One of the innovative components of The Children's Village of Sonoma County model is the presence of Village Grandparents who live on-site and provide the "grand parenting" that make children feel nurtured and loved.

Why A Village?

Children entering the foster care system face serious challenges.

• If children in foster care are part of a sibling group, they will be separated from their brothers and sisters in approximately 67% of the cases. They will find themselves alone in a strange new surrounding.
• Social workers, who are responsible for the care of children in foster care, usually have such a large number of cases that they do not have the time to provide adequate oversight and support that foster parents need.
• Foster parents can terminate a child's placement at any time and often do. They do so for varied reasons: Circumstances in the foster parent's life may change. The foster child in their care may not fit in with their own children. They may feel unable to handle the challenge of dealing with insecure, anxious and sometimes resentful children, or they simply do not like the child.
• Most children in foster care experience multiple placements and suffer the fear and insecurity of not knowing when they are going to be moved next.

A former foster child recently wrote:

I was placed in my first foster home at age four and for the next eight years I moved in and out of foster homes and several shelters. Twice I was sent back to live with my mother and abused by my stepfathers. There were no summer camps, birthday parties or favorite toys. My childhood was a case of "serial abandonment.

The separation from brothers and sisters, the terrible feeling of being alone, the anxiety of not knowing where one will end up next and for how long, exact a toll. These children graduate from the present foster care system with serious problems at a cost to society.

The statistics are sobering. Research (State of California) indicates that within four years of leaving the foster care system:

• 50% were unemployed
• 25% had been homeless
• 40% were on public assistance
• 50% did not graduate from high school

The Children's Village creates a community where Village Parents are trained, supervised and supported, and where The Village community works together to provide the child with a feeling of permanence and belonging. The Village is dedicated to give children secure and happy childhoods so that they will grow up to be emotionally healthy adults equipped to lead happy and productive lives.