Rivers Agile and Pressley Ridge Partner to Launch B~Hope, an Agentic AI Platform Supporting Foster Parents
Using AWS technology, including Amazon Bedrock, “B~Hope” transforms Pressley Ridge’s nearly 200 years of foster care expertise into a conversational AI assistant ready for 24/7 support. The platform delivers evidence-based, empathetic responses rooted from Pressley Ridge’s proprietary training and policies. Its responses will continually mature over time as more interactions are processed through the interface, ensuring future users receive increasingly informed and empathetic support. A hands-free speech-to-text feature is expected to roll out in Q2, making support even more accessible.
“Pressley Ridge and AWS are innovators in their own right,” said Ben Wilson, founder and CEO of Rivers Agile. “They made it possible for us at Rivers Agile to be at our best, creating software that improves outcomes and serves a community in need. By utilizing a local LLM and implementing rigorous guardrails, we are able to protect the sensitive nature of the information shared while delivering a solution foster families and staff can trust.”
The Challenge:
All parenting is challenging. Foster parenting, which has additional and unique challenges, requires extensive training and vetting before a child enters their home. In addition to 400+ pages of training material, foster parents have access to professional treatment coordinators. Yet, situations happen quickly where it can be difficult to reach for the training manual or reach out to a treatment coordinator. In the moment, a parent might take no action, search the Internet, or improvise and each of those choices could result in a negative or unwanted outcome.
Meanwhile, agencies like Pressley Ridge are faced with resource constraints and high demand for access to their knowledgeable staff. They want foster parents to receive accurate and timely guidance, and if it comes from an online source, they want the advice offered to have therapeutic guardrails that guide the family to a positive outcome. Without quality material to rely on, families could be unintentionally put at risk.
The Solution: Secure 24/7 Support.
The secure interface allows foster parents to ask scenario-based questions such as “How do I respond if my child refuses a chore?” or “Do I need to report a minor playground injury?” Responses are drawn solely from Pressley Ridge’s training materials and procedures to ensure accuracy and compliance.
Because it runs on a locally stored LLM, the system only uses Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG) to limit responses to approved, safe Pressley Ridge content rather than general internet data. This approach ensures that all guidance is consistent, accurate, and grounded in high-quality information. Built-in guardrails flag sensitive or reportable topics, prompting users to follow official protocols rather than improvising or taking guidance from elsewhere.
“The B~Hope caregiver app was inspired by years of working with foster families who often need discreet, timely support for challenging behaviors,” said Kimberly Young, Chief Business Development and Governmental Relations Officer for Pressley Ridge. “While families receive extensive training, it may be difficult to recall in a time of need, and they may hesitate to reach out during crises. We leveraged our evidence based Treatment Foster Care curriculum and innovative AI technology to provide accessible, validated resources wherever and whenever families need them.”
Closed Access, Expanding Impact
Initially deployed for Pressley Ridge’s treatment foster care network, the solution is available by invitation only to approved caregivers and partner agencies. It is not a public app-store product, reflecting Pressley Ridge’s commitment to safeguarding both families and sensitive clinical content.
Over time, Pressley Ridge plans to license the platform to other foster care agencies nationwide, enabling consistent, evidence-based support across the industry.
Technology with Purpose
The collaboration exemplifies how cloud and AI technologies can be used to improve human services responsibly. By leveraging Amazon Bedrock, Amazon EC2, and RAG-based architecture, the collaboration has delivered a model for ethical, domain-specific AI that will in turn, help the world’s foster families with easy to digest 24/7 support.
“We looked to partner with a development company with the technical depth to design and build an application that could scale rapidly alongside advances in AI technology. After evaluating several firms, it became clear that River’s Agile understood our vision and had engineering and architectural expertise”, said Jan Kubiska, Senior Director of Information Technology & Security at Pressley Ridge. “With River’s Agile and AWS, this has been a true technical partnership—focused on iterative development, scalable cloud architecture, and the flexibility to continuously evolve the platform into a robust, production-ready application we are proud to make available to foster parents and beyond.”
“It’s been a privilege working with the exceptional team at Rivers Agile. This project is a powerful example of how AI can be a force for positive change in society. We’re excited to continue supporting Rivers on transformative projects like these through AWS technologies.” Adish Rai, AWS Account Manager
About Pressley Ridge
Pressley Ridge provides hope and support for youth, individuals and families through a full continuum of mental health, foster care, residential treatment, and specialized education services. Our innovative programs provide a safe and supportive environment where children, youth and families can work to increase their sense of wellbeing and achieve sustainable, positive outcomes. Through collaborative and inclusive relationships, Pressley Ridge empowers children and families to transform their lives and develop to their full potential.
Pressley Ridge was founded in 1832 and remains headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Over the course of nearly two centuries, we have continued to evolve to serve diverse communities, as well as the needs of the most complex youth and families. A legacy of successful outcomes has enabled us to expand to serve communities in Central Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, Virginia and Texas.
About Rivers Agile
Rivers Agile, founded in 2008, is a deep-tech consulting firm focused on advancing Agentic AI across industries. The team builds end-to-end AI solutions, including autonomous agents, workflow intelligence, and secure decision-support systems designed for operationally complex settings. Headquartered in Pittsburgh, Rivers Agile helps organizations launch responsible, resilient AI that performs where it matters most.
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