A Collaborative Foster Parent provides long-term placement for youth in foster care while the biological family works with County services towards reunification.

We provide all training for free, except for CPR certification. As a certified Collaborative Foster Parent, you will receive a stipend for each day the youth is in your home to help provide for their daily needs.

The Youth Connected Program supports teens who need a stable placement, socio-emotional support, and academic enrichment.

To be a Collaborative Foster Parent, you must be at least 21 years old, pass a background check, and have a bedroom available for the teen. No experience is necessary, as our team will walk you through the certification process to ensure your family is ready to welcome a youth in foster care into your home.

The certification process takes about 45-90 days. This is dependent upon the completion of the background check and home study, as well as consistently attending training. Our program equips parents with the knowledge needed to confidently welcome youth into their home.

We are happy to coordinate a “port” from one agency to ours, which means that instead of going through the whole certification process again, a family can request that their file be transferred to our FFA from their current agency. Our staff will work with your current agency to ensure the transition for you and your teen is smooth.

The Youth Connected Program provides access to on-campus housing during the school week, training and support for resource parents, and socio-emotional and educational resources for youth in foster care.

Our website lists the dates of our monthly Virtual Info Sessions. If the available times don't work for you, email our Resource Family Trainer, Hannah Adkison, at hadkison@orangewoodfoundation.org to set up a 1:1 call.

Orangewood Foundation has many volunteer opportunities. We do our best to protect the privacy of our youth and therefore try to limit direct contact volunteering. To learn more about how to get involved, email our Community Engagement Manager, Michelle Estrada, at mestrada@orangewoodfoundation.org