Recipients at a Glance
The Women's Fund of Santa Barbara has given more than $2.5 million in the six years of the Fund's existence to 33 agencies in the South Coast of Santa Barbara County.The Fund strives to increase the impact of our giving by awarding larger gifts whenever possible. Nearly half of foundation grants made in California are $10,000 or less. ALL the Women's Fund grants have been over $20,000 and more than 50% have been $75,000 or more.
2009 ($365,000)
- Casa Esperanza Homeless Center ($90,000) - for case management and volunteer training staff to provide homeless individuals and families with services that lead to stable housing and employment.
- Catholic Charities of Santa Barbara ($85,000) - for installation of solar panels on the agency's food pantry, lowering energy costs and thus increasing their Foodbank budget to feed low-income families.
- Domestice Violence Solutions ($75,000) - for a volunteer coordinator, salary support and program costs to help victims of domestic violence living in the DVS Santa Barbara shelter and in Second Stage housing achieve stability and self-sufficiency.
- Sarah House ($40,000) - to sustain staff levels and expand holistic end-of-life residential care for low-income and homeless individuals and those with HIV/AIDS.
- St. Vincent's ($75,000) - for case management staff to provide low-income and homeless mothers and their children the PATHS (Program of Affordable Transitional Housing and Services) to independence and self-sufficiency.
2008 ($725,000)
- AllforOne Youth and Mentoring ($65,000) for a program director to help high-risk youth make healthy choices and avoid gang involvement.
- Breast Cancer Resource Center ($30,000) for a new computer system to aid in providing peer support and information to cancer patients and their families.
- Casa Serena ($75,000) for a resident scholarship fund to help women (with their children) complete a safe path to recovery from alcoholism.
- CORE at Santa Barbara Junior High ($70,000) for an individualized intervention program designed to explore productive choices for at-risk 7th and 8th graders.
- Dos Pueblos Engineering Academy ($150,000) toward a new building to expand the hands-on science and engineering program for high school students entering college or the work force.
- Future Leaders of America ($65,000) for a Latino youth leadership and education program designed to create college-educated, civic-minded role models who give back to their communities.
- The Parent Project ($35,000) for parent-adolescent communications training to help strengthen relationships between elementary/junior high students and their families.
- PathPoint ($75,000) for a rehabilitation specialist providing eviction prevention, crisis prevention, and recovery stabilization services for mentally ill adults impacted by government budget cuts.
- Santa Barbara Neighborhood Clinics ($80,000) to upgrade a computer health tracking system designed to increase prevention exams and tests for women, avoiding emergency room visits for routine illnesses for women and their families.
- United Boys & Girls Clubs of Santa Barbara ($80,000) to expand after-school programs for at-risk teens in areas vulnerable to gangs in Goleta, Carpinteria and the Westside of Santa Barbara.
- Read More about 2008 Recipients >>>
2007 ($600,000)
- Angels Foster Care of Santa Barbara ($85,000) Salary for a licensed social worker to recruit and support 20 more foster families, doubling the number of infants and toddlers placed in 2007
- Casa Pacifica ($55,000) Three cars for caseworkers and mental health professionals to deliver 24/7 crisis response and wrap-around services
- Family Service Agency ($95,000) A third of the cost for the 211 Human Services Helpline to fill the gap of government funding that will expire in June, 2008
- Girls Inc. of Greater Santa Barbara ($55,000) Mentoring program, which is part of a new teen program for girls ages 13 to 18
- Isla Vista Youth Projects ($60,000) Salaries for a family advocate and a counselor for one year, to replace state funds eliminated in 2007
- People's Self Help Housing ($50,000) Salary for a third educator in the year-round mentoring program for school-aged children of low-income families from Goleta to Carpinteria
- Storyteller Children's Center ($150,000) Lead grant for $2.5million expansion campaign to provide early childhood education for at-risk children at a second facility
- Transition House ($50,000) Salary of one case manager for one year to assist at-risk families in jeopardy of becoming homeless
2006 ($485,000)
- Court Appointed Special Advocates, CASA ($180,000) Renovation and equipment for new, permanent headquarters
