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| Programs & Services |
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| Children's Trust Fund |
| Guardian Scholars Program |
| Bridges to Higher Education |
| Independent Living Program |
| Independent Living Coaches |
| Rising Tide Communities |
| Peer Mentor Program |
| Orangewood Resource Center |
| CA Youth Connection |
| Time Out For Parents |
| Families and Communities Together |
| CONNECT |
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The lessons provided a much needed summer activity for the active preschooler. » Learn More |
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| Our Programs and Services |
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| Our Programs and services support four key strategies: |
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Successfully Transition Emancipated Foster Youth When a foster child turns 18, it could be the worst birthday of his or her life. Released from the county social services system, many teens find themselves on their own, without the experience, training, or resources needed to transition into a responsible adulthood. Orangewood Children's Foundation is a pioneer among social service agencies, establishing a holistic approach by developing coordinated initiatives that positively impact the lives of these children, among these: Children's Trust Fund offers financial assistance to current and emancipated foster youth in Orange County, scholarships for college and trade school, and emergency funds for living expenses. It provides grants for special needs to eligible applicants, such as counseling, school supplies, sports programs and graduation expenses. Guardian Scholars Program is a partnership with local educational institutions that provides comprehensive support and resources to former foster youth in their efforts to gain a university, community college or trade school education. Partnering institutions in the greater Orange County area include CSUF, UCI, Chapman University, Concordia, Hope International University, Orange Coast College, Fullerton College, San Diego State University, Santa Ana College, Santiago Canyon College, Cypress College, American Career College, Taller San Jose, UCLA, Loyola Marymount and USC. Areas of support include academic advisement, housing and job assistance, tutoring, financial aid and mentoring. Bridges To Higher Education was initiated to increase high school graduation rates and admission to college or trade school among foster youth participants. The Program provides support services to high school students in the foster care system interested in attending any form of higher education. Independent Living Program provides “real life” workshops, special educational events and support services for foster teens, ages 16-21, to help them prepare for their release from the dependency system. With over 100 regularly scheduled events and activities, sessions focus on four areas - education, career, relationships and daily living - and provide vital information and practice these young people will need when facing life on their own. Independent Living Coaches provides one-on-one guidance to foster youth, ages 16-21, who need extra support before, during and after release from the foster care system. Foundation staff serve as coaches, meeting for a minimum of four hours per month with each youth and offering guidance, resources and advice. Rising Tide Communities offers selected young adults who have "aged-out" of the foster care system at age 18 a unique living program that provides subsidized apartment living, educational opportunities and mentoring in an 18 month period designed to help them transition successfully into life on their own. Peer Mentor Program began in 1992 when Children's Trust Fund recipients, former foster children themselves, approached the Foundation wanting to give back and help other young abuse victims. Peer Mentors are powerful role models who conduct mentoring sessions at the Orangewood Children's Home and at Independent Living workshops. Orangewood Resource Center (ORC) is a drop-in center for current and emancipated foster youth in Orange County offering services they need to become independent adults, including educational activities and resources for jobs, college, housing, health, etc. These and other individualized programs ensure current and former foster children are provided fundamental services—offering a second chance for those who may not have had a first. |
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Support Children in Foster Care Approximately 4,000 Orange County, CA youngsters are currently being cared for through the County's foster care system. These children live with individual foster families, in agency-managed group care facilities or with relatives ("kinship care"). Disconnected from the warm family life most children experience, foster children often grow up in lonely surroundings. Orangewood Children's Foundation offers these children the following support: Financial support: To reduce the feelings of alienation and offer the children "normalizing" activities, the Foundation's Children's Trust Fund provides funding for items such as sporting equipment, counseling, music lessons, after school activities, and summer camp, as well as specialized medical and dental care. A break for foster parents: The Time Out for Parents Program (TOPS) provides temporary, short-term care for abused and neglected children in foster care and for children who are at risk for abuse or neglect. TOPS allows parents to take a break from their children and recharge the energy necessary to care for them. Length of stay is from two hours to 72 hours. Longer stays are possible with special authorization. The TOPS program helps to keep families in crisis together, preventing abuse and neglect from occurring. Advocacy for foster children: The California Youth Connection (CYC) is a leadership group of current and emancipated foster youth who participate in policy development and legislative change in the area of foster care. CYC youth meet on a monthly basis to discuss issues and participate in statewide meetings and conferences. Orangewood Children's Foundation is Orange County's representative to this statewide organization. Through the FaCT (Families and Community Together) program, Orangewood is also involved in foster parent recruitment and kinship care support. The Foundation also works to educate the general public and policy makers about the unique needs of foster youth, supports youth leadership programs, and helps promote positive images of foster youth through its education and public awareness efforts. |
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Sustain the Orangewood Children's Home After raising the money to build and later expand the Orangewood Children's Home, the Foundation turned its attention to the ongoing needs of abused children, both while in foster care and as they transition to independent adulthood. Although the Home is a county-run facility, the Foundation continues to help sustain it. We like to think of it this way: The county makes the Orangewood Children's Home a first-class facility for the children; the Foundation makes it a home. Peer mentoring: The Peer Mentor Program began when Children's Trust Fund grant recipients, former foster children themselves, approached the Foundation to find ways to help other young abuse victims. Serving as powerful role models, Peer Mentors conduct mentoring sessions at Orangewood Children's Home and Independent Living Workshops as a way of representing positive outcomes. Activities: Orangewood PALS (Providing Assistance, Love and Support) is a group of fun and energetic professionals who have come together to make a positive impact in the lives of abused and neglected children in Orange County. PALS supports the work of Orangewood Children's Foundation by hosting events and activities for children at Orangewood Children's Home, funding scholarships, and interacting with current and former foster care youth. Financial support: The Foundation assists the Home with a wide variety of needs. From upgrades to the campus to art supplies for the children, we help make the first-class facility feel like home. |
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Strengthen At-Risk Families The Orangewood Children’s Foundation, in collaboration with other children’s service organizations, and state and county agencies, offers support to families in the community to prevent child abuse and neglect from starting. Community-based support for families: Families and Communities Together (FaCT) supports 12 Orange County Family Resource Centers. FaCT Family Resource Centers (FRCs) are family-friendly, community-based sites that provide access to comprehensive social, educational, and health services for all families, including birth, blended, kinship, adoptive and foster families. FRCs often serve as vehicles for engaging local residents and community organizations in the identification and resolution of community concerns as they relate to raising healthy children. Each FRC is unique to its community, and services are offered by multicultural and multilingual staff that reflects the surrounding neighborhoods and families served. Core services include:
Support for Orange County non-profits and service providers: CONNECT Partnership For Nonprofit Solutions offers community-based agencies the following services:
» To visit the CONNECT website, click here. Health access and home visitation services: Orangewood Children’s Foundation coordinates ProjectConnections.FRC, a program that links community health workers to public health nurses and Family Resource Centers to deliver appropriate social and family services to local communities. Hospitals and clinics also participate in this Children and Families Commission of Orange County funded program for families with children ages 0 - 5. ProjectConnections.FRC focuses on:
A break for parents: The Time Out for Parents Program (TOPS) provides temporary, short-term care for abused and neglected children in foster care and for children who are at risk for abuse or neglect. TOPS allows parents to take a break from their children and recharge the energy necessary to care for them. Length of stay is from two hours to 72 hours. Longer stays are possible with special authorization. The TOPS program helps to keep families in crisis together, preventing abuse and neglect from occurring. |
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