Child Care

Utilizing this free child care service often shortens the amount of time you spend in the DCFS system. Child care provides a safe place for your children to be cared for while you take a parenting class, attend counseling, work, or other requirements and activities. This service is available any shift, on any day of the week – including swing shifts, graveyard shifts, and overnight shifts.

To receive child care assistance, talk to your social worker to schedule an enrollment appointment, or call (562) 345-6629.

Economic Assistance

Linkages is a service coordination partnership between DCFS and the Department of Public Social Services (DPSS) to address common barriers that limit parents’ ability to parent and their ability to work and improve economic self-sufficiency. Through Linkages, families who are involved with DCFS are quickly connected to DPSS.

Families can potentially be eligible for the following assistance, including but not limited to:

• CalWORKs
• CalFresh
• Medi-Cal
• General Relief
• Homeless Case Management
• Welfare-to-Work (which includes activities such as employment workshops, job search, vocational workshops, work experience, transportation expenses, child care expenses, mental health/substance use disorder and domestic violence services)

For more information about Linkages, talk to your social worker or call (213) 351-5845.

Family Housing Support

Bringing Families Home Program

The Bringing Families Home (BFH) Program provides housing support and services to families involved with the child welfare system who are experiencing or are at risk of homelessness. The program helps families achieve and maintain stable housing to support family reunification and prevent foster care placement.

BFH follows a housing first model. Families do not have to be working towards their child welfare services case plan goals and Court orders to access BFH services. However, families must meet the program’s eligibility criteria.

To be considered for the BFH Program, a parent or legal guardian must:

• Have an open child welfare case and be receiving family maintenance, voluntary family maintenance, voluntary family reunification, or family reunification services.
• Be experiencing homelessness, be at risk of homelessness, or have a living situation that cannot accommodate their child or children.
• Have an annual household income at or below 50% of the Area Median Income (AMI) for Los Angeles County.
• Voluntarily agree to participate in the program.

*Undocumented families may be eligible for BFH services.

Depending on the family’s individual needs and program eligibility, BFH may provide:

• Time-limited rental assistance
• Rental arrears assistance
• Move-in and security deposit assistance
• Basic household furnishings
• Housing navigation and case management
• Employment and credit counseling
• Limited legal services
• Supportive services to promote housing stability

A referral to BFH does not guarantee enrollment or housing assistance. Services are subject to program eligibility, available funding and program capacity. BFH is not an emergency housing program, Section 8 program, or housing voucher program.

For referrals and inquiries, please email: B6HomelessServices@dcfs.lacounty.gov

For more information, please see the DCFS BFH Policy: DCFS BFH Policy

Parents in Partnership

Our Parent Partners are a committed group of parents who have first-hand knowledge of this experience and know how overwhelming and stressful it is for families to fully understand their rights and responsibilities. These parents have successfully navigated the system and now work in partnership with DCFS to provide support, information and mentorship to parents who have recently lost custody of their children, as well as to parents whose children are in the foster care system long-term.

Parents in Partnership

Immigration Services

DCFS works collaboratively with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) branch of Homeland Security, but DCFS does not report undocumented children and families to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

For eligible, undocumented children who are dependents of the court and who cannot be reunited with their parents, The Special Immigrant Status Unit (SIS) provides Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS) to protect them from deportation.

Undocumented dependent children and their families may qualify for immigration relief other than SIJS.  In these instances, the SIS unit will refer these children and families and work collaboratively with other nonprofit immigration community agencies for assistance. Learn more about the DCFS Immigration programs available to parents and children with open DCFS cases.

Immigration

Path to Reunification

If, during the course of the DCFS investigation or Juvenile Dependency Court hearings, it is determined that your child must be placed in out-of-home care, there are resources available to help reunite you with your children. Your case worker will help you develop a Family Reunification plan with clear goals, a visitation schedule, and other steps you must take for the court to determine that your child can safely live with you.

It is very important to follow the case plan developed for you and your family. Comply with all court orders, follow the advice of your attorney, attend all the programs and services and report your progress in the programs to your social worker and attorney. The faster you complete the programs, the faster you will get your child back.

Family Reunification