Capital Region Cares Capital Region Cares 2017-2018 | Page 109

recruit other families,” she says. “But
when they hear about the new reg-
ulations and requirements, they get
scared.”
So far, the compensation rates
for foster family agencies have not
changed. “The state is working on it,
but they don’t understand our urgen-
cy,” she says. “We are expected to im-
plement these new standards, but we
don’t have the additional resources to
do it.”
Theoretically, with CCR, Heintz be-
lieves the process to place foster youth
in homes should be quicker and bet-
ter, but it will be hard. “Childhood is
WILL YOU CHANGE A FOSTER CHILD’S LIFE FOREVER?
term intensive treatment interven-
tions. The legislation also streamlines
the support all foster youth receive
and expands support for the families
who care for them.
Foster family agencies are being
reorganized to meet a broader range
of individual needs. Facilities seeking
licensure as short-term residential
therapeutic programs will now have
to meet higher standards of care. Not
only will they need to earn nation-
al accreditation, these organizations
must now deliver or arrange for ac-
cess to a set of core services that are
trauma-informed, including specialty
mental health services.
The new regulations also aim to
improve selection, training and sup-
port of all resource families, including
relatives, seeking to care for a foster
child. Under CCR, every child will have
a team following them, developing a
plan to ensure that children and fami-
lies are getting the services they need.
“This is the largest change in child
welfare in a generation in California,”
Herne says. “This is huge. We have a
lot of fears around it, but we also have
some hopes and dreams around it.”
Laura Heintz, CEO of Stanford
Youth Solutions in Sacramento, has
also been anticipating and preparing
for the changes with CCR for some
time. Her nonprofit organization offers
a variety of services to support children
and families, including foster care ser-
vices. The biggest task that Heintz sees
for Stanford Youth Solutions is finding
more of the right resource families, and
training and equipping them. “The
state wants us to recruit families that
can take any kids, all kids, even those
with behavioral issues. Our biggest
challenge will be finding and retaining
families who are the right match for
the child,” she says.
Resource families and foster youth
will be matched based on needs, inter-
ests, culture, family environment and
location. “We rely on foster families to
Child Advocates of Placer County, Sacramento CASA and Yolo County CASA
have a collective goal to serve nearly 1,000 additional foster children and at-
risk youth in 2018 and we need your help.
CASAs are Court Appointed Special Advocates who represent the best inter-
ests of foster children and youth in court and in life. Often, the CASA volun-
teer may be the only consistent adult figure in a foster child’s life.
Please refer to your local CASA organization’s website below to apply to our
next volunteer training dates. Make 2018 the year that you transform the life
of a child.
“I walked in and he asked me, ‘How many kids do you got?’ I
knew right away he was wondering how many other children
I advocated for. I told him, ‘You’re the only one,’ and you should
have seen the look on his face. He was in awe and overjoyed that
he had me all to himself! It still makes me cry.”
— Cindy Burger, CASA Volunteer
WWW.CASAPLACER.ORG | WWW.SACRAMENTOCASA.ORG | WWW.YOLOCASA.ORG
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