Alternative Family Services

A nonprofit organization
Fundraise

Since 1978, AFS has been serving the diverse and varied needs of thousands of children, youth, and families. Currently, AFS annually cares for approximately 1,500 youth through the following services accredited by COA: foster care, mental health, adoption, transition age youth, professional training, emergency shelter and juvenile justice youth.

AFS staff, board members, resource parents, corporate/community partners, and financial supporters make up our compassionate network who work together to help youth in care reclaim their sense of possibilities within safe, stable, and caring environments. AFS employs approximately 200 staff members from more than 12 countries, with education ranging from high school graduates to PhDs who provide a wide range of services in English and Spanish.

AFS’ successful history, now spanning almost half a century, would not have been possible without the selfless generosity of the original visionaries at Huckleberry House (San Francisco), the dozens of volunteer board members, innumerable staff members, thousands of foster parents, respite workers, and volunteers. All of these folks not only helped kids directly, but they also left their mark in the ongoing development of our values and practices moving forward.

Mission

The Mission of Alternative Family Services is to support vulnerable children and families in need of stability, safety, and well-being in communities.

Needs

AFS uses unrestricted funds to provide critical services and resources including: violence intervention, education & prevention, tutoring, therapeutic supplies and 1-on-1 therapeutic intervention. The physical, mental and/or sexual abuse and neglect plus the traumatic consequences of being separated from family cannot be understated when considering the above outcomes and the importance of the unfunded critical needs and services that will help make foster youth constructive, independent members of their communities.

Foster youth have few advantages in life and don't benefit from much of what many children take for granted-the opportunity to go to summer camp, participate in sports, receive after school tutoring, learn an instrument, learn art etc. Further, many of these children don't even have athletic shoes to wear during recess, and when taken from their homes in the middle of the night they many times have to leave their personal items behind. Holidays and birthdays are particularly difficult. During a stressful and scary time, the process of entering a foster home, and then live with virtual strangers can be very challenging and the integration puts pressure on both the child and the foster parents.

At AFS we believe in providing children with those items and experiences that enrich their lives, to provide and give them access to opportunities for bonding with their foster or adoptive family, and to help provide some aspect of normalcy and safety that most of us take for granted. This could include such things as tutoring lessons, athletic wear, summer camp, movie tickets for family bonding, holiday and birthday gifts, school supplies etc. AFS has a $500,000 goal to provide children with these enrichment opportunities.

AFS must use grants, financial and in-kind donations to upgrade all of its technology needs to make sure all staff and client needs are met.

AFS is always looking out for professional individuals who have a passion to help foster youth and actively participate in governing and advancement.

AFS is always in need of:

- New backpacks

- Gift cards for the needs of older foster youth

- Hygiene Products

Equity Statement

AFS must and does stand against institutional racism, white supremacy, bigotry, and hate in all its many manifestations. AFS has initiated practices on both the staff and board levels to examine and improve our capacity to be inclusive of diverse populations and guarantee them full equity and inclusion. Our mission is to support ALL vulnerable children, families, staff members, and communities.

Organization Data

Summary

Organization name

Alternative Family Services

other names

AFS

Year Established

1977

Tax id (EIN)

94-2427088

Mission Category

Human Services

Operating Budget

$10,000,001-$100 million

Organization Need

Funding: Unrestricted, Funding: Program, Technology, Board Members, In-Kind Donations

Demographics Served

Low-income individuals/families

Local Counties Served

Sacramento, Yolo, El Dorado, Placer

Address

8950 Cal Center Drive, Bldg. 2, Suite 340 #340
Sacramento, CA 95826

Service areas

Santa Rosa, CA, US

Alameda County, CA, US

San Francisco, CA, US

Vallejo, CA, US

Sacramento County, CA, US

Phone

510-759-1271

Email

ataylor@afs4kids.org

Website

http://www.afs4kids.org

Social Media