and their kinship caregivers, including grandparents, relatives, and family friends who step up when biological parents cannot.

Empowering Kinship Families

Charlene’s Circle of Support, also known as CCOS, works to empower kinship caregivers and youth impacted by a parent’s struggle with mental illness, substance use, or incarceration.

By building resilience and well-being, CCOS helps prevent foster care placement while preserving family and community connections. Their work is rooted in the belief that children and caregivers deserve a strong circle of support.

Serving Caregivers, Youth, and Families

CCOS serves kinship families across multiple Maryland counties, with a primary focus in Anne Arundel and Charles Counties.

These families include grandmothers stretching Social Security checks to raise grandchildren, aunts turning spare rooms into bedrooms overnight to keep siblings together, and family friends stepping in with no warning, no training, and no roadmap.

For every one child in foster care, nineteen are raised by relatives. However, many kinship caregivers receive no stipends, caseworkers, or coordinated support because they stepped in without a formal Department of Social Services case.

Building Support Through Awareness, Advocacy, and Care

Guided by the pillars of Awareness, Advocacy, and Support, CCOS provides healing-centered programs that strengthen family resilience and help ensure no child or caregiver feels unseen or unsupported.

• Resource Navigation: Connecting families to community resources through needs assessments, family-centered case management, and kinship-specific support.
• Healing & Wellness: Providing trauma-informed support groups, wellness workshops, and family-centered activities for caregivers and youth.
• Stabilization Services: Offering basic-needs support through the Family Care Package Program, including essentials like laundry detergent, toilet paper, and hygiene items.

A Mission Born From Lived Experience

CCOS was born from lived experience. Sisters Chanay and Juanita grew up with a parent facing mental illness, substance use, and incarceration, while being held together by the love of their grandmother and aunts who stepped in when it mattered most.

Founded in memory of their mother, Charlene, the organization reflects her legacy of resilience, compassion, and second chances. After Charlene’s unexpected passing in 2018, the sisters committed themselves to creating a space where every child and caregiver has a Circle of Support.

Why Partnership With MVLS Matters

Partnering with MVLS is a significant step forward for kinship families, many of whom do not know where to begin when faced with legal challenges.

Issues involving guardianship, custody, public benefits, housing, and caregiving authority can directly impact a child’s stability and a caregiver’s ability to provide for them.

Many caregivers served by CCOS are between the ages of 45 and 83 and are navigating complex systems without legal guidance or the resources to hire an attorney. These are not simply paperwork problems; they are life-changing situations that affect entire families.

Through this partnership, MVLS and CCOS are helping ensure that healing, stability, connection, and access work together as part of a true wraparound model.

What’s Ahead for Charlene’s Circle of Support

On March 26, CCOS opened Maryland’s First Kinship Support Hub at the Nonprofit Center in Anne Arundel County. This centralized, community-based space offers resource navigation, caregiver and youth support groups, and wellness programming designed specifically for kinship families.

The Hub advances Governor Wes Moore’s Kin-First Initiative and promotes equity for kinship families statewide.

CCOS will also host its inaugural Kinship Family Fun Day on September 12, from 11 AM to 2 PM, at Annapolis Area Christian School. This celebration, held in recognition of Kinship Care Awareness Month, will bring families together for connection, resources, and community.