Angels Foster Care of Santa Barbara

Adoption

noreply@blogger.com (Angels Foster Care of Santa Barbara) — Tue, 01 Oct 2013 19:44:00 +0000

Congrats to parents Kiah and Anna on the adoption of Mason!

Finalized in September

This is what a strong support network looks like!

Happy Adoption

noreply@blogger.com (Angels Foster Care of Santa Barbara) — Thu, 29 Aug 2013 18:28:00 +0000

An Angels Family at Court for Adoption. Complete with cute hand puppets! Congrats.

Adoption Time!

noreply@blogger.com (Angels Foster Care of Santa Barbara) — Tue, 11 Jun 2013 20:12:00 +0000

We're starting off summer with lots of adoptions! Stay posted for more updates!

Baby Samantha with Judge

Thank you to Girls Inc!

noreply@blogger.com (Angels Foster Care of Santa Barbara) — Sat, 12 Jan 2013 00:41:00 +0000

Today we had some special visitors from the local Girls Inc. program. After researching local nonprofits they selected Angels Foster Care as the recipients of a penny drive project. Together this group of young girls raised $82.00 for Angels Foster Care! THANK YOU Girls Inc!!

Breaking Dawn Event Photos

noreply@blogger.com (Angels Foster Care of Santa Barbara) — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 00:03:00 +0000

Here is a little glimpse of the fun we had last night at our Twilight: Breaking Dawn- Part 2 Event! The lines were long- all the way down and around state street! Thanks to everyone who came out for our last movie event! GO TEAM ANGELS!!

Breaking Dawn Movie Benefit!

noreply@blogger.com (Angels Foster Care of Santa Barbara) — Wed, 17 Oct 2012 22:59:00 +0000

The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Part II

Advance Film Screening Event

All proceeds benefit Angels Foster Care

Wednesday, November 14, 7:30p.m.

Arlington Theatre, Santa Barbara

1317 State Street, Santa Barbara

Tickets:

General Admission: $25

VIP: $100

*VIP includes pre-film hors d'oeuvres and dessert party, early admission and preferred movie seating. VIP event starts at 6:00pm.

Purchase your tickets now at the Arlington Theatre Ticket Office, (805) 963-4408.

For event information, contact the Angels office at (805) 884-0012. Hope to see you there!

Adoption!

noreply@blogger.com (Angels Foster Care of Santa Barbara) — Wed, 19 Sep 2012 00:09:00 +0000

Congrats! This Angels family finalized their adoption today of their little guy. Here they are with the Judge in Santa Maria court.

More Twinsies

noreply@blogger.com (Angels Foster Care of Santa Barbara) — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 21:08:00 +0000

The last two adoptions in South County have been for twins! We have so much fun watching these little ones grow and thrive in their homes. Congrats to this beautiful family who celebrated the adoption of twin siblings, boy & girl, last week.

Happy Adoption Day!

noreply@blogger.com (Angels Foster Care of Santa Barbara) — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 19:28:00 +0000

In March, we had the joy of celebrating the adoption with this wonderful South County family. After fostering them for about a year, they adopted these adorable twin boys. This was their second adoption through Angels, their daughter (also pictured) was also part of the Angels program.

Dressed and Ready for a Good Cause!

noreply@blogger.com (Angels Foster Care of Santa Barbara) — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 06:18:00 +0000

Holiday Homecoming Celebration 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Angels Foster Care of Santa Barbara) — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 23:52:00 +0000

In 2011, Angels Foster Care reached a milestone of placing 100 infants/toddlers in Santa Barbara County! We have since surpassed that and are now at 102 placements.

We are very excited to be growing and continuing to provide loving and stable homes for children. However, we still need more homes!! In 2011, our organization had to turn down 43 children for placement as we did not have enough open homes. A significant portion of these children were part of sibling groups, with two or three children, all under the age of 5.

This year we were able to host a wonderful celebration over the Holidays. Thanks to an anonymous generous donor, Angels families, supporters, staff, and volunteers were able to enjoy a fabulous evening out. The event took place on December 15, 2011 at the Bacara Resort & Spa.

Pictured Below: A few of Angels Adoptive Families

The Event

Craft time

Fun on the dance floor!

