Did you know that in 2014, there were 415,129 children living in foster care in the United States? While there are more than 7,000 children in the greater Bay Area who require foster care, no county currently has enough Resource (Foster) Parents to match this pressing and unmet need. Seneca Family of Agencies received a grant from Help for Children, supported by Hedge Funds Care and Private Equity Cares to help address the shortage of qualified and approved foster homes in the Bay Area.
Through current and new partnerships with elementary, middle and secondary schools throughout Alameda, San Francisco, Contra Costa, San Mateo and Marin counties, the grant enables us to provide training for parents, caregivers and teachers to encourage participants to consider becoming a resource parent while building caregivers’ skills, knowledge, and support networks as a preventative intervention. These trainings, provided free to sites along with food and childcare, can be customized based on each site’s unique needs from Seneca’s existing curricula.
Engaging parents and caregivers and building their capacity to provide parallel interventions in the home that align with the work happening at school is a key component of strengthening school culture and climate. Further, the trainings can serve as a jumping off point for increasing parent-teacher collaboration and creating informal parent networks. These funds can be used to support parent-training efforts that bolster the critical work All In! Is already doing in schools, at no cost to our partners!
When appropriate, the trainings conclude with information regarding the benefits of becoming a resource parent and a description of Seneca’s Intensive Services Foster Care (ISFC) Program. In this home-based, therapeutic approach, Seneca resource parents are valued team members who receive weekly support and guidance from Seneca clinicians and behavior specialists to ensure that fostering a child is a positive, successful, and rewarding experience for all.
With a focus on the strengths and value of each child, the team helps foster youth to recover and flourish as they learn coping skills and improve their ability to regulate feelings and behaviors. By encouraging the child’s strengths, teaching new skills, and supporting healthy family and community connections, Seneca resource parents help the youth in their care to achieve stability, connectedness, positive self-image, and a sense of belonging. With love, support, and commitment, Seneca resource parents help their foster children to grow, heal, and thrive.
Through current and new partnerships with elementary, middle and secondary schools throughout Alameda, San Francisco, Contra Costa, San Mateo and Marin counties, the grant enables us to provide training for parents, caregivers and teachers to encourage participants to consider becoming a resource parent while building caregivers’ skills, knowledge, and support networks as a preventative intervention. These trainings, provided free to sites along with food and childcare, can be customized based on each site’s unique needs from Seneca’s existing curricula.
Engaging parents and caregivers and building their capacity to provide parallel interventions in the home that align with the work happening at school is a key component of strengthening school culture and climate. Further, the trainings can serve as a jumping off point for increasing parent-teacher collaboration and creating informal parent networks. These funds can be used to support parent-training efforts that bolster the critical work All In! Is already doing in schools, at no cost to our partners!
When appropriate, the trainings conclude with information regarding the benefits of becoming a resource parent and a description of Seneca’s Intensive Services Foster Care (ISFC) Program. In this home-based, therapeutic approach, Seneca resource parents are valued team members who receive weekly support and guidance from Seneca clinicians and behavior specialists to ensure that fostering a child is a positive, successful, and rewarding experience for all.
With a focus on the strengths and value of each child, the team helps foster youth to recover and flourish as they learn coping skills and improve their ability to regulate feelings and behaviors. By encouraging the child’s strengths, teaching new skills, and supporting healthy family and community connections, Seneca resource parents help the youth in their care to achieve stability, connectedness, positive self-image, and a sense of belonging. With love, support, and commitment, Seneca resource parents help their foster children to grow, heal, and thrive.
If you or anyone you know might be interested in hearing more about these trainings or the ISFC program, please contact Ebony Crump, Family Development Specialist at 415.314.5283
Blog post written by:
Jenn Simeone
Jenn Simeone
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