About Us

Welcome to Kids Cove Respite Care Network

Kids Cove is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization with a simple mission:
to give foster parents the rest they need and every child the safe, nurturing care they deserve.

We provide high-quality respite care in warm, home-like settings—places where kids can relax, reset, and enjoy being kids while foster parents receive essential support and time to recharge.

Our Model: Quality Care Without Agency Licensing

Kids Cove is not a licensed child-placing agency, and we do not operate as one.
Instead, we use a tenant-based model, which allows us to:

• Lease homes across Missouri

• Place trained, licensed foster families in those homes as tenants

• Fund their housing, utilities, and support so they can focus solely on providing respite care

Under this model, the foster parents—not Kids Cove—hold the foster care license, enabling respite services to operate fully within Missouri regulations while allowing Kids Cove to support the work financially, operationally, and administratively.

This approach gives us flexibility, compliance, and the ability to scale statewide.

Statewide Expansion in 2025

By 2027, Kids Cove will operate five dedicated respite homes across Missouri. These locations ensure that most foster families will be within 90 minutes of a Kids Cove home:

• Cape Girardeau

• St. Louis

• Springfield

• Kansas City

• Lake of the Ozarks

• Nation Wide by 2035

Each home will be staffed by licensed foster parents who live on-site and focus exclusively on respite care.

Who We Are

Kids Cove was founded in 2023 by James and Kate Radford, licensed foster parents since 2020 with certifications in:

✔ Foster Home & Respite Care
✔ Elevated Medical Needs
✔ Elevated Needs Home B
✔ Extensive TBRI training

But beyond training, Kids Cove is driven by a deep, personal commitment to creating safe, consistent, and restorative spaces for children in foster care.

Our Story

What began as a single respite home in the Lake of the Ozarks has grown into a statewide vision:
a network of dedicated respite homes designed to fight foster parent burnout and bring stability to Missouri’s foster care system.

In 2025, that vision becomes reality.