- Santa Barbara Rape Crisis Center ($100,000) Remodel interior and furnish equipment for reception area and counseling rooms
- Child Abuse Listening and Mediation, CALM ($100,000) Great Beginnings program helping teen-led families from a closed county program
- Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse, CADA ($105,000) Youth Service System (YSS) program restructure to provide three licensed therapists in secondary Santa Barbara schools
2005 ($200,000)
- Domestic Violence Solutions ($50,000) Completed funding gap for SHARe teen peer education program
- Noah's Anchorage ($20,000) New van to help teens in crisis, and two computers
- Planned Parenthood ($40,000) New Adelante Amigo(as) group, six Carpinteria girls mentored from 8th grade through one year post high school
- Twelve35 Teen Center ($90,000) Equipment, furnishings for a new teen center
2004 ($140,000)
- Santa Barbara Neighborhood Clinics ($105,000) Capped capital campaign for Eastside Family Dental Clinic
- St. Vincent's of Santa Barbara ($35,000) Housing and services for three moms and their children for one year
2009 Recipients $365,000
Left to right: Richard Kravetz, executive director of Domestic Violence Solutions; Randy Sunday, executive director of Sarah House; Sister Betty Marie Dunkel, interim executive director of St. Vincent’s of Santa Barbara; Brian Clark, regional coordinator for Catholic Charities of Santa Barbara; Mike Foley executive director of the Casa Esperanza Homeless Shelter
Casa Esperanza Homeless Center ($90,000) -This grant will fund a new volunteer coordinator plus additional hours for Women’s and Family Services Coaches – designed to provide homeless individuals and families at Casa Esperanza’s shelter and day center access to services that lead to stable housing and 
employment. We use a relationship building approach – a “homeless coaching” model focused on individual and gender needs. Because we will never be able to hire enough professionals to solve the problems of homelessness, addiction and mental health, we need to harness the power of every-day people who care deeply about helping the less fortunate – backed by professionals, rather than the other way around. Thanks to the Women’s Fund, this is a challenge we can now undertake.
Donna Fisher Yates (Women's Fund), Ron Fox, Chairman of the Board, Tish Gainey (Women's Fund), Mike Foley, Executive Director
Catholic Charities of Santa Barbara ($85,000) -This grant will fund the installation of photovoltaic solar panels on the roof of CCSB’s Haley Street food pantry, which provides supplemental food for 600 people a week. The solar panels will provide a yearly utility cost 
savings that will be leveraged into meeting an increasing demand for food for those in need -- a demand estimated to rise by 35% in 2010. Additionally, there is a beneficial environmental effect and model for other non-profits operating in the city center and the ability for CCSB to be an energy back-up to power emergency generators for the SB County Disaster Preparedness & Recovery Project.
Geof Whittaker - Development, Jocelyne Meeker - Board Member, Lynda Fairly - Board Member, Chris Kroes - Board President, Virginia Randolph (Women's Fund)
Domestic Violence Solutions ($75,000) -This grant will fund a new volunteer training and management program to help the victims of domestic violence—women and children in flight from violent and sometimes lethal circumstances. Volunteers will help women in DVS’ shelter and Second Stage transitional housing program rebuild their self-esteem and confidence, 
develop household management and parenting skills, increase job skills and earning power, find stable employment, gain independent living skills, and move into permanent housing. The sharp rise in domestic violence coupled with the recession and our state budget crisis underscore that this grant could not have come at a more critical time.
Mary Ann Froley (Women's Fund), Richard Kravetz, Executive Director, Charlotte Roehrig, DVS Board President, Susan Case (Women's Fund)
Sarah House ($40,000) -This grant will help provide 24-hour residential “person-centered” end-of-life care for low-income and homeless individuals and those with HIV/AIDS. Sarah House residents are the most vulnerable of our population - veterans, homeless, and the mentally challenged. 80% earn $16,000 a year or less (half of the $32,000 annual income considered “low income” by the US government). 60% of Sarah House residents are women who have an average annual 
income of just over $6,000.Our goal is to ensure our residents have food and shelter as well as dignity, peace and comfort. The generosity of the Women's Fund will enable that possibility for the 50 residents of Sarah House...who will be grateful for the remainder of their days.
