IDEAS FOR HELPING SONOMA COUNTY FOSTER CHILDREN AND YOUTH, AND FOSTER FAMILIES

• Become a foster parent or adoptive parent. Information meetings are held monthly. Call Rita Jacobs at 565-4274 for more information.
• Spread the word: if you know someone who might make a good foster parent, please suggest that they consider foster care.
• Give out our card / pamphlet to friends who might be good foster parents.
• Provide respite care (babysitting) foster children to give foster parents a break.
• Befriend and advocate for a foster child by becoming a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA). Call 537-6375 or visit www.sonomacasa.org for more information.
• Rent a room to a youth transitioning to independent adult living. Rent is paid by the Transitional Housing Placement Program (THPP) and guidance is provided. Call Kathleen Alves at 565-4352 for more info.
• Volunteer at Valley of the Moon Children's Home. Call Meg Easter-Dawson at 565-8383 for more information.
• Volunteer to tutor a foster child.
• Volunteer at Tamayo House (on Yulupa Ave. in Santa Rosa). Tamayo House provides housing for former foster youth ages 18-25. Contact Gina Bell at Social Advocates for Youth (SAY) 544-3299 ext. 206 for more information.
• If you are a medical, dental, or mental health professional, accept Medi-Cal for foster children. (Taking Medi-Cal for even one child would help.)
• If you have a business, provide free or discounted goods or services to foster families.
• Display foster parent recruitment pamphlets or a poster at your business.
• Offer an apprenticeship in your company to a foster youth transitioning to independent adult living.
• Donate household goods to foster youth transitioning to independent adult living. (Especially needed are twin beds, bedding, furniture, and computers).
• Make a donation to Valley of the Moon Children's Foundation. Call Meg Easter-Dawson at 565-8383.
• Make a donation to help a foster youth with unusual needs (Sports uniforms, prom expenses, summer camp, music lessons, etc.). Call the Redwood Empire Foster Parents' Association at 823-0216.
• If you suspect a child is being physically or emotionally abused, sexually molested or abused, or neglected, call Sonoma County Child Protective Services at (707) 565-4304 or 1- (800) 870-7064.

IF NO CONTACT PERSON IS SPECIFIED ABOVE PLEASE CALL RITA JACOBS, SONOMA COUNTY FOSTER HOME RECRUITER AT (707) 565-4274.

  THANK YOU FOR YOUR WILLINGNESS TO HELP A CHILD IN NEED!

 

Use these links for more information:

Open Your Heart to a Waiting Child

Learn More About the Licensing Process

What is FostAdopt

Bay Area Kids In Need of Adoptive Homes