Did You Know
- 1 in 2 children in foster care have chronic medical problems unrelated to behavioral concerns
- Sadly, chronic conditions increase the likelihood of serious emotional problems
- Neglect is the #1 reason children are placed in foster care
- More than 14,000 children each year are at risk of leaving foster care without a family to call their own
The Facts are Staggering
- As of July 1, 2017, more than 60,000 children in California were in foster care.
- More than 100 times a day, a California child is placed in foster care.*
- On any day, Los Angeles County is home to more than 21,000 children in foster care, or 35% of the state total.*
These children have been removed from their homes due to abuse or neglect and have faced some of the most traumatizing events a child could endure. Children in the child welfare system need caring foster homes, and thousands of them need loving families to adopt them.
Like you, we could not turn our back on children facing the greatest challenges. Now, Wayfinder Family Services is part of the solution! Wayfinder has added the foster family and adoption programs of Concept 7. Through this merger, Wayfinder provides:
- Placement for children in foster homes with trained, carefully matched foster families that have room in their hearts and homes
- Assistance throughout the adoption process for parents who are giving a child in foster care a loving, permanent home
- Comprehensive support services for foster children and their caretaker families
- Counseling and case management for foster children reuniting with their natural families to ease the transition home
Wayfinder decided to expand our services because we could see the need in our own Children’s Residential Program. Children from the child welfare system entered our program with medical and mental health issues. They worked hard to stabilize and improve. But after six months to a year, many still had no foster family with whom they could be placed. They often lost hope.
Every Child Deserves the Chance to Be Loved
Now, Wayfinder can help these and other children find foster or permanent homes. With our medical expertise, we can train prospective parents to care for children who have medical conditions or behavioral issues. We can find families to love and nurture children who have been removed from their biological families.
Our new focus area builds on our founding belief that every child— regardless of circumstance—deserves the chance to thrive and to be loved. We welcome the children and families of Concept 7 as members of the Wayfinder family!
*Sources: California Child Welfare Indicators and Children’s Law Center
Read More Excerpts From the New Heights Newsletter: A Family Affair & Junior Blind Has A New Name
January 1, 2018