Donna Fisher Yates (Women's Fund), Rick Knowles, Board President, Randy Sunday, Executive Director
St. Vincent's ($75,000) -This grant to PATHS (Program of Affordable Transitional Housing and Services) will provide case management services to low-income and homeless mothers and their children. The program provides single mothers a safe and stable living environment in which to strengthen their families, while 
achieving educational and personal goals to become independent and self-sufficient. Women accepted into PATHS are usually self-motivated although struggling with homelessness, poverty, abuse and past addiction. With the help of the Women's Fund, we will give them the tools they need – support, training, therapy, childcare, and parenting classes – to create new lives for themselves and their children.
Jan Anderson, Executive Board Secretary/Treasurer, Kelly Stark, Director of Development, Sr. Betty Marie Dunkel, D.C., Interim Executive Director, Nikki Rickard, Women's Fund, Barbara Finch, Paths Program Director, Stina Hans, Women's Fund
2008 Recipients $725,000
Back row (left to right): Craig Belknap, Executive Director, Casa Serena; Matt Sanchez, Executive Director, AllforOneYouth and Mentoring; John Becchio, Principal Santa Barbara Junior High on behalf of CORE at Santa Barbara Junior High; Amir Abo-Shaeer, Director, Dos Pueblos Engineering Academy, Kim Kovol, CEO, United Boys & Girls Clubs of Santa Barbara; Cindy Burton, Executive Director, PathPoint.
Front row (left to right): Silvana Kelly, Executive Director, Breast Cancer Resource Center; Gabriela Rodriguez, Santa Barbara Program Coordinator, Future Leaders of America; Cynder Sinclair, Executive Director, Santa Barbara Neighborhood Clinics; Linda Guerena, Coordinator, The Parent Project. Photo by Susanne Farwell
AllforOne Youth and Mentoring Program ($65,000)
The AllforOne Youth and Mentoring Program will use this gift to hire a Program Director who will assist high-risk youth to identify hidden talents, avoid teen pregnancy, give up drug and alcohol abuse and keep out of criminal activity while gaining positive self-esteem and a deeper understanding of familial responsibilities as a means of avoiding gang involvement.
Breast Cancer Resource Center ($30,000)
Since 1997 the Breast Cancer Resource Center has been providing viable educational and support services to newly diagnosed breast cancer patients, survivors and friends concerned about breast health. This grant will provide for an upgraded Information System to improve client tracking, matching and reporting capabilities so that we can better serve our clients.
Casa Serena ($75,000)
Casa Serena has been providing residential care for alcohol and drug addicted women in Santa Barbara for fifty years. We now have room for thirty women and up to seven children at our three different sites. As we have grown so have the number of women needing our services. One of the greatest barriers to women seeking treatment is they have little, or no way, to pay for it. This generous grant will provide for the lowering of that barrier for many women, and their children.
CORE at Santa Barbara Junior High ($70,000)
The CORE Adventure Program at Santa Barbara Junior High focuses on connecting with the most at-risk students in our community. This generous award from the Women’s Fund will allow us to expand the program, serving more 7th and 8th grade girls and boys. The grant will provide staff to work daily with this caseload of students, conduct regular home visits, run parenting classes for the parents, and allow students who meet their objectives to participate in adventures throughout the year. The adventures - like hiking, sea kayaking and others, are designed to take them outside their neighborhoods and push them far beyond their comfort zone.
Dos Pueblos Engineering Academy ($150,000)
The Dos Pueblos Engineering Academy provides all students who are interested in science or engineering with the opportunity to access a carefully designed, hands-on science curriculum. This generous gift from the Women's Fund will help make the dream of building a new facility on campus,featuring mechanical engineering, computer, electronics,and metal and wood labs,come true. The new building will make it possible to significantly enhance the curricular opportunities available to students, and to triple the number of students enrolled in the Academy.
Future Leaders of America ( $65,000)
Future Leaders of America provides leadership training, educational experiences, and promotes the personal development of Latino youth. With this support, women and daughters will become empowered and will be taught leadership skills to become agents of social change. Youth in our community will be given additional support to grow as a person, professional and active participant of our democratic society.
