All of our Foster Care and Adoption services (Foster Care, Fost-Adopt, Kinship/NREFM care, Intensive Services Foster Care, and Therapeutic Foster Care) are focused towards permanency for youth.

“A permanent connection to a safe, stable, and nurturing family.”

The program honors concurrent planning, which supports children in their long term stability and identity formation.  Concurrent planning allows for a child to be given the opportunity to reunify with their biological family while honoring the need for stability if reunification does not occur, and the child needs to remain permanently in the care of their Resource Family. As the data reflects, the best option is to reunify children with their birth family.

At the same time, Stanford Sierra Youth & Families (SSYF) works to identify a family who is able to make a lifelong commitment to the youth, if reunification is not possible. SSYF also supports assessing Kin who come forward for placement of their relatives that have been placed in care.  Youth in need of more intensive services can be supported in additional ways such as placement in an Intensive Services Foster Care approved home or with additional services such as Therapeutic Foster Care.