Above: Volunteer Coordinator, Margot,with Meichelle

Above: Fundraising Committee Members, Marsha & Micele

Above: Angels Staff

Meichelle, Jennifer, Stacy, & Ellen

TWILIGHT: Breaking Dawn Event

noreply@blogger.com (Angels Foster Care of Santa Barbara) — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 22:07:00 +0000

On November 17, 2011 Angels Foster Care hosted an advance screening event for the Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn film. Proceeds benefited our program and funds will go towards salaries for our social workers, new foster parent recruitment, outreach, and other administrative costs. Fundraising is a crucial component of our program as we do not take any federal funding. All of our operating costs are raised through donations (big and small- everything counts!) and grant writing. Click Here to make a donation.

The Twilight fans were eager and ready, lining up outside the Arlington Theater hours before the doors were open.

VIP events began at 6:30, with guests being welcomed into a wedding themed reception. There they were able to enjoy yummy drinks and treats and even take a photo with the groom to be- Edward! (Not the real Edward of course, but his cardboard cut out was just as handsome).

Many thanks to our Fundraising Committee who put a lot of hard work into making this event happen, and setting up a fabulous reception.

Pictured below From Left: Ashley Dorris, Meichelle Arntz, Susan McMillan, Marsha Kotyler, Micele White, Messina DeRose, & Sue Bickett.

Flowers graciously donated by Dawn O'Donnell

Pictured Below: Meichelle Arntz, Founder of Angels Foster Care of Santa Barbara, introduces the film

This furry friend even made a special "guest" appearance!

The event brought a great turn out and was a lot of fun! Thanks to everyone who came out to support Angels Foster Care- we look forward to seeing you again in 2012 for the FINAL film of the Twilight Saga.

Changes

noreply@blogger.com (Angels Foster Care of Santa Barbara) — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 23:46:00 +0000

This fall has brought on some changes within our agency structure and staffing. Don't worry, we are all still here and all happy to be part of a wonderful team!

Meichelle, our fearless leader and founder of Angels, has transitioned out of day to day operations. She is now acting as the CEO and continues to be an active member of our board, and overseeing our agency at large. Meichelle will also still be working on the development side of things, so you are still likely to catch her speaking at local events and getting the word out!

Jennifer has now transitioned into the role of Director of Operations. Jennifer is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) who has been our program director for the past few years as well as the social worker for North County. Although Jennifer's role will be expanding, she will continue to carry a caseload in North County.

Stacy is now acting as the lead social worker and also continues to be the social worker for South County. Stacy will be overseeing interns, volunteers, and other aspects of our clinical program. Stacy is also studying for her LCSW exam and hopes to become licensed within the next year.

Ellen has expanded her hours and is now in the Santa Barbara office Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. She has already made a difference in the day to day work flow and we appreciate having her at the "hub" to take incoming calls and manage the daily grind of the office. Ellen will also continue to be an integral part of our agency development as she works on outreach events, grant writing, and other fundraisers. Ellen also makes sure our monthly newsletter gets out to families and supporters.

These have all been positive changes as we continue to grow as an agency. We look forward to seeing how we will continue to blossom in the years to come!

Open Communication is KEY for Successful Visitation

noreply@blogger.com (Angels Foster Care of Santa Barbara) — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 17:29:00 +0000

The following article about visitation between foster children and their biological family is included in our September issue of the Angels Newsletter. To subscribe to our Newsletter click here.

Most children who are in foster care will have visits with their biological parents and or/other family members. The frequency and duration of these visits varies depends on a variety of factors and is ultimately determined by the court. At Angels, our practice is to allow foster parents to personally make the choice on whether or not they would like to interact with their foster child's biological family. There are cases when this is beneficial for all parties involved, and there are other times when it is not advised. Part of our job as social workers is counsel families through this decision making process on a case by case basis.

Whether or not there is face to face interaction between foster parents and biological parents, one thing that remains a key component of successful visitation is open communication. When foster parents are able to be forth coming with information about their foster child, this makes the visit go smoother for everyone involved. The communication loop for visits should include the Angels Social Worker, the CWS staff person supervising the visit, and the biological family. If a foster parent is not bringing the child directly to the bio family (which most often they are not), then they need to be sure to check in with the worker taking the child to the visit. This may be a worker from Angels or it may be a case aide from the county. Foster parents should make sure the worker has knowledge of the child's routine. For example, the worker should know when the child typically eats and naps. Also, if there are any dietary restrictions, make sure the worker is aware of this. Letting the worker know whether the child has been feeling under the weather, missed a nap, or had something else throw off their day is also helpful. If the child is notably fussy on arrival, it can ease nerves for everyone to know what the source of this may be. One of the most crucial aspects of visit communication is to clearly explain any bumps, bruises, scratches, rashes, bandages, or any other sign of injury. Foster parents should ALWAYS be informing their Angels social worker of any injury their child has, and if visits are happening, it is even more imperative that any little scrape or mark is noted. This may seem petty, but it is all part of working cooperatively and taking preventative measures. For example, here are two possible visit scenarios with very different outcomes.