The Parent Project ($35,000)
Parent Project is a successful parenting skills program offered to local families and their and their high-risk teens through the Santa Barbara City school system. Six ten-week classes, “Changing Destructive Adolescent Behavior,” are led by local facilitator Linda Guerena and youth advocate Alejandra Gutierrez. Without the gift from the Women’s Fund, these classes could not be offered.
PathPoint ($75,000)
PathPoint is the sole provider of housing support services for 130 adults with severe mental illnesses in Santa Barbara. County budget cuts eliminated 2/3 of the PathPoint budget and canceled the structured, monitored programs for residents. This abrupt transition to less frequent service will be eased in the first year by this gift to provide a dedicated rehabilitation specialist focused on preventing homelessness, hospitalizations, or incarcerations.
Santa Barbara Neighborhood Clinics ($80,000)
Santa Barbara Neighborhood Clinics provides quality, affordable health care to all people in Santa Barbara, regardless of their ability to pay. Thanks to the Women’s Fund we will be able to expand and upgrade our computer health tracking system, improving our ability to provide ongoing care for low-income women.
United Boys & Girls Clubs of Santa Barbara ($80,000)
United Boys & Girls Clubs in Carpenteria, Goleta and Santa Barbara serve low income and at-risk youth by offering a safe, structured and nurturing environment after school. Many of the children served come from single parent families and without the Clubs would be on the streets or home alone. The generous grant will enable the Clubs to expand hours and programs offered. The Clubs offer vital resources to help at risk youth gain skills, develop self awareness and provide an alternative to gangs.
2007 Recipients $600,000
$85,000 Angels Foster Care of Santa Barbara for a licensed social worker to recruit, screen, train and support 20 foster families, doubling the number of infants and toddlers placed in 2007.
Angels rescues abused, abandoned and neglected children and matches them with a select group of foster parents to ensure maximum emotional, social, intellectual and physical 
development for each child. Modeled on a successful program in San Diego, Angels began this program in 2006.
This program is unique in that foster parents must agree to foster one child (or sibling group) at a time and care for the child until the court makes a final placement decision. This is in contrast to the average foster child under age three who lives in three different locations in his/her first year of placement. Angels social workers are available 24/7 to support foster families.
$55,000 Casa Pacifica for three compact sedans to enable caseworkers and mental health professionals to deliver 24/7 emergency services for youth in immediate psychiatric crisis and to wrap services around families with youth at risk of being placed in foster care so that these youth can remain at home and in their communities.
Fifteen Casa Pacifica professionals use their own cars to drive to the South Coast families they serve-with only two agency vehicles available for their use. Since 2006, these professionals have responded to local youth in mental health emergencies (e.g., serious suicide threats, aggression towards family members), reducing use of emergency rooms, detention and hospitalization.
"Wraparound" is a proven program that provides comprehensive, individualized, family-centered services to children in jeopardy of out-of-home placement and their families. With a motto of "whatever it takes," these services are focused on keeping children and families together.
$95,000 Family Service Agency for one third of the cost of operating the 211 Human Services Helpline.
The Tobacco Settlement Advisory Committee county funds expire in 2008 and until additional funding sources can be determined, gap funding is critical to maintain this 24/7, multilingual helpline giving assistance and information about community services and access to crisis counseling and suicide prevention.
211 provides assistance when someone reaches out for help, no matter what time of day or night. 211 also provides information in the event of an emergency or disaster affecting Santa Barbara County, information on road closures, evacuation areas, emergency shelters, and more, helping to ensure immediate and timely information while reducing the number of non-emergency calls to 911, police and fire services.
$55,000 Girls Inc. of Greater Santa Barbara for its Teen Mentoring Program, a 12-month program focusing on career and future opportunities for teen girls. While Girls Inc. locations around the country offer teen programs, locally Girls Inc. served girls only to age 12 until 2008.
This program expansion to girls 13-18 will help establish critical connections and role models to empower and direct girls at this vulnerable age. In the "Teen/Woman Mentoring" component, an adult female volunteer mentors a teen girl, both one-on-one and as part of a group. Fifty pairs meet twice monthly and also participate quarterly in a high interest field trip.
