The Public Defender's Office of Placer County provides legal defense for those facing criminal allegations who are financially unable to retain an attorney.

Family Mentors assigns CASA-trained mentors to work one-on-one with parents who are striving to rebuild their families. These parents are either working toward reunifying with their children who are in the child welfare system, or are recovering from drug abuse or domestic violence and are at-risk of having their children enter the child welfare system.

The Family Mentor visits the home of the parent each week and helps them to develop a variety of life skills surrounding:

• Sobriety
• Budgeting
• Organization
  • Family Mentors provide parents with organizational tools such as a day planner and file box.
• Parenting
• Health
• Nutrition
• Education
• Career and job search

Goals of the Family Mentor Program:

1. Prevent children from entering or re-entering the child welfare system.
2. Encourage parents to become more independent and self-sufficient.
3. Help parents achieve their goals and identify healthy, viable community resources.
4. Provide more emotional and social stability to the child and the child’s …

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The K9's 4 Kids​ program gives children who are experiencing trauma a chance to love and be loved by a trained therapy dog and experience normalcy in a stressful environment. A dog facilitates an acceptable emotional connection for youth who have a hard time connecting with others.

A therapy dog team includes a dog, a handler, and a companion volunteer – typically a CASA volunteer.

Child Advocates of Placer County's teams visit:

• Juvenile Detention Facility (for probation youth) every Friday afternoon 
• Koinonia Emergency Placement homes (for kids who have recently been detained from their families due to abuse or neglect) every Tuesday

In order to expand the K9's 4 Kids program to transitional housing programs and other sites, Child Advocates of Placer County is looking for people who have a trained dog to join. If you are interested in participating in the K9’s 4 Kids program, follow the steps listed here: https://casaplacer.org/k9s-4-kids/

For… [read more]

Prosper Placer serves families who live at or below the poverty level and are motivated to make lasting changes in their lives. Families are matched with two to three volunteer “Allies” who commit to helping them along their path. In the process, families gain the knowledge, skills, and support they need to transform their lives. 

Prosper Placer also provides Immigration Advocacy and assistance.

The needs of this population are related to how social services are provided: when a family is truly in dire need, they receive services through various organizations. But as families begin to rebuild their lives, the support services start to disappear. Without some form of community support, many families begin to slip back into poverty and once again find themselves dependent on government assistance.

For information, contact:
Program Supervisor Katja Pollmann at katja@casaplacer.org
Frida Diaz at Frida@casaplacer.org
Child Advocates of Placer County's office: 530-887-1006.

Web… [read more]

CalWORKs is a public assistance program that provides cash aid and services to eligible families that have a child(ren) in the home. The program serves all 58 counties in the state and is operated locally by county welfare departments.

The County of Placer has four CalWORKs offices: Rocklin, Carnelian Bay (Tahoe), and two in Auburn. Services available at each location differ. See detail below.

If a family has little or no cash and needs housing, food, utilities, clothing or medical care, they may be eligible to receive immediate short-term help. Families that apply and qualify for ongoing assistance receive money each month to help pay for housing, food and other necessary expenses.

The amount of a family‘s monthly assistance payment depends on a number of factors, including the number of people who are eligible and the special needs of any of those family members. The income of the family is considered in calculating the amount of cash aid the family receives.

Generally, servic… [read more]

Children's Crisis Services

Children Emergency Services - Placer County Crisis & Emergency Services

If your life is in danger or you need to report an emergency situation, call 911.

A telephone call can bring help in a crisis. For at-risk children in emergencies and crises situations, a special 24-hour, 7-day a week, response program is available by calling Family and Children's Services: 916-872-6549 or toll free: 866-293-1940.

Children's Mental Health Services

Self-referred individuals or families will either have an appointment scheduled with the Managed Care Unit, Sierra Mental Wellness Group, a Marriage and Family Therapist (MFT) or a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) in the Placer County Network, or they will be linked to another appropriate community or agency provider depending on needs and insurance coverage. If you have questions you may call 530-866-5400.

Services include:

• Mental Health Assessments
• Wraparound Services
• Crisis Services
• Therapeutic Behavioral Service
• Inpatient Services
• Outpatient Services
• Presumptive Transfer to Placer County

Web pages:

• Children's Mental Health Services - https://www.placer.ca.gov/2052/Childrens-Mental-Health-Services
• Mental Health Community Resources (PDF) - https://www.placer.ca.gov/DocumentCenter/View/43536/Mental-Health-Resources-in-Community-COVID-19-PDF?bidId=
• Presumptive Transfer Form (PDF) - https://www.placer.ca.gov/DocumentCenter/V…

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Children's System of Care is one of six Divisions of County of Placer Health & Human Services.

Placer CSOC meets the behavioral needs of at-risk children and their families, through a comprehensive and integrated team of Mental Health, Child Welfare, Probation, Education, Substance Abuse, Public Health nursing professionals and family youth advocates.

Eligibility for Placer Children’s Behavioral Health services includes full scope Medi-Cal beneficiaries. Those who do not meet eligibility criteria are assessed on an individual basis.

Services include:

• Assessment and referral for mental health services
• Evaluation and response of suspected child abuse reports
• Foster youth educational assistance (Placer County Office of Education)
• Adoptions and Resource Family Approval placements
• Child welfare services
• Juvenile probation citation hearings
• Family supportive services
• Substance use screening and referrals

Family and Children’s Services may be reached by dialing 916-872-6549 or Toll Free… [read more]

Medi-Cal is a part of Human Services, one of six Divisions of County of Placer Health & Human Services.

Medi-Cal is California's Medicaid program. This is a public health insurance program which provides needed health care services for low-income individuals including families with children, seniors, persons with disabilities, foster care, pregnant women, and low income people with specific diseases such as tuberculosis, breast cancer, or HIV/AIDS.

Medi-Cal offers medical, dental, vision and mental health care to eligible individuals and families at little or no cost. If you are ineligible to Medi-Cal, affordable insurance plans are available through the health benefits exchange, Covered California, during their November through December open enrollment.

The information on Placer County's Medi-Cal web page is for reference only. Speak to a staff person for the most up-to-date information.

Apply for/Access your Public Benefits Online (Medi-Cal, CalFresh, CalWORKS)
Go… [read more]

Medi-Cal is a part of Human Services, one of six Divisions of County of Placer Health & Human Services.

Medi-Cal is California's Medicaid program. This is a public health insurance program which provides needed health care services for low-income individuals including families with children, seniors, persons with disabilities, foster care, pregnant women, and low income people with specific diseases such as tuberculosis, breast cancer, or HIV/AIDS.

Medi-Cal offers medical, dental, vision and mental health care to eligible individuals and families at little or no cost. If you are ineligible to Medi-Cal, affordable insurance plans are available through the health benefits exchange, Covered California, during their November through December open enrollment.

The information on Placer County's Medi-Cal web page is for reference only. Speak to a staff person for the most up-to-date information.

Apply for/Access your Public Benefits Online (Medi-Cal, CalFresh, CalWORKS)
Go… [read more]