Allies for Every Child

Category: News

  • Our Commitment to Children Endures

    Dear Allies Community,

    This election week has been heartbreaking. While Allies for Every Child is a non-partisan organization, we remain staunchly committed to fighting for policies that allow us to advance our mission of ensuring all children have the childhood they need and deserve. There are now policies on the table that, if enacted, would have grave consequences for our Allies community and our collective freedoms, safety and stability: mass deportations; abandonment of the longstanding bipartisan commitment to Early Head Start; threats to LGBTQ+ rights (over 30% of youth in foster care identify as LGBTQ+, cite homophobia/transphobia as the #1 reason they were kicked out of their homes, and too often continue to face the same bigotry once they’re in foster care); and loss of reproductive healthcare, to name just a few. Thank you to every single one of you who share these values and embrace our common humanity.

    And to our incredible Allies staff, thank you. I am so moved by the way you all show up for children and families every day—your unwavering belief in every child’s worth and value is at the heart of our work. 85% of Allies staff are people of color; some of us are also members of the LGBTQ+ community; and many of our own stories are rooted in and tied to the systems we help our clients navigate every day: immigration, foster care/child welfare, homelessness, etc. At a post-election staff gathering, many shed tears fueled by grief and anger, but by the end of the discussion, our sense of shared purpose and connected resolve kicked in. We know there’s even more uncertainty for the children and families we serve, and we will be here for them.

    We will not be demoralized. We know how to do this: we know how to nurture children, support parents, and help families navigate difficult times. This agency has been standing with children and families for nearly 40 years, and Allies for Every Child continues to stand with and for each of you as we make our way through this next chapter together. We know our vital services will be more necessary than ever in the months and years ahead—whether it’s critical mental health services to address trauma, support from our social workers and teachers, guidance from teams led by our pediatric occupational therapist, public health nurse, and nutritionist, or assistance with housing, job training and educational attainment.

    At the end of this heartbreaking week, purpose and community is the salve. We’re in this together—staff, families, and supporters who have been with us through the years. Now’s not the time to give up or back down, and we so appreciate you for being in this fight with us.

    Thank you for being an Ally,
    Heather Carrigan
    President & CEO, Allies for Every Child

  • Foster Care Insurance Crisis

    Foster Care Insurance Crisis

    Foster Family Agencies (FFAs) like Allies are a vital lifeline for children and youth in foster care, providing safe and loving homes for as long as they need until they can reunify with family, or creating forever families through adoption when they cannot. Despite this critical, ongoing need, recent changes in California law increased liability to FFAs, causing the company providing insurance for 90% of agencies in the state to announce they will not renew policies upon their expiration. While Allies’ coverage remains secure, we recognize the urgency of this industry-wide issue and are proactively advocating with elected officials and our State- and County-level partners at the CA Alliance of Child and Family Services and the Association of Community Human Service Agencies to find a sustainable solution.

    Allies’ CEO, Heather Carrigan, recently submitted public comment to the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors to underline this need:

    Allies for Every Child has served youth in foster care for nearly 40 years, since our start as a foster care agency in 1987. While our work has evolved over time to also emphasize a host of strategies designed to prevent child welfare system involvement, we know that there’s still a vital need for foster and adoptive parents to care for kids who aren’t safe at home. Thanks to our unique approach, our foster family agency (FFA) has a single-placement permanency rate of 93% compared to the County and State permanency rates of 33%.

    We carefully recruit, train, and support loving foster and adoptive parents who understand the needs of children in the foster care system and share our commitment to ensuring every child has the childhood they deserve. We intentionally seek culturally affirming families, families of color and LGBTQ+ families who reflect the diversity of the children and youth who are overrepresented in foster care; we also find families who are committed to keeping siblings together and parenting older youth.

    Allies’ unique multidisciplinary expertise and programs enable us to support foster youth and families in ways that the County simply cannot. Our staff includes licensed clinical professionals (pediatric occupational therapists, early childhood mental health therapists, nutritionists, public health nurses, etc.) who understand the traumatic impacts of childhood instability and being moved from home to home. Allies provides therapeutic support groups to children and families (directly with Allies clinicians and through our partnership with UCLA TIES for Families), educational advocacy, healthcare access, regional center services advocacy, and high-quality early education. Through our community partnerships with other organizations, we connect children and families to additional resources that support them with food and housing insecurity, substance abuse, domestic violence, etc.

