A black garbage bag is rarely associated with human rights, let alone children’s rights. But if you ask any of the nearly 4,000 children in Maryland’s foster care system, as well as the 437,500 foster children across the U.S., they’ll tell you just how bad it feels to have all of your worldly possessions shoved into something so disposable, without a true place to call home. This is an experience that Robert Scheer, founder and CEO of Comfort Cases , can identify with all too well.

Rob himself grew up in the foster care system and experienced this injustice first hand. Although he aged out of the system many years ago, he was shocked to see that this same makeshift method was still being used decades later. During the transportation or placement process of a child in foster care, most children are transferred with nothing but the clothing on their backs and a disposable plastic bag to carry the remainder of their belongings in—something that has not changed in over 40 years.

This can be an overwhelming and delicate process, especially considering the vulnerable state most children are in upon intervention or placement. Knowing this feeling, Rob set to work to eliminate a problem that has plagued the system for years.

“After my partner and I started adopting our children back in 2009, we were shocked to see them show up on our doorstep using the very same black garbage bags I was forced to use during my experiences in foster care,” Rob recalled.

Rob and his partner and co-founder, Reece, wasted no time and decided it was time to change this practice for good, with the idea for Comfort Cases being born.

The vision for Comfort Cases was to assemble backpacks filled with comfort and personal care items, and hand deliver them to local Department of Child and Family Services officials. It wasn’t long before the Montgomery County community caught wind of the Scheer family’s initiative and rallied behind them. Comfort Cases’ first “Packing Party” was held in December 2013 and shortly after, the organization was established as an official 501(c)3 nonprofit.

“Packing Parties, as we call them, are a chance for community members to get involved. Our organization runs on the love our volunteers selflessly give to us every day,” said Rob. “Each case is carefully assembled by our volunteer team with the comfort items each child specifically needs to feel safe and cared for.”

Each “Comfort Case” is stuffed full of items that each child needs to succeed in their new environment. Cases are filled with toiletries, books, pencils, pajamas, stuffed animals, blankets, and more—everything a child needs to feel comfortable, specifically picked to meet their gender and age range. The organization serves every child in need, from the heartbreaking cases of infants placed into foster care, all the way up to age 21 when a child ages out. From start to finish, Comfort Cases is there to help.

As the idea for Comfort Cases grew, so did attention around the need for a better luggage system in the state. Thanks to help from people like Rob, his family, and other advocates, the Maryland General Assembly recently passed legislation  that bars, as of October 2024, the use of disposable bags or trash bags within the Maryland Department of Human Services Foster Care System—resulting in a huge win for children statewide.

The initiative has gained so much traction that it has spread nationwide, with Rob and the Comfort Case team sharing their knowledge across the country. The Comfort Case cause has gained enough momentum that it has even led to the establishment of international partnerships, with its most recent being established in the United Kingdom .

As of this year, Comfort Cases has distributed a staggering 250,000 cases directly to children in foster care, or through a local program or office. Even with this success, the Gaithersburg organization has big dreams to continue fighting for children throughout the U.S. and expanding its reach globally.

With a new child entering into foster care every two minutes in the U.S., Rob admits there is still much work to be done.

“I dream of a world where no child has to experience the pain that I had to experience. Although there are still steps to be taken and changes to be made, I take comfort in the fact that even helping one child feel safe is a step in the right direction,” said Rob.

As hardworking and dedicated as Rob is, don’t worry too much about him. Through his setbacks he has still managed to build a home for himself, with Reece and their five adopted children. With help, the Scheer family is bringing dignity and hope to youth one Comfort Case at a time.