Scenario 1) When the Angels worker arrives to pick up a toddler age child for a visit, the foster parents points out a large bruise that the child has on his knee. The foster parent explains that while at the park yesterday, the child had tripped and fallen. The foster parent further explains that when the child fell, they ran to check on him immediately, but he had already gotten up and began playing again and barely seemed to notice that his knee was scraped. The next day, the scrape had turned into large bruised area, but child does not show any other signs of pain or further injury. When the worker takes the child to the visit with the bio family, the worker immediately points out the bruise and relays the explanation. The bio parent laughs and says, "Oh that sounds right. He can be clumsy and kids this age are always falling. Thanks for telling me". No complaints are made and the visit goes smoothly.

Scenario 2) When the worker arrives to pick up a toddler age child for a visit, he is dressed and ready to go. The foster parent helps put the child into the car and points out the snacks that are packed in his back pack. The child is wearing long pants, so the worker does not see any sign of bruising on his knee and the foster parents does not mention anything. The worker drops off the child at the visit, shows the bio parents the snack and talks with the visit supervisor to confirm the time to pick up the child. About 20 minutes later, the worker gets a call from the visit supervisor. The visit supervisor is calling with concerns about the child. The bio parent needed to change the diaper of the child and had taken his pants off, noticing the large bruise on his knee. The bio parent panicked and became very upset about the bruise on his knee. The bio parent then begins to make assumptions that the foster parent must be trying to cover up an injury by dressing him in long pants. Since neither the worker who transported the child, the visit supervisor, or the bio parent had information on what had happened there is cause for some controversy. The bio parent wants to make a complaint against the foster parents.

Now, let me stop hear and say that we KNOW that injuries happen. Especially with young children who are still a bit wobbly and working on their motor skills! However, we would much rather deal with Scenario #1 then Scenario #2. If Scenario #2 does happen, then of course, Angels does our best to address the concerns immediately and follow up with the foster parent to see what happened and smooth things over. However, being preventative by using open communication is always the best measure!

This goes both ways of course, if anything unusual happens during a visit, it is expected that the bio family will provide a clear explanation of what occurred and what action was taken. Everyones anxiety can be elevated when it comes to visits. Foster parents may worry about how their foster child's routine will be impacted, how they will fare around new people, or how they will be perceived by the bio parents. Keep in mind, bio parents have no idea where their child is placed and may be imaging worst case scenarios. A little sharing can go a long way in assuring them that their child is an excellent home and that their needs are being tended to as they are showered with love. Just a reminder, that you can never share too much information when it comes to visits!

-Stacy Peterson, MSW

Angels Foster Care

Current Stats for Angels

noreply@blogger.com (Angels Foster Care of Santa Barbara) — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 21:23:00 +0000

To date, Angels Foster Care has placed 94 infants and toddlers into loving, stable, foster homes in Santa Barbara County.

One of the most common questions asked when we receive an inquiry phone call is "How many of these children have been adopted? How many have been reunified with their biological family?" People are often curious about the long term plans for our Angels children. It is difficult to give a steadfast answer to that question, because it is constantly in flux. Court hearings happen a few times a week that may impact the status of our cases.

However, to give you a glimpse of where things are at here is an estimation of our stats, as of TODAY.

Approximately 45% of these 94 children have been adopted or are currently in the adoption process.

Approximately 15% have been reunified with their biological family.

Approximately 20% have gone to extended family (biological family) members.

Approximately 20% are awaiting the long term plan to be determined.

Christine, Adopted by her Angels parents in 2010

Coming up....

noreply@blogger.com (Angels Foster Care of Santa Barbara) — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 21:28:00 +0000

Advance Movie Screening Event

"The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Part 1"

Thursday, November 17

.....at a Santa Barbara theater to be announced soon!

Join other Twilight fans for an exclusive preview of the new film! Proceeds benefit Angels Foster Care. If you'd like to be placed on our mailing list for this event, please click here to send us an email requesting updates on the Twilight Event.

noreply@blogger.com (Angels Foster Care of Santa Barbara) — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 20:50:00 +0000

Happy Summer to everyone! It is already beginning to fly by. I can't believe June is almost over!

