Angels founder Cathy Richman served over five years as a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) volunteer working within the San Diego County foster care system. What Ms. Richman encountered was an inefficient and congested system. She witnessed far too many children being bounced from placement to placement, with varying standards of care, never truly having a place to call “home.” Ms. Richman’s personal research and investigation led her to draw from the experience of County social workers, child attorneys, former foster children, and advocates who shared her desire to see a change in the foster care system. The program solution she devised, the Infants In Crisis Project, has been successfully making a difference in the lives of foster babies since its first child placement in 1999.

The Infants In Crisis Project seeks to prevent violence toward self and others and promote healthy personal development by providing foster babies with loving, stimulating, stable families until the court makes its final placement decision. By accepting only the most highly qualified foster parents to care for Angels babies, we offer them nurturing beginnings with maximal opportunities to develop into healthy, responsible and self-sufficient adults. What makes Angels unique is the high standard of excellence we require of all foster families compared with other agencies.

. An Angels family can only foster one child (or sibling group) at a time, ensuring individual attention to each child’s special needs. A traditional county foster home allows up to six foster children to be placed at one time, in addition to any children of their own.
• An Angels family must have at least one stay-home parent for babies under 18 months, ensuring stable caregivers for each child. The County and other foster family agencies do not have this requirement and allow for full-time working parents, which results in children being placed in daycare.
• An Angels family commits to caring for a child continuously until the court makes its final placement decision. Each family undergoes extensive screening, including a psychological evaluation (MMPI 2), a financial assessment, and a home study, to ensure the healthiest environment possible for each Angels baby. Unfortunately, statistics show the average baby in foster care under the age of 12 months will have a minimum of 3 placements in the first year.
• An Angels family attends 24 hours of specialized training in basic child care and bonding and attachment theory that fosters appropriate physical, cognitive, emotional, and behavioral development in their babies. County foster training is not specialized to any one age group, and classes are predominantly led by county foster parents.
• An Angels family receives active support from an Angels social worker (available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week), who ensures that the baby is healthy and happy, and who addresses any concerns that the family may have. Angels social workers carry a 50-60% lighter case load than County case workers.
• An Angels family has access to the Angels Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (on staff) when needed. This service is intended to provide therapeutic support and guidance to foster families as they deal with difficult issues such as grief and loss, stress, and parenting. This crucial service is unique to Angels and is not known to be offered anywhere else.
Only by these stringent requirements can Angels provide the very best in foster care to the many abused, abandoned and neglected foster babies in San Diego County.

The greatest challenge facing foster care is a shortage of high quality foster homes. The result for the more than 7,000 foster children in San Diego County, more than one third of whom are under the age of three, is typically placement in an overcrowded foster home. In addition, these placements are often temporary - the average foster baby will bounce from one placement to another, typically living in three different locations in just the first year of foster care. Such instability would be difficult for anyone to endure, but for a tiny, developing baby, the effects are staggering.

In order to learn how to trust and love, a baby needs to bond with one consistent caregiver. The first 18 to 24 months of life are a critical period for developing attachments to other human beings. This need is even more urgent for infants in foster care, who have already suffered abuse or neglect. If this chance is lost, a baby may develop Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD)- an incurable, but highly preventable condition which hinders individuals from forming meaningful relationships with others. The result can be a life of loneliness, violent or sadistic behaviors, the absence of guilt or conscience, trouble with the law, and a burden on society.

The solution is clear. The Angels Foster Family Network’s innovative programs provide abused and neglected babies with the love and nurturing they need to prevent these tragic outcomes. The challenge is just one of numbers.

Contact:	CATHY RICHMAN
Title:	CEO
Phone:	(619) 283-8100, ex. 224
Email:	Contact Us
Website:	www.angelsfoster.com

Ongoing Activities & Events:

A monthly orientation is held at the Angels office on the first Wed of every month. We welcome all those interested in learning about the program to attend an orientation. We always need more well qualified individuals and families to join our "Angels family".

On Oct. 15, 2009, Angels will be celebrating their 10th Anniversary with a festive luncheon being held at the Hyatt/UTC at noon. We expect a sell-out crowd and still have more seats available.