Other components include "Take our Daughters to Work" and "After School Mentoring." This comprehensive Teen Mentoring Program inspires girls to confront societal messages about their value and potential, and prepare them to lead successful, independent and fulfilling lives.
$60,000 Isla Vista Youth Projects for a family advocate and counselor for one year. State funds were eliminated in 2007, and this gap funding will restore programs to low-income working families in Isla Vista and western Goleta.
Counseling is done in the evenings with issues centering on finances, family abuse, child behavior issues, housing and transportation. The family advocate serves as an outreach to keep children healthy by scheduling regular medical and dental care.
The goal is to enroll, retain and utilize children's health insurance in the federally funded Medi-Cal and Healthy Family program. Santa Barbara County has the second highest percentage of uninsured children in California.
$50,000 People's Self Help Housing for a third educator needed in the year-round specialized mentoring-learning program that serves school-aged children in low-income families from Goleta to Carpinteria.
Held at three on-site Learning Centers (Ladera near SB City College, the Camper Park and Dahlia Court, both in Carpinteria), the program maximizes the involvement of the parents and local school districts. Bilingual, credentialed educators meet with the children daily to work on study habits and develop academic skills.
Educators attend every parent-teacher conference with the family, and as a result see much better school participation. Feedback from teachers and principals has been extremely positive. In some cases, children in the program have realized an increase of several grade levels after one semester of participation.
$150,000 Storyteller Children's Center for a leadership grant to its $2.5 million expansion campaign launched in 2008. Storyteller provides quality, tuition-free early childhood education for homeless and at-risk children, including whole-family support.
Astonishingly, one in five children in Santa Barbara County lives in poverty and for every three children needing childcare, there is only one licensed space available regardless of ability to pay. For every child who attends Storyteller, another must be placed on its waiting list, which consistently ranges from 50 to 80 children. This grant will help establish a second school located at 2121 De La Vina Street, just two blocks away from Storyteller's current site and will serve an additional 50 children ages 18 months through 5 years.
Homelessness is a priority for enrollment. All preschoolers are low-income and 70% are in single-parent households. Nearly half of the children have experienced domestic violence within their families or have parents in recovery programs for substance abuse.
$50,000 Transition House in gap funding for the salary of one case manager for one year for its Homelessness Prevention Program until future funding can be found.
Transition House provides capable and motivated families with children, with residential services and life tools designed to alleviate poverty, and restore self-sufficiency and dignity. Because of a recent emergency project, the Homelessness Prevention Program has not had a case manager.
This case manager will meet one-on-one with at-risk families to craft solutions for their housing problems, enhance overall educational program offerings, do marketing and outreach, and research rental assistance programs designed to assist families in retaining their present housing.
Evaluations will assess the client's ability to remain in permanent housing at six months and one year intervals after leaving the program.
2006 Recipients $485,000
$180,000 Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA),
Capital for Moving to New Headquarters
CASA provides volunteer advocates for abused and
neglected children in court and ensures their placement in safe, permanent, nurturing homes.
Currently CASA has four cubicles of shared space far from the courthouse. In late September 2007, CASA will be moving to new headquarters behind the Superior Court offices on Figueroa, across from the courthouse, with renovation occurring soon thereafter.
Our gift is for renovating and furbishing this new space to provide a confidential, comforting environment for CASA advocates to meet with the children before and after court. It will also serve as a neutral place for children to spend quiet time with their advocates or engage in activities such as homework.
$100,000 Child Abuse Listening and Mediation (CALM), Great 
Beginnings Program
This program provides comprehensive services to at-risk families with young children in order to prevent child abuse, neglect and placement in foster care.
In 2006, Santa Barbara County closed a program that served local pregnant and parenting teens. CALM's Great Beginnings Program was called upon to fill the gap. CALM's policy is to accommodate clients in need who meet their eligibility criteria whenever possible. Sometimes, due to funding or staffing shortages, they must maintain a waiting list or refer to other agencies.
Our gift supported program expansion and has enabled Great Beginnings' clients to accommodate all pregnant and parenting teenagers referred since January 2007.
