Why Partner with Extraordinary Families?              

Extraordinary Families has been serving the greater Los Angeles community for over twenty-five years, and we are well known as a model provider of services in the local child welfare community. We fully adopt the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) Code of Ethics and embrace its core values to guide our decision-making and conduct. We adhere to a strict non-discrimination policy, whereby we do not and shall not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, gender expression, age, national origin, disability, marital status, sexual orientation, or military status, in any of our activities or operations. These activities include, but are not limited to the hiring and firing of staff, selection of volunteers and resource parents, and provision of services. We are committed to providing an inclusive and welcoming environment for all members of our team, which includes staff, clients, service providers, volunteers, resource parents and biological families. To that end, we are a recognized leader in supporting LGBTQ families by the Human Rights Campaign, and we are dedicated to finding supportive families for LGBTQ youth in foster care.

At Extraordinary Families, we provide our resource parents with pre-certification training and ongoing post certification education using the competency based PRIDE (Parent Resources for Information, Development and Education) model of practice. PRIDE is specifically designed to strengthen foster and adoption services by developing and supporting resource parents as fundamental partners in the protection and trauma-informed care of children and youth in the child welfare system. Extraordinary Families recognizes resource parents as rare and valuable – without them, children in care would not have the benefits of family living – and we view resource parents as essential members of a professional team to be heard and respected. All resource parents and their children in care are assigned experienced, Masters level social workers who serve as a source of resources, support, and advocacy. We believe every child in foster care is extraordinary, and our social workers emphasize individualized care to maximize each child’s potential. In addition to a social worker, resource parents have access to staff for assistance as needed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Further, we provide resource parents with access to therapeutic support groups facilitated by a certified grief and loss counselor. There, resource parents can share their experiences with peers who understand the challenges unique to foster care, gain parenting and self-care tips and tools, offer and receive support, and develop relationships with other families. This is an invaluable resource, and the relationships developed can be a source of support for a lifetime.

If you would like to become an extraordinary family or are interested in learning more, attend one of our upcoming orientations or contact us at [email protected].