Bay Area Homes for Kids

Caseload Reduction and Program Improvement
Increases funding by $98 million ($68 million state General Fund) in ongoing investments to improve outcomes of foster children and youth.
Kinship Care Parity
Increases funding by $8 million (state General Fund) to provide kin care providers additional support in a specialized care increment to meet a child’s special needs and clothing […]

Make a difference! Show your support for the following bills by writing letters and making calls to your congressmen and women, or show up to the hearing in Sacramento. The following bills by Assembly Member Karen Bass are set for the 6/27 hearing in Senate Human Services (Room 3191), State Capitol, Sacramento, CA. The hearing […]

Call to Action!!!
Each year, approximately 5,000 foster youth, once they turn 18, are no longer eligible for foster-care services. During this pivotal time, many of these youth find themselves with no place to live.
In 2001, the California Legislature passed the Transitional Housing program for Emancipated Youth (known as THP-Plus) to address this problem. Under the […]

On Their Own, a new book about life after foster care wins award. From Jim Casey Youth Initiatives site:
“On Their Own: What Happens to Kids When They Age Out of the Foster Care System” is a winner of the Pro Humanitate Literary Award, North America’s premier literary award for the field of child welfare. The […]

Write your Senators, urging them to REJECT the budget reconciliation bill. Already passed in the House, the bill would ultimately cut $23.6 Million in funding to California’s foster system. Most of that money would end financial support to relatives caring for foster children who would otherwise be placed with strangers. Many of […]

Pick Up Some Warm Red Yarn and Knit Scarves for Foster Youth! The Orphan Foundation of America is coordinating Valentine’s Day Care Packages for foster youth in colleges across the country. They need 2,500 hand-knitted or crocheted red scarves to include in the care packages. I don’t know how to knit, but I recruited […]

Eight Napa teens start their own youth-led service center to help emancipating foster youth transition to life on their own.
Wow, I’m impressed with their drive and quick results.
These youth want to be an example to their peers…. well they’re a fabulous example to adults working in Child Welfare and non-profits too! Way to […]

Mark Your Calendars! Dec. 21 on CBS… The Dave Thomas Foundation and the Children’s Action Network present the Seventh Annual A Home for the Holidays TV Special, all about the joys of adoption.
The Dave Thomas Foundation website says:
This year, on Wednesday, December 21, “A Home for the Holidays” will once again feature […]

Alameda County recently sponsored the 10th Annual Calling Out of Names of Waiting Children. The event, covered by CBS 5, called attention to all the local youth waiting for their own Forever Family. I’ll check with Alameda County to see about matches made this year. Last year, I spoke with a woman […]

A few posts ago, I wrote about Karen Bass in our State Congress who is now heading up a new task force on foster care. Yesterday, the Chronicle printed a story about the very first meeting of the Select Committee on Foster Care. The article also lists contact information for all State […]