$105,000 Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse (CADA), Youth Service System
The Youth Service System operates in all secondary schools in Santa Barbara, Goleta and Carpinteria to reduce the prevalence and severity of substance abuse by students. It
provides a range of interactive alcohol and drug-related services including education, prevention, early identification and referral.
Often the Youth Service Specialists are the first, or only, persons the students turn to for help. In 2006 the program was restructured to meet increasing mental health demands and added clinically trained Therapeutic Youth Service Specialists to the team.
Our gift provided for three Therapeutic Youth Service Specialists to provide clinical counseling for alcohol or other drug problems, mental health problems, familial and relationship problems and other crisis and ongoing counseling needs.
$100,000 Santa Barbara Rape Crisis Center, Capital for Renovation of Headquarters
The Center provides 24-hour crisis intervention, counseling and referrals. Ongoing support heals and empowers sexual assault survivors and family members, and facilitates
attitudinal and behavioral changes needed to eliminate sexual assault. Annually, about 3,000 people (over 50% teens) receive rape prevention education; almost 800 receive crisis intervention services.
The old quarters for the Center were overcrowded and in extremely substandard condition. Finding a place to move into was difficult because of the nature of the service. When a promising location was found in July 2006, the Center needed to take the lease immediately even though they had no funding for remodeling or furnishing the interior spaces.
Our gift provided funds for the necessary renovation and furbishing. The furnishings and interior remodeling provide warm, inviting and safe spaces for clients in the reception area and counseling rooms.
2005 Recipients $200,000
$50,000 Domestic Violence Solutions, SHARe Program
Re) Peer Education Program helps prevent domestic violence by teens educating teens about the dynamics abusive relationships and outcomes in order to help distinguish and build healthy relationships.It also directs teens where to get help. Teens whose lives have been touched by domestic violence are given 35 hours of peer educator training. In turn, they share their personal stories with peers in presentations at schools and other places. The program has proven that teens listen to teens. Nationally, 25% of teens are in abusive relationships.
Locally, 91% of the teens who attended the presentations and workshops report that they know how to find resources and get help for themselves or someone else in an abusive relationship. Our gift helped maintain this vital program.
$20,000 Channel Islands YMCA, Noah's Anchorage Shelter, Capital for Van and Two Computers
Noah's Anchorage provides a 24/7 year-round shelter, counseling, referrals, and basic needs for runaway and homeless youth in crisis.
It is the only agency between Los Angeles and San Luis Obispo Counties that offers such services. The shelter also provides "cool off" services such as family and individual counseling and group therapy. Hot issues, such as suicide or gang activities, are red-flagged. Nearly 90% of the youths served are reunited with their families or find safe, permanent housing.
Our gift provided two computers and a new van for a variety of uses, especially for use in helping teens at-risk or who are living on the streets.
$40,000 Planned Parenthood, Adelante Amigos Mentoring Program
The mission of Adelante Amigos is to provide, in a small group setting, a long-term youth development program integrating academic tutoring, mentoring, case management, college and career preparation, life skills education, family planning services and peer outreach.
Five programs of Adelante Amigos operate successfully in other areas of Santa Barbara County. All participants completed high school and 79% are attending college. The 6-year program has been highly successful in preventing unintended pregnancy (100%), STIs (100%) and drug abuse (77%).
Our gift funded this program for six at-risk girls from Carpinteria from 8th Grade through one-year post high school.
$90,000 Twelve35 Santa Barbara Teen Center
Santa Barbara now has a teen center in the historic building at 1235 Chapala Street, the TWELVE35 Teen Center. Its 
mission is to provide positive alternatives for teens (13-18) in a safe, fun and supervised group environment in order to help prevent teen delinquency, loitering, violence, drug and alcohol abuse, and even suicide.
Moreover, for teens who have experienced the latchkey and 
couch potato phenomena spending less time interacting with others and more time alone or on the computer, the Center provides a place for teens to interact socially with other teens.
Our gift funded equipment and furnishings for this teen safe haven.
