Let Your Life Be An Inspiration
About us
The Alameda County Foster Parent Association is a Chapter of California State Foster Parent Association. We are a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to empowering, supporting, educating and advocating for Licensed Foster Parents, Relative and Non-relative caregivers and adoptive families throughout Alameda County.
Our Mission is to help ensure consistent, safe, quality care for children in need of out-of-home placement.
If you are a foster or adoptive parent or relative caregiver in Alameda County, consider joining the ACFPA. We are here to support you through your journey.
COVID-19 Impact on Families and Helpful Resources
Our lives have changed drastically with the Coronavirus recently. It is not unusual for families and individuals to feel scared, sad or angry. Being around each other everyday, can also put a lot of stress on the family. You might find you bicker more or have a shorter fuse than usual. Please take advantage of the resources that are available to take good care of yourself and your family both physically and emotionally.
Family Paths is offering a free, anonymous Parenting Stress Helpline that provides resources and support during this stressful time. Please do not hesitate to reach out to them at 1-800-829-3777 for support.
Please keep in close touch with your Licensing and Primary Care Workers and contact your County Parent Advocate, Demitruis Simms, if you have any general questions. His email is DSims@acgov.org and phone is 510-780-8946.
We are grateful for your continued dedication to the kids and youngsters that need you right now. Be well.

Are you done building your family through adoption? There is still a lot we can offer you through the ACFPA.
Read on…
You don’t have to be a Foster Parent or relative caregiver to benefit from the ACFPA offerings. Many foster families choose to adopt the children in their care, thereby growing their families and providing the kids with a safe and loving Forever Home. If you are a foster family who has adopted your children through Alameda County, ACFPA can still support you, even if you no longer have capacity to foster.
Although adoption can be a wonderful experience, it can also present some challenges for the entire family. The addition of a new child or children to the family may create confusion or discontent for the biological children who suddenly have a new sibling that they have to get to know and play nice with. Kids in care may have physical or behavioral issues that may not show up until they are older. Also, navigating relationships with biological families, if they are still involved in the child’s life, can be challenging at times.
If you are dealing with any of these challenges, you don’t have to go it alone. The ACFPA has a number of programs that can support you both financially and emotionally. As an ACFPA member you will benefit from the following member-only offerings:
- Clothing Closet: Our Clothing Closet was the brainchild of our Fundraising Chair, Joyce Ryder, who had a vision of providing new clothing items to foster families especially at the beginning of each new placement. Because of our generous donors, the closet is now often full of new clothes, shoes and other items for younger and older kids. This allows us to periodically open the closet to all of our members, not just for their new placements but also for existing placements or adopted and biological children in the home.
- Diaper Distribution: We have been receiving generous donations towards our Diaper Distribution program allowing us to make diapers available for new placements and periodically for existing placements as supplies are available.
- Periodic free distribution of donated items like new bikes, clothes, backpacks and school supplies, bags of goodies and gift cards.
- Scholarships: We have multiple scholarship types that are available for foster, adopted and biological children and youth in care. They can be used to supplement the cost of tutoring, exam preparation courses, enrichment activities like camps, and dance and music lessons. Our newest scholarship, the Achievement Scholarship, is available for young adults through 22 years of age who were in the ACFPA member’s care at some time in the past and need support to achieve their highest level of independence. This scholarship can supplement the cost of tools for trade school, uniforms or college application fees.
- Free tickets to events such as shows, sports games, theatre, as they become available.
Of course, you don’t have to be an ACFPA member to take advantage of the camaraderie that the Association offers. Our monthly meetings allow for sharing of concerns and ideas. We always have someone from the County present at the meetings to answer questions about County services and some of our members have started their own Facebook page to network and stay connected. We also offer training during many of our monthly meetings to help you continue to learn and grow.
Finally, we are always looking for volunteers to help with committees, website updates, events and to share ideas for how to improve our programs.
So, whether you are a foster parent, relative or non-relative caregiver or adoptive family, consider joining the ACFPA. Membership applications are being accepted now for 2021.
Thank you for all you do for the kids.
Latest News

- COVID Grant and Scholarship- APPLY TODAYAs we enter into another year of closures and COVID restrictions, the ACFPA Board voted to once again make the ACFPA COVID Grant available to our membership. This grant can be requested by ACFPA members for the purchase of educational products, games and learning programs that can be used to enrichContinue reading “COVID Grant and Scholarship- APPLY TODAY”
- CARI Cohort Series begin in February 2021Community Action to Reach out to Infants (CARI) is a State-funded project with the Department of Alcohol and Drugs that serves substance-exposed and medically fragile infants and toddlers. CARI provides foster parents and relatives who care for these children with specialized training, support groups and respite care. The CARI Spring 2021Continue reading “CARI Cohort Series begin in February 2021”
- Drive-Through Christmas Celebration 2020Ok, let’s face it, this was a year like no other in our lifetimes but that didn’t stop the ACFPA from having our annual Christmas party for the Resource Parents, including relative, foster and adoptive families, and children in Alameda County. Just one small change, this one was a Drive-Through Event!Continue reading “Drive-Through Christmas Celebration 2020”
RFA Caregiver Social Media Policy
As Resource Families we are required to protect the confidentiality of Children in Care. This includes posting information and pictures on social media platforms. Please review the attached confidentiality policy and ensure compliance with this requirement.

**Reminders**
- Join Membership Meeting
- Renew membership for 2021
- Apply for Scholarship
Join us at our meetings
We would love to see you at our monthly ACFPA meetings on the 4th Monday of every month. Check our Events calendar for the exact dates and details.
On behalf of the ACFPA, we wish all of you a very happy and healthy New Year.
The next ACFPA Membership meeting, planned for February 22th 2021, will be held virtually using Zoom. ACFPA members will receive an email with the link prior to the meeting.
We can use your support. Here are a couple simple ways you can help.
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Get In Touch
Address
ACFPA
1271 Washington Ave, #659
San Leandro, CA 94577