San Rafael, CA – During the holidays, many people are looking for ways to give rather than receive. One way to give back and have a lasting impact is by fostering a child as a resource parent.
The County's most pressing need for resource families is finding local homes for teen girls.Marin County averages 80 children in out-of-home care, also known as foster care, and nearly two dozen of them are placed in homes outside of Marin – even several hundred miles away.
The Marin County Recruitment Collaborative, which includes specialists from
Marin County Health and Human Services (HHS), seeks more local homes so it can bring those young people back to their own community.
“Right now there are 23 youths living outside of Marin and 19 of them are are girls,” said HHS Child Welfare Worker Leslie Fields. “Our most pressing need is for families that are able to provide nurturing homes to teen girls.”
Children come into the child welfare system for a variety of reasons, through no fault of their own.
“They all need and deserve a safe, loving, and consistent place to live where they can thrive and mature,” Fields said. “Our goal is to keep children in their home community as well as keep siblings together. In fact, a quarter to a third of Marin children in resource care are a part of a sibling group. What we need is a larger, more diverse pool of resource family homes.”
If you have ever considered providing temporary care to a child while their family works toward reunification, join Marin HHS for an orientation on Wednesday, December 12, at the Marin Health and Wellness Campus in San Rafael. Resource families can provide temporary care to children or choose to be an adoptive family; both are needed.
The monthly orientations from Marin HHS, like the one December 12, are from 7-8:30 p.m. at the Marin Health and Wellness Campus, 3250 Kerner Boulevard, Room 107, San Rafael. A social worker and an experienced foster parent facilitate the meetings and discuss the application process, the training and support available. To learn more and see future orientation dates, visit www.fosterourfuturemarin.org or call 415-473-2200.
The Marin Recruitment Collaborative is comprised of Marin HHS, Aldea Children & Family Services, Alternative Family Services, Seneca and TLC Child and Family Services.
People interested in fostering must complete the Resource Family Approval process (or RFA) to become a Resource Family. Once approved, such a family may provide temporary care to a young person while biological families work toward reunification, or the resource family may choose to provide a permanent home if the children are unable to return home.
The California Fostering Connections to Success Act of 2010 (AB 12) extended foster care for California youths to the age of 21. Rather than “aging out” or exiting the system at 18, young people may choose to continue in foster care, maintaining a safety net of support. While it has helped, securing lifelong connections for those teens legally and emotionally, it remains an urgent need and is critical component of their future achievement and overall well-being.
For accessibility accommodation, please contact us in advance of the event at lfields@marincounty.org or TTY (415) 473-3232.