On behalf of the Alliance for Children’s Rights, California Alliance of Caregivers, Children NOW, California State Association of Counties, County Welfare Directors Association of California (CWDA) and Chief Probation Officers of California (CPOC), we respectfully urge the Human Services Budget Subcommittees to provide $43.2 million State General Fund (SGF) to maintain critical supports to resource family caregivers, and the children and youth in their care.

Achieving the vision of the Continuum of Care Reform (CCR) requires recruiting and retaining resource families to support the foster children and youth served by child welfare and probation agencies. Before this investment, California struggled to maintain, and recruit, additional resource parents without added supports desired and needed by those families. In 2015, the Legislature recognized the need to invest in families by establishing the Foster Parent Recruitment, Retention and Support Fund. Unfortunately, the Fund was cut to $23.6 million SGF in FY 2018-19 and is proposed for elimination in FY 2019-20, despite the fact that CCR reform activities are not yet complete. This jeopardizes the progress that child welfare and probation agencies have made in reducing the use of congregate care and achieving permanency for our foster children and youth.

Download the Family Stability Fund Coalition Letter – February 26, 2019