    LA’s foster care system is the largest in the country—the loss of FFAs would directly increase the already unacceptable levels of instability and trauma faced by children and youth in this system. We know that children and youth who linger in foster care without the support, consistency, and unwavering commitment of a family face unacceptable odds and an incredibly high risk of homelessness.

    Thank you, Supervisor Barger and Supervisor Horvath, for introducing this motion urging the County to explore all possible solutions to this crisis. I ask that you use whatever resources you have available to urgently identify and implement short- and long-term solutions to prevent thousands of children from the threat of losing the reliable, high-quality professional support they depend on and from being separated from yet another home.

  • Annual Early Education Data Walk!

    Annual Early Education Data Walk!

    Earlier this summer, over 50 Allies staff convened for our second annual Early Education Data Walk during pre-service week at our Early Education Center. This training—facilitated by our evaluation team—helps frame the impact of our daily work here at Allies. This year’s data focus areas included mental health outcomes, school readiness outcomes, health and nutrition supports for families, family wellbeing outcomes, and child development outcomes. Thank you to everyone who participated—you are the Allies difference!

    Allies for Every Child Early Education Data Walk 2024

    Allies for Every Child Early Education Data Walk 2024

    Allies for Every Child Early Education Data Walk 2024

    Allies for Every Child Early Education Data Walk 2024

    Allies for Every Child Early Education Data Walk 2024

    Allies for Every Child Early Education Data Walk 2024

    Allies for Every Child Early Education Data Walk 2024

    Allies for Every Child Early Education Data Walk 2024

    Allies for Every Child Early Education Data Walk 2024

    Allies for Every Child Early Education Data Walk 2024

  • Guaranteed Income Summit

    Guaranteed Income Summit

    Allies staff was excited to participate in the LA County Guaranteed Income Summit last week. Thank you to the Center for Strategic Partnerships, the County’s Poverty Alleviation Initiative, and the City’s Community Investment For Families Department for organizing this inspiring and informative event! The summit included a gallery walk highlighting the results of over 10 guaranteed income pilots in LA County, and speakers included policymakers, philanthropists, researchers, and data experts who have championed guaranteed income programs nationwide. Lots of powerful insights were shared—including how for families, guaranteed income led to huge investments in their children. Some major takeaways included:

    • There’s a deep need for a functional safety net for former foster youth, who face overwhelming rates of poverty and homelessness when they age out of the system. The average annual income of people who participated in the initial Breathe program was under $15K—for former foster youth, it was $9K, and a third of these young adults were parents themselves.
    • For families in the City’s BIG:LEAP guaranteed income program, researchers found that when parents face less economic stress, they invest in their children. Parents who participated in the program were significantly more likely to keep their children enrolled in enrichment and extracurricular activities, and they reported a lower likelihood of eating less due to financial constraints.
    • We also know that poverty itself hinders child development. Infants whose mothers received a $333/monthly stipend through the Baby’s First Years study had more brain activity associated with stronger cognitive development.

    At this week’s Board of Supervisors meeting, Supervisor Holly Mitchell introduced a motion to expand the County’s Guaranteed Income Breathe program to youth in foster care. Over 2,000 foster youth ages 18-21 will receive $500/month for 18 months as a result of this expansion, set to start this fall. Stay tuned for more details at https://ceo.lacounty.gov/pai/breathe/.

     

  • Celebrating Week of the Young Child

    Celebrating Week of the Young Child

    Allies was excited to celebrate Week of the Young Child this year with all of our little learners! We started off with Music Monday, where children sang, danced, and played with music instruments; Tasty Tuesday was a chance to try favorite fruits in a variety of colors; on Work Together Wednesday, students built tall towers together; then the week ended with outdoor art projects and creative expression. Through all these activities, children in our high-quality early education programs developed their language and early literacy skills, learned about nutrition and healthy eating habits, improved their social skills through team-building play, and expressed their creativity through arts and crafts.

    Allies for Every Child Week of the Young Child-Music MondayAllies for Every Child Week of the Young Child-Music MondayAllies for Every Child Week of the Young Child-Tasty TuesdayAllies for Every Child Week of the Young Child-Work Together WednesdayAllies for Every Child Week of the Young Child-Outdoor ArtAllies for Every Child Week of the Young Child-Outdoor Art

  • First 0–5 Policy for Child Welfare Staff in the Country

    First 0–5 Policy for Child Welfare Staff in the Country

    Thanks to long-term advocacy efforts and partnership between Allies for Every Child’s Chief Program Officer, Adriana Molina, and the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS), we’re proud to highlight Allies’ role in the creation of the first 0–5 Policy for child welfare staff in the U.S.

