Post by Optimist Youth Homes and Family Services

This week, our Chief Operating Officer, Maria Bhattachan, joined the CA Alliance conference in Sacramento for Advocacy Day — meeting with Citlalli Ortiz from the office of Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel alongside ACHSA Chief Executive Officer Jodi Kurata and Child Welfare Policy Director Anna Rubin to raise issues that directly affect the children, youth, and families we serve. Three priorities were on the table: staffing barriers in residential programs caused by out-of-state background check delays, concerns about the new tiered rate structure in foster care and its potential impact on level-of-care funding, and the insurance crisis threatening foster family agencies across California — an issue that has already forced several agencies to close. We are proud to stand alongside partners like ACHSA and the CA Alliance of Child and Family Services in advocating for common-sense policy solutions that keep families supported and programs operating. "The policies we discussed in Sacramento have real consequences for young people in foster care across California. Sustainable staffing and manageable insurance costs help allow providers like Optimist to support the children and youth who need us most."