News
Help Youth Find Stability and Love
BizSpotlight Press Release - Sacramento
For 125 years, Stanford Sierra Youth & Families has been transforming lives by connecting youth with loving, stable families. Right now, there’s an urgent need for foster parents, especially for teens who need a safe home, guidance, and the chance to build a bright future. Could you be the one to make a difference?
People on the Move
Sacramento Business Journal Celebrates Women’s History Month in Sacramento
Celebrating 125 Years of serving youth! Since 1900, Stanford Sierra Youth & Families has been committed to ensuring every young person thrives. Under CEO Dr. Laura Heintz’s leadership since 2012, the agency expanded sites to 7 Northern California counties, supporting nearly 8,000 youth and families this year. Success is possible thanks to dedicated staff, volunteers, and families who open their hearts to children in need. As the agency marks this milestone, its mission remains stronger than ever.
Champions for Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion
Sacramento Business Journal Award Recepient
We’re honored to be recognized as a DEI Champion by the Sacramento Business Journal! This award reflects our commitment to fostering inclusivity, advocating for equity, and driving meaningful change in the communities we serve. Thank you to everyone who helps make this work possible!
Join Audacy in Delivering Christmas to the Youth We Serve
Bringing holiday joy to the youth we serve! Join us in Delivering Christmas with 102.5 KSFM and help make this season extra special for our incredible kids.
Celebrating Resilience and Belonging in Adoption
Adoption transforms lives, building connections that foster resilience and a sense of belonging. In this heartfelt piece, the Catalyst Center celebrates National Adoption Month by sharing a story of perseverance, love, and the powerful bonds formed at Stanford Sierra Youth & Families. Explore the inspiring narratives that showcase the beauty and strength of adoption journeys.
Understanding ICWA and Celebrating Native American Culture
The history of the indigenous peoples of North America is a complex story, often told from the perspective of European settlers. It’s important to keep perspective in mind. To understand the history of the individual and collective experiences of Native Americans, both past and present, is to recognize that it is a story full of hardship, grief, trauma, and forced assimilation. With that, also comes a deeply rich story of pride, community, spirituality, love, and resilience.
Celebrating Dee Hartzog
Our Inaugural Champion for Children Lifetime Achievement Award Honoree
We are thrilled to announce that Dee Hartzog has been selected as the very first recipient of our Champion for Children Lifetime Achievement Award. This award, which will become an ongoing tradition, is our way of honoring those who have made a lasting impact on our mission through years of dedicated support and service.
Empowering Youth
SSYAF & Sutter Health's School Based Mental Health Partnership
In Sacramento and Yolo County, where the need for comprehensive mental health support is undeniable, Stanford Sierra Youth & Families (SSYAF) has emerged as a beacon of hope. Through a transformative partnership with Sutter Health, SSYAF has extended its reach to provide vital School Based Mental Health Services, directly addressing the urgent needs of students in Sacramento City Unified School and Washington Unified School District.
Celebrating Foster Care Awareness Month
A Heartfelt Thank You to Dignity Health for Sponsoring Our 2024 Family Picnic
We are thrilled to express our heartfelt gratitude to Dignity Health for sponsoring our 2024 Family Picnic! This event is more than just a day of fun—it is a vital celebration of our incredible resource families and a cornerstone of Foster Care Awareness Month. This May, we came together to champion a vision where all children thrive in committed, permanent, and nurturing families, supported by their communities and enhanced by trauma-informed services.
Career Pathways Continues to Help Students Enter the Workforce
DHCS Announces MIP, Round 2, Awards
We’re excited to receive this grant award for our Career Pathways program! Our internship program continues to build behavioral health champions at the educational partner institutions we serve, and builds a pipeline for students to enter the field with knowledge, skills, and employment offers after their internship.
Ebony Chambers McClinton, Chief Officer of Equity and Partnership
Sacramento Business Journal's 2023 DEI Awards honorees
Join us in congratulating this year’s Champions for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. Now in its second year, the Business Journal’s DEI Awards program honors the individuals and organizations in the region that have demonstrated a commitment to promoting a more diverse and equitable community.
A Strategic Partnership that Supports Local Youth and Families
Sacramento State University
Sacramento State University and Stanford Sierra Youth & Families (Stanford Sierra) have formed a strategic partnership for over five years. Both entities have a common vision of improving the well-being and quality of life for vulnerable youth and their families in the community. Stanford Sierra supports the entire family with professional treatment and compassionate care, so every youth has the opportunity to thrive at home, in school, and in the community.
Capital Region Cares Community Spotlight
Comstock’s Magazine
During May, which is National Foster Care Month, we want to bring awareness to the need for safe and nurturing homes for youth in care over the age of 10. These young people never outgrow the need for a loving family. Through our Pathway to Permanency program, older children are connected to a family that can provide a sense of stability, lasting connections, and guidance.
Congratulations to our very own Chief Equity & Partnership Officer, Ebony Chambers McClinton!
2023 Innovative Program Award
Ebony Chambers McClinton was selected to receive the 2023 Innovative Program Award in recognition of outstanding Family and Youth Partnership programs committed to supporting those in need of service from the California Mental Health Advocates for Children and Youth (CMHACY).
National Shortage of Mental Health Therapists
CBS 13 News - Sacramento
Our hope is to replicate the goal of empowering youth and ensuring that families have voice and choice in service delivery across the nation.
Striving for Permanency and Empowerment of Families
As Seen In Forbes, Fortune & Entrepreneur Magazine
SSYAF serves over 6,000 youth and families annually throughout 17 counties. The ultimate goal is that every child thrives. How that happens is empowerment, a sense of belonging, and skill building. Family permanency is woven into all of our work. Read the article here.
A History and Commitment to Permanency and Development
Comstock's Magazine Capitol Region Cares
Over the span of SSYAF’s 120-plus-year history, the organization has transitioned from an orphanage to a community-based organization focused on ensuring every young person has a family and the tools to overcome their challenges and become healthy, happy and successful. Read the article here.
Kars 4 Kids Grant: Healing Families for the Sake of the Children
We too, believe that helping children needs to be a holistic effort that strengthens and supports the whole family. That is why we felt so good about having a small part in the critical work of this organization by way of our small grant program. We share the mission of giving kids a feeling that they belong, and helping families to learn how to heal, moving forward.
Click here for the full interview with SSYAF Director of Development, Christie Shorrock.
SAFE Grants $10,000 to Help Kids in Foster Care Moving to New Homes
SAFE Credit Union is committing $10,000 to help area children and teens living in foster care with mental health services provided by Stanford Sierra Youth & Family Services throughout Sacramento, El Dorado, Placer and Yolo counties. The grant will be used to offer a continuum of care to local youths living in foster care – many of whom are recovering from childhood trauma – seeking and moving into permanent homes.
Studio40 Live Interview
Watch our very own Chief Family and Youth Partnership Officer, Ebony Chambers, chat with Gary Gelfand and Scott Moak of Studio40 Live. They discuss our Mission, Giving Tuesday, and the importance of supporting local foster youth during the holiday season.