    Allies was initially founded as a foster care agency, and our work has evolved over time to also include a host of strategies designed to prevent child welfare system involvement by fighting poverty, supporting families, and promoting healthy social-emotional development for all kids (particularly during the foundational years of 0–5). We know that children aged birth to 5 face an elevated risk of maltreatment and entry into the foster care system. As an organization that recognizes the importance of healthy brain development and its impact on children’s life outcomes, we are committed to promotion, prevention, and intervention services for all children and their families.

  • Durfee Foundation Recognizes Allies CEO

    Durfee Foundation Recognizes Allies CEO

    Allies is proud to have our own CEO Heather Carrigan recognized for her leadership and excellence in the field by The Durfee Foundation as a ’23-24 Durfee Sabbatical Fellow. As a fellow, Heather will be taking a spring sabbatical to reflect on all that Allies for Every Child has accomplished, and renew her focus for the agency’s journey ahead. The Allies team is prepared to continue providing the highest quality services for our children and families during this time, and looks forward to welcoming her back ready to tackle new challenges after this well-deserved period of rest.

  • Season’s Greetings

    Season’s Greetings

    Happy Holidays from Allies for Every Child
    Allies for Every Child wishes you and yours a Happy Holiday season! We recently held a Winter Festival to celebrate with arts and crafts, refreshments, toy giveaways, raffle prizes, and more. Thank you to all our supporters, volunteers, and sponsors!

    There’s still time to make Allies a part of your holiday giving—donate here.

  • LA Emergency Renters Assistance – Apply by October 2!

    LA Emergency Renters Assistance – Apply by October 2!

    United to House Los Angeles Emergency Renters Assistance Program (ULA ERAP)

     

    Emergency rental assistance for Los Angeles residents who have been impacted by COVID-19 or other financial hardship is available now. Information on eligibility and how to apply is available online, over the phone, and in person at intake office locations. For more information please visit housing.lacity.org.

    How can Angelenos apply?

    • Call the Los Angeles Housing Department Hotline (888) 379-3150 Monday to Friday from 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM
    • Call the “We Are LA” hotline at 213-584-1808 Monday to Friday from 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM, and Saturdays from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM
    • Visit housing.lacity.org to apply online 24/7 until October 2, 2023
    • Visit housing.lacity.org for information on in-person intake office locations
    • For questions about the program, visit housing.lacity.org
  • Early Education Data Walk

    Early Education Data Walk

    We recently held our first Early Education Data Walk to close out Pre-Service Week at the Center. Scroll down for some highlights from a very fun, data-filled afternoon (complete with sparkling cider and popcorn)! Focus areas included Enrollment, Engagement and Retention; Integrated Mental Health Supports for Families Enrolled in Early Education; Family Wellbeing Outcomes; School Readiness Outcomes; and Child Development Outcomes. Thank you to all of the Allies who participated!

    Allies for Every Child Early Education Data Walk Allies for Every Child Early Education Data Walk Allies for Every Child Early Education Data Walk Allies for Every Child Early Education Data Walk Allies for Every Child Early Education Data Walk Allies for Every Child Early Education Data Walk Allies for Every Child Early Education Data Walk Allies for Every Child Early Education Data Walk Allies for Every Child Early Education Data Walk Allies for Every Child Early Education Data Walk

  • Guaranteed Income Program for Former Foster Youth in LA

    Guaranteed Income Program for Former Foster Youth in LA

    Breathe LA County's Guaranteed Income Program

    Starting today through July 3, LA County’s Guaranteed Income Program, Breathe, is accepting applications from young adults (ages 21–23) who were in foster care on or after their 18th birthday. 200 young adults will receive $1,000 per month for two years through this program. To learn more and apply, visit ceo.lacounty.gov/pai/breathe (English) or ceo.lacounty.gov/pai/respira (Español).

  • Celebrating Juneteenth!

    Celebrating Juneteenth!

    Juneteenth: A Day of Recognition, Restoration, Celebration

    Today, Allies honors and celebrates Juneteenth (also known as Freedom Day or Emancipation Day).

    You can check out a Juneteenth reading list for young readers at https://nmaahc.si.edu/juneteenth-digital-toolkit. “The significance of Juneteenth is…part of a continuum of moments where African Americans have advocated for their full participation in American citizenship and commanded the maintenance of the memory of our history and culture in the face of resistance and racism.” – Angela Tate, Museum Curator of Women’s History at the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture