DISCUSSION
A barrier for potential families and relatives seeking to care for a foster child is the lack of access to child care immediately following the removal of the child. With the passage of Senate Bill 89, resource families that have a child placed with them in an emergency or for a compelling reason are eligible to receive a time-limited monthly voucher for child care and the support of a child care navigator.
The Bridge Program aims to increase the number of foster children successfully placed in home-based family care settings, increase capacity of child care programs to meet the needs of foster children in their care, and maximize funding to support the child care needs of eligible families. In addition, child care providers serving children in the Child Care Bridge Program (Bridge Program) will be provided with trauma-informed care training and coaching.
The Bridge Program consists of three components:
- Emergency child care voucher: Eligible families may receive a time-limited child care voucher to help pay for child care costs for foster children birth through age 12, children with exceptional needs, and severely disabled children up to age 21.
- Child care navigator: The local Child Care Resource and Referral Program, operated by SCOE, will provide a child care navigator to eligible families. The navigator will assist with finding a child care provider, securing a subsidized child care placement if eligible, completing child care program applications, and developing a plan for long-term child care appropriate to the child’s age and needs.
- Trauma-informed care training and coaching: Child care programs participating in the Bridge Program will receive access to trauma-informed care training. The training includes, but is not limited to, infant and toddler development and research-based, trauma-informed care practices. Child care providers will also receive access to coaching to assist them in applying training curriculum and learned strategies for working with children in foster care.
Since August 1998, SCOE has been consistently providing quality services to Shasta County families. As a sole source, SCOE currently operates the only State recognized local Child Care Resource and Referral Program and maintains a well-established network of child care providers. Though the Bridge Program is a new service, SCOE has been successfully providing similar child care resources to support families participating in the CalWORKs program for many years.
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