Resource Families Thrive

Foster care has many shared experiences- many are beautiful and wholesome, but at times there are moments when we can struggle with some of the processes involved. Placement decisions, adoption, and transitioning a child from one home to another are no exception. These are hard conversations but they are important as you explore the world of foster care. This month we did just that- shared our tho...

Greetings! This episode is extra special because we're celebrating National Adoption Month with the wonderful story of Matt and Melissa! We believe every family's journey is a story worth sharing, and we're so grateful they're sharing theirs with us. Their experience, like so many others, is a powerful reminder of the love and commitment that builds a family. It's real, it's heartfelt, and it perf...

One of the original intentions of the podcast was to introduce ourselves as an agency and the people who provide youth and families with support. We'll draw a topic and then discuss. This month we explored the unexpected- what were the things that surprised us about our work in foster care, what surprised us with our kids and families, and what have we learned about ourselves and each other along...

A new fiscal year brings new potential and new possibilities, but also gets us to reflect on our successes over the last 12 months. This year we celebrate our new programs, our permanency achievements, and the little wins (but really, is any win “little?”) all along the way. This episode we are joined by a couple members of leadership as we explore everything the last year held- and look to a brig...

In this episode we’re shining a light on sharing the voices of our LGBTQ+ staff and allies, their stories, hopes, struggles, and celebrations. Let us always find our pride, and remember wherever life takes you, we see you and we honor you every day. While these reflections are deeply personal, we also recognize they don’t capture all LGBTQ+ experiences. Each journey is unique, and every voice adds...

In past episodes we have talked about how disparities exist in foster care- minority and marginalized groups are a larger part of our foster care population than they should be. Part of this is because of those things people don't always realize they hold: implicit bias in particular. Erin Reynolds, Associate Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, joins us again to talk about how we as an a...

For the past few years we have talked a lot about two primary ways people can help children and families who are supported by different systems of care: providing foster care and mentoring. There are, of course, other ways that you could be involved in supporting your community- and one of those is through charitable giving. While people think about giving most around holidays, this is a year-roun...

Updated November of 2024! Welcome to Stanford Sierra Youth & Families' introductory episode of Resource Families Thrive! We hope you learn more about our agency, the people who will be working with families like yours, and how you can get involved to support youth and families in our communities! For more information please visit our website at SSYAF.ORG or give us a call at (916) 344-0199.

Research shows us that when a child or teen stays in their community, with people they already know, the impacts of entry into the foster care system are reduced. This is called Kinship Care, and is increasing in priority through legislation and policy changes. This month we're joined by Risha from our Family & Youth Partnership program, sharing her lived experience as a kinship caregiver. To lear...

This time of year is a great time to think back on what we have done in the Foster Care realm, and what we are looking forward to doing. Who better to explore with than our Program Director, Danielle Paminto? In this episode we discuss some of the driving factors behind our program and operations, and some of the upcoming changes to the foster care system as a whole. To learn more contact us at (9...

In the past we have talked about terms like “generational foster care,” and the ways cycles happen in our systems. Cycles of abuse, neglect, hurt feelings, loss, or grief. How do we break those cycles and replace them with something new- healing, love, family, or permanency? It is our great pleasure to be joined by Will Gabri, one of our Board Members, who shares his experiences from being a forme...

When a child or teen enters foster care they may feel a loss of voice or autonomy. A lot of decisions are made for them- where they live, maybe where they go to school, timelines for major events like reunification, adoption, or emancipation. To ensure youth always have a seat at the table and a voice, we have Youth Advocates who help them to advocate for themselves. To learn more about being a re...

In previous episodes we have discussed systemic disparities across systems of care. We know that young people of color, those from the lgbtq+ population, those with visible and invisible disabilities, and any other marginalized group may be overlooked, not receive the supports they really need, or have a harder time finding permanency with a supportive family. This month we are focusing on the ste...

Our previous program director used to say that social workers are Masters of Seeding and Watering (MSW). When a family is with us for a while and adding children to their families, what are we doing but helping a beautiful garden to grow? This foster care awareness month we are joined by Irik Edens, whose family has fostered and adopted children from the system and made sure each child's family of...

We receive many questions about what a home should look like or how to get it ready as someone goes through the Approval process. I think there is some nervousness- the question lingers "will my home make the cut?" That answer is Yes. Join us this month to learn a little bit more about what a home walkthrough can look like and some of the reasons why we have to do the things we do in pursuit of ap...

It is not uncommon for a family to ask about behavior of children in care, or say they'd like to find a child with "low or no behaviors." The question always arises: What does that actually mean? It is our hope that if we share with you what "behavior" looks like, and more importantly how a family can help a child to manage and learn through their behaviors, that they will feel more empowered to s...

A program like Pathways to Permanency needs a strong director to steer the ship. When we are supporting youth and families in their journeys to permanency, it's important to have someone able to look at the big picture as well as the individual impacts. We are lucky enough to have such a leader in our Program Director, Yuri Kimura. Today we get to hear her perspective on foster care and our progra...

We are always learning. We learn more about how to care for our youth, how to support our families, and how to support our pathways to permanency. The systems of care have learned that more youth are in need of various forms of support to get them through crises and learn new coping skills, and this means we need more families who will support those youth. Hear from three professionals who work wi...

January is National Mentoring Month which means it is time to celebrate another of our programs- Wonder! We have had a chance to sit down with several of the mentors (called Guides) before, but this time we had the opportunity to talk with some of their Coaches so we can teach you even more about how the program works and how- and why- you should get involved! For more information please call (916...

As we learn more about the needs of youth in foster care, our approach has changed and programs have grown. This growth has included new sub-programs which fall into this idea of taking your parenting and care to the next level- serving more complex needs and supporting permanency for youth who may otherwise face barriers to finding it. Join us as we talk to the staff members dedicated to helping...

It has been a little while since we posted a new episode; as we are working on new projects and developing new programs to introduce you to foster care and keep you updated on the changes to our program and the child welfare system as a whole, we also wanted to make sure to check in with you and remind you that we hope you are thriving. For more information please call us at 916-344-0199 or visit...

Pride month: A celebration of what a community has overcome. A chance to be free to be who you are. A chance to be colorful, to live out loud. And a chance to honor those who have come before us, those who will come after, and remember that not everyone has a safe place to celebrate themselves. Thank you for joining us this month as we talk about inspiring pride.

Many foster carers and social workers have worked with youth whose stories mirror that of Ma'Khia Bryant. Her life was important. She was special. We hope we can honor her and those like her. We are lucky enough to be joined by Amnoni Myers, Resource Family Training Specialist, who was gracious enough to share the parallels between Ma'Khia's story and her own. Who she was and what she experienced...

May is Foster Care Awareness Month! Part 1: Our goal in Recruitment and Outreach is to support you in making informed decisions: getting involved with foster care is a selfless decision and a big change to your life. Our hope is that by getting your questions early on, we can help you along your journey of understanding and education. This month our guests asked some of the most frequently asked q...

Communication is the key in any relationship, and one of the most important parts of that is understanding the other person. How can you know you understand their message? By showing them; by using active listening skills you are demonstrating that your relationship with them matters, that you care about what they are saying and how they are feeling. You are naming emotions and working out the iss...