Bridging the Gap in Accessing Child Care
The Emergency Child Care Bridge Program for Foster Children (Bridge Program) is a time-limited program designed to increase the number of foster children successfully placed in home-based family care settings, the capacity of child care programs to meet the needs of foster children in their care, and maximize funding to support the child care needs of eligible families.
To learn more about the Bridge Program or to register, reach out to Bridge Navigator: Connie Gonzalez at consuelog@cfc-ca.org or call (310) 452 3325 ext. 235
Bridge Program Components
Navigator
Resource & Referral (R&R) agencies throughout Los Angeles County will house child care navigators to assist eligible foster care resource families with finding child care. Navigators assist with finding a child care provider, securing a subsidized child care placement, completing child care program applications, and developing a plan for long-term child care appropriate to the child’s age and needs.
Voucher
Eligible families may receive a time limited child care voucher to help pay for child care costs for foster children birth through age 5 and their siblings. This also includes foster children with exceptional needs and severely disabled children up to age 21.
Referrals to the Child Care Bridge Program must be made through the resource family’s Children’s Social Worker (CSW) at the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS).
Trauma-Informed Care
Caretakers engaged in the Bridge Program will receive access to trauma-informed care training and coaching. Caretakers receive access to coaching to assist them in applying training curriculum and learning strategies for working with the children in their care. Topics of the training include, but are not limited to:
- Infant and toddler development
- Research-based, trauma-informed care best practices
To learn more about the Trauma-Informed Care component of the Bridge Program reach out to our Trauma-Informed Care Advisor, Joselyn Corado Cornejos at joselync@cfc-ca.org or call (310) 452 3325 ext. 257.
Referral Process
The Bridge Program referral process will be collaboratively administered between DCFS, CCALA and Connections for Children or another local R&R agency serving the DCFS Regional Office.
The goal of the program is to provide immediate access to child care while assisting the resource families in obtaining long term child care, within eligibility guidelines. To learn more about the referral process and eligibility guidelines, call us at (310) 452-3325 or visit here.
