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Resources. Helpful resources for foster parents

Topics

Emergency
Adoption
Common Disorders
Child Development
Child Welfare
Legal
Miscellaneous
Medical
Mental Health
Resource Centers

Emergency

Child Abuse (What is Child Abuse?)

Santa Clara County - Child Abuse Reporting Hotline (24 Hours) 408-299-2071
(and to reach Social Worker regarding after hours emergencies)
Info

San Mateo County - The Child Abuse Hotline 650-595-7922.
Child Protective Services is a 24 hour service provided on behalf of children in San Mateo County who are newborn to age 18 and alleged to be the victims of child abuse, neglect, or exploitation.
Info


Mental Health Emergency

Santa Clara County -

Eastfield Ming Quong (EMQ) Crisis Team 408-379-9085
24 hr mobile response, can come to home to stabilize a mental health crisis and assess if psychiatric hold needed. Provides crisis de-escalation, 5150 evaluations, and referrals for children (up to ages 17) and their families
www.emq.org

Emergency Psychiatric Services (EPS) 408.885.6100
Operated by the Acute Psychiatric Services Division of Valley Medical Center (VMC) EPS is the only 24 -hour locked emergency psychiatric room in Santa Clara County.
871 Enborg Lane
San Jose 95128

San Mateo County -

Mental Health 24-Hour ACCESS
Primary entry point to mental health services for all adults and for children
Voice: 800-686-0101
TDD: 800-943-2833


Suicide and Crisis

Santa Clara County - 24-Hour Suicide & Crisis Hotline:
SACS is a 24-hour, 7 day-a-week telephone hotline for Santa Clara County. Trained volunteers assist people who are feeling suicidal or in a crisis and need to talk to someone. Multi-lingual counselors are available. Service is free.
408-279-3312 Central County
650-494-8420 North County
408-683-2482 South County

San Mateo County - YFA Crisis Intervention & Suicide Prevention Center
San Mateo - Daly City 650-692-6655
Belmont - East Palo Alto 650-368-6655
Coastside 650-726-6655
From anywhere 800-SUICIDE
http://www.crisiscenter.cc

Adoption

The North American Council on Adoptable Children operates an Adoption Subsidy Resource Center that provides profiles on each state's subsidy programs, including definitions of special needs, other eligibility criteria and contact representatives. www.nacac.org/adoptionsubsidy.html
For California, see www.nacac.org/stateprofiles/california.html.
See also their information on U.S. tax credit for adoptive families www.nacac.org/pub_taxcredit.html.

Santa Clara County Adoption Services 408.975.5119
www.santaclaraadoption.org

Adoption.com General information source and discussion forums regarding foster care and adopting. www.fosterparenting.com

Adoptive Families, the online adoption and parenting guide, has provided trusted adoption information and inspiration to families for over 30 years. www.adoptivefamilies.com
Common Disorders

FASD - Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Disorders (What is FASD?)

www.sbi.org
Severe Brain Injury
www.via.com
VIA Rehabilitation
www.fasstar.com
Fetal Alcohol Syndrome: Support, Training, Advocacy, and Resources

Santa Clara Valley Health & Hospital System Department of Alcohol & Drug Services (DADS). DADS provides a full range of substance abuse treatment services for women and teens. 1-800-488-9919.

Attachment Disorder

Nancy Thomas therapeutic parenting specialist and founder of Nancy Thomas Parenting a not-for-profit service organization offering information and resources on attachment disorder as well as Families by Design, an organization providing educational materials and seminars. http://www.attachment.org

Daniel Hughes, Ph.D has specialized in the treatment of children who manifest serious deficits in their emotional, cognitive, and behavioral development, and at the same time demonstrate considerable difficulty establishing and maintaining secure attachment relationships. Dr. Hughes' treatment is family based and focused on facilitating the child's ability to establish a secure attachment with his/her caregivers. http://danielahughes.homestead.com/

Foster Cline, M.D. psychiatrist and physician, author of many books on parenting and dealing with troubled children and their families. Parenting with Love and Logic and Parenting Teens with Love and Logic are among the nation's best selling parenting books, and have been translated into six foreign languages. Founder of Love & Logic which provides training materials that teach the unique Love and Logic approach to raising children. http://www.netw.com/fostercline/?page=home and http://www.loveandlogic.com/

Deborah Hage is a lecturer, author, therapist and therapeutic foster mother. She lectures nationwide and in Canada on bonding and attachment as well as techniques which, when added to normal parenting styles, have a positive effect on children who are behaviorally problematic. Her presentations include information on how to make it more fun to be a parent and to make children more fun to be around, as well as when to hang on and when to let go, "Parenting With Pizazz". www.deborahhage.com

Parent Chlid Connection is a network of peer support and educational and therapeutic resources for families who have children with attachment disorder. The group meets the third Thursday of every month at 6:30 PM at Help One Child. More Info or Directions

ATTACh Association for Treatment and Training in the Attachment of Children. ATTACh recognizes and promotes healthy attachment and its critical importance to human development. An educator and promotor of attachment theory and services, ATTACh is an association of professionals and families who care about healthy attachment and are dedicated to helping those with attachment difficulties. www.attach.org

