Wayfinder Family Services has four programs serving Placer County. Three are direct referrals and one requires a call to the Placer County Mental Health Access line.

Kinship Support Services Program – call directly for referral. Wayfinder’s Kinship Support Services Program (KSSP) supports grandparents, extended family members or close family friends who step up to raise children so they avoid the trauma of separation from their birth family. KSSP is free of charge to families.

Home to Stay – can call directly or be referred by a provider. Home to Stay offers counseling and support services to kinship and birth families who are at high risk for out of home placement in Placer County. Wayfinder provides short-term in home counseling and parent education to enhance parenting skills, building supports and mitigating behavioral health risks to youth and families. For more information, call 530-722-2233 or email hometostay@wayfinderfamily.org.

Be WELL Program – can call directly or be referre…

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Child Advocates of Placer County offers programs that support and work with children and youth.

• The Be Bold Youth Program pairs youth with an adult partner who will become someone they can trust, learn with, and grow alongside. Youth will meet weekly for fun-centered and life skill building activities. They will also come together bi-monthly with a larger group of young people who are determined to grow and strengthen themselves while being a strong support system for one another. Some of the topics covered are self-care, sex and relationships, goal setting, budgeting, and figuring out burning questions like what the heck happens after age 18.
• The Level Up Youth Program works alongside youth to develop meaningful and trusting relationships, engage in positive, prosocial activities, and help youth connect to restorative justice/community service opportunities.  Level Up provides mentoring, education and employment support that helps prepare youth for independence.  Level Up p…

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If your child has experimented with fire, sign him or her up for the Firefighters Burn Institute Youth Firesetter Program. Call their toll free number 1 (888) 452-SAFE (7233) or email them from the Contact Tab above. Their program provides staff for pre-academy interviews with the child involved in firesetting and his/her family, a fire safety academy completed in two sessions is also provided. As part of the academy, children will learn:

-Fire safety education
-Fire hazard recognition
-Home escape planning
-Responsibility
-Problem solving skills
-Natural & legal consequences
-Communication
-Thinking errors
-Peer pressure
-Leadership skills
-Dealing with and sharing feelings.

Placement for families who need counseling services is also part of the program.

California Alliance of Caregivers…

• serves foster, kinship, guardian, and adoptive families
• provides one one-on-one assistance to families who need to connect to resources and benefits that are specifically for children and youth currently in or from foster care
• provides free parent training and resources for all parents, but they are directed toward parents caring for children with mental health needs
• hosts weekly, virtual, facilitated support groups
• has a leadership coalition around the state that supports families at the local level

Trainings are free for all parents and caregivers. Training and support are primarily targeted to parents and caregivers of children in or from foster care; and children with mental health needs.

Web pages

• Home - https://www.cacaregivers.org/info/

Housing California has information about how homeless services providers can assist people experiencing homelessness in getting a free copy of a California birth certificate. 

See details about process and eligibility at these web pages (a homeless service provider* must be involved):

• Information for Providers - https://www.housingca.org/resources/community/providers/help-someone-get-ca-birthcert/?highlight=birth%20certificate
• Information for Individuals - https://www.housingca.org/resources/community/individuals/get-ca-birthcert/

Please note that Housing California does not issue birth certificates. It provides information on how to obtain them at the links above.

* What is a “homeless service provider?”

• i.) A governmental or nonprofit agency receiving federal, state, or county or municipal funding to provide services to a “homeless person” or “homeless child or youth,” or that is otherwise sanctioned to provide those services by a local homeless continuum of care or…

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LGBTQ+

• Trainings
• Professional Development
• No-cost Resources
• Gender Support Plan

Gender Spectrum helps to create gender sensitive and inclusive environments for all children and teens through providing an array of services to help youth, families, organizations and institutions understand and address concepts of Gender identity and Gender expression, including how societal, cultural, organizational and community definitions of gender can be detrimental to any young person that does not fit neatly into these categories.

Gender Spectrum offers resources to empower your relationships, work, and interactions with youth and children. Gender Spectrum provides you with the tools necessary to create gender inclusive environments in your homes, offices, and communities.

Gender Spectrum provides:

• How-to guides
• Online Consultations
• Online Groups
• Research
• Sample training materials

Websites:

• Gender Spectrum - https://www.genderspectrum.org/

Futures Without Violence is a health and social justice nonprofit with a simple mission: to heal those among us who are traumatized by violence today – and to create healthy families and communities free of violence tomorrow.
 
Futures Without Violence's programs, policy development, and public action campaigns are designed to prevent and end violence against women and children around the world in areas such as (but not limited to):

• Children, Youth & Teens - https://www.futureswithoutviolence.org/children-youth-teens/
• Engaging Men - https://www.futureswithoutviolence.org/engaging-men/
• The Courage Museum - https://www.futureswithoutviolence.org/the-courage-museum/
• Global Violence Program - https://policy.futureswithoutviolence.org/international/
• Health - https://www.futureswithoutviolence.org/health-2/
• Learning & Leadership - https://www.futureswithoutviolence.org/leadership-professional-development/
• Policy & Advocacy -&n…

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Founded in 2006, PACER’s National Bullying Prevention Center actively leads social change to prevent childhood bullying, so that all youth are safe and supported in their schools, communities, and online. https://www.pacer.org/bullying/

The center offers many online resources for bullying prevention including:

• Questions Answered - https://www.pacer.org/bullying/info/info-facts.asp
  • includes definitions and info about direct bullying, indirect bullying, cyberbullying, and more
• Bullying Facts - https://www.pacer.org/bullying/info/facts.asp
• Handouts
• Flyers
• Templates for letters to schools about bullying
• Resources for children who are targets of bullying - https://www.pacer.org/bullying/info/questions-answered/bullying-at-school.asp
• Resources for children who bully - https://www.pacer.org/bullying/info/questions-answered/bullying-behavior.asp
• Resources in Spanish - Recursos Para Adultos y Estudiantes Acerca de Bullying - https://www.pacer.org/bullying/…

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Housing California has information about how homeless services providers can assist people experiencing homelessness in getting a free California photo ID. 

See details about process and eligibility at these web pages (a homeless service provider* must be involved):

• Information for Providers - https://www.housingca.org/resources/community/providers/help-someone-get-a-ca-photo-id/
• Information for Individuals - https://www.housingca.org/resources/community/individuals/get-my-ca-photo-id/

Please note that Housing California does not issue photo IDs. It provides information on how to obtain them at the links above.

* What is a “homeless service provider?”

• i.) A governmental or nonprofit agency receiving federal, state, or county or municipal funding to provide services to a “homeless person” or “homeless child or youth,” or that is otherwise sanctioned to provide those services by a local homeless continuum of care organization.
• ii.) An attorney licensed to practice law i…

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Positive experiences can ease toxic stress and help children and youth grow into more resilient, healthier adults. Positive experiences can help counteract the affects of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs). Healthy Outcomes from Positive Experiences (HOPE) identifies ways that our communities and systems of care can better ensure that all children have more positive experiences and that all families have support to nurture and celebrate their strengths.

The Four Building Blocks of HOPE are composed of key positive childhood experiences (PCEs). The sources of those experiences and opportunities are the foundation for healthy childhood development. 

Four Building Blocks of HOPE (Positive Childhood Experiences) - https://positiveexperience.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/4BBs-Poster.pdf

• Relationships within the family and with other children and adults through interpersonal activities.
• Safe, equitable, stable environments for living, playing, learning at home and in sc…

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