Kids in the Spotlight, Inc. (KITS) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that provides filmmaking and vocational training opportunities for foster care-impacted and underserved youth aged 12-24 in Los Angeles County.^[1] KITS also serves as a foster care-to-career pipeline by assisting with internships and job opportunities, and personalized support for system navigation and case management services based on individual needs.

Since its establishment, KITS has created over 100 films with over 1,000 foster youth aged 12-24 through its Script-to-Screen program, and over 100 paid work opportunities for alum aged 18-24 at KITS’ workforce development center, Production Studio with Purpose.

KITS was established on May 6, 2009, by social entrepreneur, author, and TEDx speaker Tige Charity to provide foster youth with an outlet and platform to heal.^[1] Her mission to form KITS was inspired by an experience visiting an all-girls foster home in 2005 with her husband, actor Antonio Charity.^[2] In its inaugural year, Charity launched the Script-to-Screen filmmaking program and celebrated KITS' films and filmmakers in a culminating event held at Raleigh Studios in Hollywood.

In 2015, a partnership with Washington West Film Festival brought KITS’ films and filmmakers to the festival and proceeds from the festival’s box office sales, and KITS Ambassador Ty Burrell (Modern Family) helped raise awareness of KITS' mission and hosted the KITS Film Awards at Fox Studios on November 7, 2015.^[3][4]

In 2016, three KITS filmmakers were invited by President Obama to attend the White House Student Film Festival on October 2, 2016, where their award-winning film "Time for Change" was recognized as one of 15 films selected out of 700 submissions for the first-ever South by South Lawn event.^[5] 2020, KITS established a dedicated streaming channel on IndieFlix, Foster Films, as a permanent showcase of KITS' films.

KITS’ flagship Script-to-Screen program offers foster youth hands-on filmmaking training experience. This 10–15-week program encourages participants to tell their stories authentically as they write, cast, and star in their own short films under the mentorship of industry professionals–from directors and screenwriters to lighting and set designers. KITS expanded the program in 2018 to include youth aging out of foster care, ages 18-24, through a new program on the Warner Bros. Discovery lot in partnership with the Black Employee resource group at Warner Bros.

KITS Production Studio with Purpose (PSWP) opened in 2023.^[6] Located in Van Nuys, the 5,300-square-foot full-service production facility operates as a workforce development center to prepare foster youth and underserved youth for entry-level jobs and media arts internships through hands-on training, career exploration, and paid work opportunities, and offers multiple production sets designed to support a vast array of projects from small independent productions to large TV and film productions.^[7] In 2021, KITS filmmakers collaborated with Ringo Starr to conceptualize the ‘Let’s Change the World’ video and were able to gain hands-on experience helping with directing, lighting, choreography, wardrobe, photography, and more on production day.^[8]