Dr. Steven Gray is a pediatric neuropsychologist who specializes in early childhood maltreatment. He brings unique humor and help to serious issues including children suffering from symptoms of early trauma. He offers expertise in a range of treatment options, including neurofeedback and when medications are recommended. Dr. Gray is the author of several books including The Maltreated Child: Finding What Lurks Beneath and Motivating Marvin: Helping Your Bright Underachiever Succeed in School. www.grayneuro.com

Holly vanGuilden is a therapist, author and parent by both birth and adoption, and an expert in ways parents can build trust and develop healthy attachments with their children. Holly is the co-director of the Adoptive Family Counseling Center in Minneapolis. She has co-authored the popular book Real Parents, Real Children: Parenting the Adopted Child.

Nancy Verrier is the well known author of The Primal Wound and more recently, Coming Home to Self: The Adopted Child Grows Up. Nancy is a mother by birth and by adoption. Her extensive career, as a therapist working with adoped children, adoptive parents, and birth parents that have relinquished children for adoption, makes her a tremendous resource for all those who compose the adoption triad. www.nancyverrier.com

Local Attachment Disorder Specialists:

Dr. Don Williams and Linda Ikeda
Please Email Help One Child for their contact information.

Child Development Resources

The I Am Your Child Foundation is a national, non-profit, non-partisan organization that was founded in 1997 by actor/director Rob Reiner to raise awareness about the importance of early childhood development and school readiness. IAYC develops a wide variety of resources for parents, early childhood professionals, child advocates, health care providers, policymakers and the media. www.Iamyourchild.org

SchwabLearning.org is "a parent's guide to helping kids with learning difficulties". This is a free website for parents of children with learning and attention problems. Sparktop.org is a free website created for the kids (age 8-12).

Child Welfare Resources

Overview of Child Welfare - Adapted from Santa Clara County's parent's guide to child welfare system.

Foster Parent Questions - Questions to ask when you consider taking a foster child.

Terms - Glossary of child welfare system terms compiled by the Santa Clara County Social Services Agency

Care Givers and the Courts - a brief legal overview of the dependency process explains how to have the greatest chance of being heard by the court.

Team Decision Making - New Child Welfare Procedure Information

Legal Resources

Legal Advocates for Permanent Parenting (LAPP) Legal information and support services for caregivers, youth, social workers, attorneys and others needing assistance in ensuring permanent placements of children from social service systems in California. Good source for information on navigating the system, including guardianships, de facto parenting, educational processes, legal status and court motions. Contact: LAPP Staff, 650.712.1442. www.lapponline.org

Santa Clara County DA Office (represents children) 408.299.2203
www.santaclara-da.org

Miscellaneous Resources

Parents Helping Parents PHP serves children who need special services by providing information, training, and support to their families, the professionals who serve them, and the communities in which they live. www.php.com

Court Appointed Child Advocates Office (CASA)

Child Advocates of Silicon Valley (Serving Santa Clara County 1-800-342-7480 www.cadvocates.org

Advocates For Children (Serving San Mateo County) 650-212-4423 www.advocatesfc.org

Santa Clara County Independent Living Program 408.975.5841 www.youthhelp.org

Jeremiah's Promise is dedicated to solving the underlying problems of emancipated foster youth who "age out" of the foster care system at age 18 and into homelessness, poverty and hopelessness. In a transitional, residential setting, we empower these youth to become self-sufficient in a comprehensive program including mentoring, academic support, counseling, leadership development and employment training in an environment of unconditional love and respect. www.jeremiahspromise.org

Phoenix Data Center is a not-for-profit organization that maintains an index of free and low income services offered throughout Santa Clara County and its neighboring communities. www.phoenixdatacenter.org

Stuff-4-Kids is a web based community for foster/adoptive families established because there was a need to have a place that parents, organizations, agencies, and/or social workers would be able to network. The site features online postings to match donations with needs, a message board and listing of resource organizations. www.stuff-4-kids.org

Adoption Clubhouse is a unique adoption website for children ages 8 - 13. www.adoptionclubhouse.org

Medical Resources

Medi-Cal Authorization: 1.800.704.0900
to request authorization and schedule appointment
www.medi-cal.ca.gov

Santa Clara County

Child Health and Disability Prevention Program: 408-299-6158
for help locating doctors and dentists who accept Medi-Cal
CHDP Online

Santa Clara County Public Health Nursing
645 S. Bascom Avenue
San Jose, CA 95128 (County: Santa Clara) MapQuest
Phone: 408-885-2100
Fax: 408-885-2134
Services are offered Monday-Friday, 8:00 am-5:00 pm. All county residents are eligible for services but priority is for high risk, medically fragile maternal and child clients. Infants 0-36 months of age who are at risk of becoming developmentally delayed, abused, neglected or of failure to thrive because of biological, environmental and/or psychosocial factors will be accepted for PHN services. These services include assessment, education, emotional support, referral, case management and interagency coordination.