It has been busy lately here at Angels. Many of our families have been finalizing adoptions, which has been a pleasure to celebrate with them! We've also been busy with several new placements over the past month or so. We are now at a total of 91 children that have been placed in our foster homes. 100 is just around the corner....

Statistics on Foster Care in Santa Barbara County

noreply@blogger.com (Angels Foster Care of Santa Barbara) — Mon, 16 May 2011 23:27:00 +0000

Check out these statistics from kidsdata.org Taking a look at Santa Barbara County specifically, and also California at large.

Number of Children in Foster Care: 1998 - 2010

Number of Children in Foster Care, by Age: 2010

Santa Barbara County

Number

Under 1

20

Ages 1-2

82

Ages 3-5

104

Ages 6-10

140

Ages 11-15

151

Ages 16-20

76

Total Children in Foster Care

573

California

Number

Under 1

3,115

Ages 1-2

7,406

Ages 3-5

8,605

Ages 6-10

11,986

Ages 11-15

15,321

Ages 16-20

11,579

Total Children in Foster Care

58,012

Number of Children in Foster Care, by Race/Ethnicity: 2010

Santa Barbara County	Number

African American/Black	40
Asian/Pacific Islander	1
Caucasian/White	153
Hispanic/Latino	376
Native American	3
Total Children in Foster Care	573

California	Number

African American/Black	14,946
Asian/Pacific Islander	1,497
Caucasian/White	14,375
Hispanic/Latino	26,365
Native American	778
Total Children in Foster Care	58,012

First Entries into Foster Care, by Reason for Removal: 2007-2009

Santa Barbara County	Percent

Neglect	87.2%
Physical Abuse	8.4%
Sexual Abuse	1.6%
Other	2.8%

California	Percent

Neglect	79.7%
Physical Abuse	11.0%
Sexual Abuse	3.5%
Other	5.8%

May is National Foster Care Month

noreply@blogger.com (Angels Foster Care of Santa Barbara) — Fri, 06 May 2011 20:30:00 +0000

May is National Foster Care Month...You Can Change a Lifetime!

Each May, National Foster Care Month provides an opportunity to shine a light on the experiences of the more than 400,000 children and youth in the foster care system. The campaign raises awareness about the urgent needs of these young people and encourages citizens from every walk of life to get involved – as foster or adoptive parents, volunteers, mentors, employers or in other ways.

With the help of dedicated people, many formerly abused or neglected children and teens will either reunite safely with their parents, be cared for by relatives or be adopted by loving families. Many children would not have to enter foster care at all if more states provided support and services to help families cope with crises early on.

Thanks to the many advocates, child welfare professionals, elected officials and support groups around the country, the total number of children in foster care has decreased over recent years. But more help is needed.

Every year, approximately 30,000 young people leave the foster care system without lifelong families – most at age 18. On their own, these young adults must navigate a weakened economy offering fewer jobs and less support for vital services such as housing. They need – and deserve – caring adults who love and support them.

We call on all Americans to join us in helping to change a lifetime of a child or youth in foster care. No matter who you are or how much time you have to give, you can help create permanent, lifelong connections for these children and youth.

All children — including the 424,000 American children and youth in foster care — deserve a safe, happy life. Young people in foster care especially need nurturing adults on their side because their own families are in crisis and unable to care for them.

Source: http://www.fostercaremonth.org/Pages/default.aspx

For more information on National Foster Care Month click here

Material Donations

noreply@blogger.com (Angels Foster Care of Santa Barbara) — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 22:10:00 +0000

Angels Foster Care receives regular inquires about the donation of material items. We appreciate the generosity of those in the community and are touched by how many people want to help! It does make a difference. Please read more to understand how we use material donations and what types of material donations we are able to accept.

Often times when children arrive to our foster homes they come with nothing. Through the support of donations, Angels is able to provide each foster family with a "placement kit" when they welcome a child who is in need into their home. This placement kit provides the family with some of the basic immediate needs so they don't have to rush out right away just to buy a onsie or a pack of diapers! Placement kits typically include a starter supply of:

Diapers

Wipes

Bottles

Clothing

Blankets

Burp Clothes

Swaddle Clothes

Organizations such as the Lions Club and the Assistance League have also donated car seats to Angels. This has allowed each of our families to have immediate access to a brand new, safe, and age appropriate car seat.

However, please note that material donations are accepted on a case by case basis and we limited in what we are able to accept. There are several reasons behind this:

1) State regulations require that the items that we provide to children under are care are new, so we are not able to accept used items.

