2021 CFLC Annual Report

2021 ANNUAL REPORT Inspiring hope, trust and possibilites for brighter futures.

CALIFORNIA FAMILY LIFE CENTER

MESSAGE FROM EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR There is a rhythm in our lives that we all have. A reasonably complicated rhythmic pattern occurs for each of us throughout life. During these past 24 months, we have had life altering changes in the rhythm of our daily lives. These complicated changes have made us think and do things differently.

Now we are living our lives through virtual meetings, online schooling, and ordering more online. It is how we become more isolated from each other. We need the human connection. Often fear stops us from new connections but it is the rhythm and connections that push us forward encouraging the openness to new connections.

That was and is CFLC’s year with new ways of connecting to our community, families, children, and youth. Our connection has grown deeper even during an unpredictable year. We have managed even through virtual meetings, virtual counseling sessions, virtual tutoring, online music sessions, online parenting classes, and online classes for individuals to stay connected.

Mary Jo, Executive Director at California Family Life Center.

CFLC continued as an essential business to provide much needed services to our families, children, and youth in person.

“The separateness we thought we were creating melts into the unending dance of coadaptation and change as we become ever more aware of those from whom we cannot be separate.” (Wheatly and Kellner-Rogers, A Simpler Way).

We need each other and especially now, that is our rhythm.

Mary Jo Ramirez Executive Director CFLC

RFA Director Pamela (L), STRTP Director Sheila(M), and Executive Director Mary Jo (R).

CALIFORNIA FAMILY LIFE CENTER

1

CALIFORNIA FAMILY LIFE CENTER CREATING BRIGHTER FUTURES California Family Life Center was founded under single practitioner family counseling service for at-risk children and youth, from drug exposed newborns to high school dropouts.

A generation later, CFLC has expanded to provide Foster Families, Youth Homes, Job Education Centers, Kinship Support, and a Chaplaincy for these children and youth.

The purpose of all these endeavors is to replace abuse, neglect, and hopelessness with affection, encouragement, and success; "My dream is to live in a normal family, before my childhood dwindles away"

MISSION

ACCREDITATION

To provide safety, comfort and healing to children suffering abuse and abandonment; to teach love and trust; to instill selfesteem, values and hope for the future- and in so doing, assist children trapped in hopelessness and despair become compassionate and contributing members of the community.

California Family Life Center has been awarded the highest level of accreditation by CARF International for its Foster Family and Kinship Care, Group Home Care, and Support and Facilitation programs.

CARF accreditation is a public seal of trust and commitment to quality based on internationally accepted standards.

"Thank you for never giving up on me. I know I may be tough to work with but you guys never gave up on me."

CALIFORNIA FAMILY LIFE CENTER

2

2021 HIGHLIGHTS PROACTIVE LEADERS Workforce Development Board and CFLC's "Proactive Leadership Group" traveled to Washington DC. Our youth had the chance to represent Youth Opportunity Centers and our programs in California.

S.T.E.P.S In partnership with the Department of Rehabilitation, CFLC helped launch The Summer Training Employment Program for Students (STEPS).

This program offers in-school youth the opportunity to gain valuable work readiness skills and paid work experience.

CALIFORNIA FAMILY LIFE CENTER

GIVING TREE Our annual toy drive provides gifts to CFLC children and youth.

Thanks to the response from our online and local community, over 4,500 gifts were given in 2021.

3

2021 HIGHLIGHTS YOUTH ECOLOGY CORPS In partnership with the Eastern Municipal Water District, CFLC launched the Youth Ecology Corps Program.

This program provides short-term job opportunities to young adults who are interested in exploring career opportunities in the water industry and related fields.

532 YOUTH received Job Training through Youth Opportunity Centers and career advancing programs.

YOUTHBUILD assisted building homes in partnership with Habitat for Humanity.

CALIFORNIA FAMILY LIFE CENTER

4

ADOPTION Foster care adoption can be both a rewarding and challenging experience for adoptive parents. CFLC believes every child deserves the love, safety, and unconditional commitment of a family and the opportunity to develop in a healthy environment and the opportunity to thrive.

This is our second year since the opening of our Adoption Agency. CFLC recognizes that “Forever Families” provide safety and hope for children in permanent families.

Families continually open their hearts and homes to adopt.

Since our inception, over 50 children were adopted.

RESOURCE FAMILY AGENCY A child may be removed from the home and placed into a foster home due to his or her parents’ neglect, physical abuse, substance abuse, etc. The primary goal for a child who enters foster care is to return them to their birth parents when it is safe to do so.

While the children are in our Resource Family homes, we work with their birth families with the expectation that reunification can be established when a healthy environment can be provided by these families in the future.

Our Resource/Foster parents provide a safe environment and give each child much needed love and guidance.

We provided families for 257 children through our 66 Resource Families.

CALIFORNIA FAMILY LIFE CENTER

5

KIN CARE The Kin Care program helps children remain connected to their families by keeping them with relatives as their caregivers. The relative caregivers are making a commitment that is keeping children out of foster care and connected to a loving family.

It is through kinship services that there is an increase to the chances for children’s success by building the strength of the families to meet their health, financial, social, emotional, and parenting needs.

367 kinship families were served during the year

SAFECARE SafeCare focuses on three key outcomes that are important for families: creating positive relationships between caregivers and their children, ensuring homes are safe to reduce the risk of child unintentional injury, and keeping children as healthy as possible.

SafeCare is an evidence-based, parent-training program for parents of children ages 0-5 who are at-risk for or have been reported for child neglect or physical abuse. SafeCare staff work with families in their homes to develop parenting skills by providing real-life practical training.

Parents receive weekly home visits to improve skills in home safety, health care, and parent-child interaction.