There are several Public Health Nursing offices to serve you:
Nursing Administration 408-885-2100
Downtown West East Valley 408-299-6120 408-251-2760
Fairoaks Josefa Narvaez 408-732-3720 408-299-4305
South County Milpitas 408-683-4697 408-262-9139

Santa Clara Valley Medical Center
and its branch clinics 1.888.334.1000 or 408.885.5000
751 S. Bascom Avenue
San Jose, California 95128
(will see child without Medi-Cal)
www.scvmed.org

Foster Child Specialist: Dr. Clyne
Valley Health Center (see above)

Valley Health Center- San Martin 408.686.3800
90 Highland Avenue
San Martin, CA 95046
Info

Valley Health Center-East Valley 408. 251.2760
1993 McKee Rd.
San Jose, CA 95116
Info

Chaboya Clinic 408.494.7400
2410 Senter Road
San Jose, CA 95111
Info

Stanford scheduling and appointment line 1.800.381.2155

Women Infants and Children Program (WIC): provides formula for eligible babies and young children. Ask for locations near you.
County Health WIC: 408.792.5101
Compre Care: WIC 408.254.5197
WIC Online

Mental Health

National Institute of Mental Health works to improve mental health through biomedical research on mind, brain, and behavior. They have published a booklet on Treatment of Children with Mental Disorders which answers to frequently asked questions about the treatment of mental disorders in children -- and includes a medications chart. It is available online (http://www.nimh.nih.gov/publicat/childqa.cfm) and as a PDF.

Fair Oaks Mental Health Center 408.992.4800
660 South Fairoaks Avenue
Sunnyvale, CA 94086
Info

Victim Witness Assistance Center: 408.975.5356 or 408.295.2656 finds therapy for victimized children & caretakers
www.victim.org

Emergency Psychiatric Services (EPS) 408.885.6100
Operated by the Acute Psychiatric Services Division of Valley Medical Center (VMC) EPS is the only 24 -hour locked emergency psychiatric room in Santa Clara County.
871 Enborg Lane
San Jose 95128

Systems of Care In-Home Mental Health Services:

Eastfield Ming Quong (EMQ) Children and Family Services
Client Services: 408.379.3796
www.emq.org

Gardner Health Center 408.998.8925
195 East Virginia St.
San Jose, CA 95110
Info



Resource Centers

Santa Clara County

There are 5 Family Resource Centers in Santa Clara. They have support groups and counseling for: family violence problems, drug and alcohol abuse, how to be a good parent, how to keep kids away from gangs, how to discipline your child, and how to take care of sick children.
Online Information.

Asian Pacific Family Resource Center
625 F Wool Creek Dr.,
San Jose, CA 95112
(408) 299-1500

Gilroy Family Center - DFCS Community Office
8833 Monterey Rd
Gilroy, CA 95020
(408) 846-4400

San Martin Family Center - DFCS Community Office
80 West Highland Ave.,
San Martin, CA 95046
(408) 686-8711

Nuestra Casa Family Resource Center
1998 Alum Rock Avenue
San Jose, CA 95116
(408)729-2317

Ujirani Family Resource Center
591 N King Rd Suite #1
San Jose, CA 95133
(408) 452-6560

Resource Center (Foster and Adoptive Parents Association) 408.975.5213
Information and referals, classes for foster, adoptive, and kinship families, mandated training education (conintued eduacation), special events, meeting space (for support groups)

San Mateo County

NORTHERN REGION

FUTURES - Bayshore Family Resource Center
155 Oriente St., Rm. 11, Daly City
(650) 301-8828

FUTURES - Ben Franklin Family Resource Center
700 Stewart St., Rm. 41, Colma
(650) 301-8845

FUTURES - Jefferson Family Resource Center
6996 Mission St., Rm. 600, Daly City
(650) 301-8836

FUTURES - John F. Kennedy Family Resource Center
785 Price St., Rm. 25, Daly City
(650) 301-8820

Daly City Youth Center
2778-2780 Junipero Serra Blvd., Daly City
(650) 991-2240
www.dalycityyouth.org

SOUTHERN REGION

Connect Family Resource Center
Green Oaks Academy
2450 Ralmar Ave., East Palo Alto
(650) 617-1400

Hoover School
Family Resource Center
701 Charter St., Rm. 403, Redwood City
(650) 482-5925

Hoover Portable
Family Resource Center
630 Laurel St., Suite A, Redwood City
(650) 361-8730

Family Support Center of the Mid-Peninsula
1798B Bay Rd., East Palo Alto
(650) 322-1821


COASTSIDE REGION

Cabrillo Unified School District
School Linked Services
Family Resource Center
498 Kelly Ave., Half Moon Bay
(650) 712-7182

Half Moon Bay High School
Family Resource Center
Lewis Foster Dr., Half Moon Bay
(650) 712-7205


Pescadero Elementary and Middle School
Family Resource Center
620 N St., Pescadero
(650) 879-1685
Pescadero High School/Healthy Start
Family Resource Center
350 Butano Cutoff Rd., Pescadero
(650) 879-1685