2004 Recipients $140,000
$105,000 Santa Barbara Neighborhood Clinics, Capped the Capital Campaign for the Eastside Dental Clinic
The mission of the Santa Barbara Neighborhood Clinics is to
provide high-quality medical and dental care to those uninsured and otherwise underserved while maintaining a welcoming environment and treating patients with compassion, dignity and respect.
In 2004, the Santa Barbara Neighborhood Clinics needed $140,000 to complete their $1.3 million capital campaign for the Eastside Family Dental Clinic.
Our gift capped this campaign.
$35,000 St. Vincent's of Santa Barbara, PATHS Program
The organization St. Vincent's offers transitional housing and skills development for low-income single mothers. The main 
services are PATHS (Program of Affordable Transitional Housing and Services) and Casa Alegria Children's Center, which serves not only children whose mothers are in the PATHS program, but also children from the broader community.
Our gift provided services for three mothers and their children for one year.
Gifts In Action
Court Appointed Special Advocates, (CASA)
Last fall, Child Welfare Service (CWS) removed little four-year-old "Alex" from his biological parents’ home because their drug and alcohol abuse prevented them for caring for him properly. The mother was also pregnant with a second child. CWS placed Alex in Los Angeles with a paternal aunt. Both parents were ordered into Project Recovery and told that they must stick with their case plan in order to get Alex back.
Mom and Dad both began complying with all aspects of their CWS case plan: they attended substance abuse treatment and recovery programs, and made every possible effort to visit Alex in LA and maintain their relationship with him during this ordeal.
Because of the complexity of substance abuse and its detrimental affects on parental care, the agencies (CWS worker, district attorney, judge) were VERY hesitant to return Alex to his parents, despite their demonstrated efforts. So Alex remained in foster care.
Finally, the judge decided to appoint CASA to the case, because he needed a more objective recommendation in order to move forward with Family Maintenance (returning a child to the care and custody of the parents), or to keep Alex in foster care.
CASA matched Alex with a well-trained and seasoned advocate who began to assess the parents, Alex, the foster placement, as well as other factors that come into play when weighing the best permanent placement for the child. After spending three months on the case, the advocate was able to strongly recommend to the court that Alex would be best placed back in Family Maintenance with his parents, that their extraordinary efforts were very real, and that they would be able to now provide a safe and loving home.
At the May review hearing, the judge agreed with CASA's recommendation to reunify this family. The judge stepped down from the bench, handed Alex a teddy bear, thanked the CASA for its excellent work, and congratulated the parents for their efforts on behalf of their children.
Child Abuse Listening and Mediation (CALM)
“Maria,” a 17-year-old mother with a nine-month-old son, was diagnosed with a rare form of childhood cancer and was about to begin months of intensive chemotherapy involving hospitalization. The social worker from the pediatric oncology department at Cottage Hospital referred her to Great Beginnings.
Maria was married to 18-year-old “Pedro.” Although their son was not planned and there were worries about finances, the couple had made a good adjustment to parenthood. But their world was thrown into chaos as Maria began the treatment regime that frequently left her debilitated and unable to care for their son.
Great Beginnings sent Jose, a home visitor, to meet with Maria and Pedro at the hospital. Pedro shared with Jose his fears for Maria, concern over care for their child, and his need to work two or three jobs to support the family.
For seven months Jose partnered with this teen family to provide support, guidance and concrete assistance. The young parents received emotional counseling and information about their child’s social-emotional needs. The baby’s health and development was monitored through the use of the Program’s Ages and Stages Questionnaire and the Devereaux Early Childhood Assessment (DECA).
Maria is now healing after two surgeries and her prognosis for full recovery is good. The family is intact and demonstrating resilience. Maria and Pedro often say that they could not have coped without the constant support of their home visitor and the Great Beginnings Program.
Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse (CADA) Youth Service System Program
"In therapy I learned how to talk about my problems and express emotions. If I keep my anger bottled up, it builds and is harder to deal with. It takes a lot of courage to talk about problems openly." 'Danny,' age 14, trying to stop using marijuana to deal with family problems.
"I used to deal with stress by cutting myself or thinking about running away or drinking. Now I have someone to talk to and can find solutions." 'Susie,' age 15, cutting to cope with parents' divorce.