Over 400 families were served through the SafeCare program.

CALIFORNIA FAMILY LIFE CENTER

6

SHORT-TERM RESIDENTIAL THERAPEUTIC PROGRAM (STRTP) CFLC’s STRTP program assesses each youth’s individual treatment needs and provides the youth appropriate service intervention(s) to include counseling, skill building, building positive peer and family interactions, case management and linkage to community-based services.

Our STRTP restores hope and a chance to heal for youth ages 13-18 from traumatic events in their lives.

Our homes are staffed 24-hours a day with experienced caring individuals.

MENTAL HEALTH Our Mental Health Department has experienced licensed Clinicians to offer individual counseling, support groups and help youth transition out of congregate care while strengthening family connections; improving mental and behavioral health functioning; increasing safety, wellness, and resiliency.

CFLC promotes healing in traumatized youth as we assist youth in identifying their strengths to enhance their self-esteem, as well as assists them on focusing on goals.

LEGISLATIVE INTERN PROGRAM The Legislative Internship Program and County-Wide Youth Commission provides hundreds of hours of service to our communities and creates an utmost professional internship experience working alongside the County’s Board of Supervisors staff.

This program gives youth in our County a voice, provides on-thejob professional training for our young adult interns, and facilitates county-wide events for high school students and Youth Opportunity Center participants.

CALIFORNIA FAMILY LIFE CENTER

7

JOB TRAINING CFLC's three Youth Opportunity Centers (Hemet, Lake Elsinore, Rubidoux) offer young adults the opportunity to engage in work experience, education, postsecondary education, career training, and employment.

CFLC in partnership with Riverside County Office of Education offers a YouthBuild Plus program to provide education, leadership development, community service, and meaningful project-based occupational skills training in phlebotomy, logistics and construction for 70 disadvantaged youth between the ages of 16-24.

The Youth Opportunity Centers also provide the STEPS program in partnership with the Workforce Development Board and Department of Rehabilitation to provide work experience and training for youth with disabilities 100 youth are served through this program.

Over 500 youth benefited from the job training program.

CHAPLAINCY Our Chaplaincy provides appropriate assistance, advice, comfort, counsel, and referrals to those in need and those that need support. The Chaplaincy program is a vital support for many families in need to offer spiritual help. Our Chaplaincy program works in the community to build awareness and increase positive connections and advocacy to help strengthen children, youth, and the families we serve.

During the pandemic, basic needs such as food, shelter, and clothing were made available to help stabilize families. This year the Giving Tree was again in the community at local businesses, schools and churches with many gifts donated at Christmas time to make the holiday a blessing to the children, youth and families served.

Chaplaincy continues to provide support for youth and children through the generous donations of our donors.

CALIFORNIA FAMILY LIFE CENTER

8

FINANCIAL

OVERVIEW

An overview of Fiscal Year Expense Distribution

$11,666,956

$4,039,749

REVENUE, GRANTS, & CONTRIBUTION

ASSETS

$15,706,705

40%

26%

22%

7%

JOB TRAINING & EDUCATION

STRTP

FOSTER FAMILY RESOURCE

OTHER GRANT FUNDED PROGRAM

CALIFORNIA FAMILY LIFE CENTER

5%

ADMINISTRATION

9

BOARD OF DIRECTORS '" Life is about rhythm. We vibrate, our hearts are pumping blood, we are a rhythm machine, that's what we are."

David Parr, Chairman of the Board

CFLC STAFF Mary Jo Ramirez Executive Director

Sheila Stephenson STRTP Director

Pamela Elie-Dunkley Resource Family & Adoption Director

Elena Nadih

David Parr

Kelly Migoya

(Partner: Palmieri Tyler)

(Partner: Abeltin & Migoya, LLP)

Chair

Vice Chair

Mark Merryfield

Heather French

(Sr. Vice President / Investments Stifel Nicolaus)

(Senior National Sales Manager:PepsiCo)

Fundraising & Recruitment

Secretary/ Fundraising

Cathy Allen

Bartlett Patton

(Program Manager, H.O.P.E Center) Board Member

(Retired) Board Member

Andy DeLorenzo

John Veytia

(Director-Distributor & Franchise Bottler Strategy, PepsiCo Foodservice) Board Member

(Real Estate Broker) Board Member

Bill Tornquist

Robert Stollar

(Chief Program Officer, The Priority Center) Board Member

(Partner, SWIIM Systems) Board Member

Fiscal Director

Jonathan Lucero Mental Health Director

Mike Lancaster

Mary Snow

(President, JML Real Estate Services, LLC)

Board Member

Human Resources

"If I wasn't at CFLC I would not be going to school and I wouldn't be applying for a job. I get to do things I never thought I could, like playing sports."

CALIFORNIA FAMILY LIFE CENTER

10

OFFICES AND CENTERS ADMINISTRATION 930 N. State St. Hemet, CA 92543 951-765-6955

RESOURCE FAMILY & ADOPTION 950 N. State St. Hemet, CA 92543 951-658-2352

46900 Monroe St., Ste. A-102 Indio, CA 92201 760-347-2728

KIN CARE

547 N. San Jacinto St. Hemet, CA 92543 951-791-3557

SAFECARE 950 N. State St. Hemet, CA 92543 951-658-2352

EMPOWER YOUTH OPPORTUNITY CENTER 930 N. State St. Hemet, CA 92543 951-765-0917

PLANET YOUTH OPPORTUNITY CENTER 400 W. Graham Ave. Lake Elsinore, CA 92530 951-471-8415

RUBIDOUX YOUTH OPPORTUNITY CENTER 5656 Mission Blvd.

Riverside, CA 92509 951-683-9622

@cflckids

CALIFORNIA FAMILY LIFE CENTER www.cflckids.org