2) Once a child is placed with an Angels family their foster parents are responsible for providing for their material needs. All foster parents do receive a fixed amount of financial assistance from the State in order to re-imburse some of the costs related to caring for a foster child. Truth be told, our homes are so great- most of the time are kiddos are showered with love and are probably some of the best dressed kids in town!

3) There is a lot of baby stuff out there and we have limited storage space in our offices!

We are ALWAYS accepting monetary donations, which make a tremendous impact in supporting children in need and supporting the work we do here at Angels Foster Care. Please go to this link if you wish to make an online donation http://www.angelssb.com/donate/index.htm.

Please continue to contact us if you are ever interested in making ANY type of donation! Different needs arise at different times and it can never hurt to ask!

Angels Foster care receives grant from Women’s Fund; Discovery Museum celebrates ‘National Kite Month

noreply@blogger.com (Angels Foster Care of Santa Barbara) — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 19:44:00 +0000

Recent Press in the Santa Maria Times. Click here.

We're so grateful for all of our donors! We wouldn't be here without your support!

National Child Abuse Prevention Month

noreply@blogger.com (Angels Foster Care of Santa Barbara) — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 22:24:00 +0000

Click this link to find out more about Child Abuse Prevention and what you can do!

Heaven on Earth 2011 Benefit

noreply@blogger.com (Angels Foster Care of Santa Barbara) — Fri, 04 Mar 2011 21:20:00 +0000

Below: Beautiful decor designed by Merryl Brown Events

Lovely Angels Graced the Event

Kerri Sanford, Vocalist

Celebrity Guest and Auctioneer, Andrew Firestone

Event chairwomen Michele White and Marsha Kotlyar pictured with Messina De Rose of Cadiz Restaurant

Meichelle Arntz, founder of Angels Foster Care of Santa Barbara, shares her story and explains the mission of Angels

Guests dined on incredible food prepared by Chef Gavin Parsons

Guests: Shamus Murphy and Ashley Dorris

Guests: Cameron Casey, Alia Aizenstat, Louise Casey, Nancy and Mike Casey

Guests: Sean Hecht and Blaine Lando

Guests: Valerie Lando, Jenny Hecht and Marsha Kotlyar

Thanks to the services of Merryl Brown, our awesome volunteers, Cadiz Restaurant, and everyone who came out to Heaven on Earth to support Angels Foster Care! There were many people involved in making this a successful event- we appreciate all of you!

For more on the event, click here: http://www.noozhawk.com/article/022211_angels_foster_care_benefit_event_pure_heaven_on_earth/

Angels Foster Care Benefit Event Pure ‘Heaven on Earth’ - Noozhawk.com

noreply@blogger.com (Angels Foster Care of Santa Barbara) — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 21:27:00 +0000

Angels Foster Care Benefit Event Pure ‘Heaven on Earth’ - Noozhawk.com

We are grateful to the many Angels who supported our first annual "Heaven on Earth" dinner and auction at Cadiz Restaurant in downtown Santa Barbara on February 11th...more than $50,000 was raised to support the Angels program! Click the link to see more!

Siblings

noreply@blogger.com (Angels Foster Care of Santa Barbara) — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 00:31:00 +0000

Many children in the foster care system have siblings. Angels Foster Care works specifically with very young children, but we often see sibling groups that fall within our age range of Zero- Five. The primary goal is to keep siblings together whenever possible. However, the devastating truth is that this is difficult. There aren't many homes that are open, or able, to take sibling groups. These children often wait longer in shelter care situations or eventually must be placed in separate homes. It always breaks our hearts when we have to turn down a sibling group or see them split up.

Granted, we know taking in two or three children is obviously twice or three times as hard as taking in one! It isn't for everyone, and that is OK. Accepting the placement of multiple children under the age of five instantly creates a very busy house. It is also requires adequate bedroom space and an extra dose of patience! On the flip side, there can be some unique perks too. Often times siblings are a tremendous source of comfort to one another during times of uncertainty. This can ease the transition into a new home. Also, there is an instant playmate- no outside arrangements required for a play date :) More than anything, think about the tremendous blessing it is for children to be able to keep their bond in tact and continue to grow their relationship together.

For more information on becoming a foster parent to a sibling group, please contact Angels Foster Care. Click here to visit our website and learn more about our program and requirements to become an Angels Foster Parent.

Santa Barbara County	Number

Under 1	20
Ages 1-2	82
Ages 3-5	104
Ages 6-10	140
Ages 11-15	151
Ages 16-20	76
Total Children in Foster Care	573