sierra child and family services

LTCC Foster Kinship Care Education Program starts new year of free presentations

Event Date: 
September 5, 2019 - 6:00pm

The Lake Tahoe Community College, Foster Kinship Care Education Program offers presentations that are free and open to the community. The fall quarter is starting off with a series of Community Resource presentations. The public is invited to attend and hear about all of the services offered in the community.

Presentations will be held from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at Lake Tahoe Community College in the Creekside Room. The presentation on September 24 will be in Room E-106. Here’s the lineup:

"Angel of Tahoe" spreads holiday cheer to South Lake Tahoe youth

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Lisa Maloff, the "Angel of Tahoe", continues to support agencies, institutions and the South Lake Tahoe community with her generosity and year-round holiday spirit.

"Angel of Tahoe" Lisa Maloff celebrates Christmas with local youth

Christmas was made very special for 100 South Lake Tahoe children on Saturday, December 16, 2017 when philanthropist Lisa Maloff joined Tahoe Youth and Family Services (TYFS) in ringing in the holidays with a special celebration that won’t soon be forgotten.

Earlier this month, Mrs. Maloff made a generous donation of $75,000 to the agency that serves the youth and families South Lake Tahoe, Douglas County and Alpine County. Mrs. Maloff asked TYFS to hold a very special Christmas party so she could spread some holiday cheer and create magical memories for our local children.

Barton Foundation has $50,000 to give away in grants

The Barton Foundation has $50,000 to give away in grant funding to groups in the South Lake Tahoe area who work to improve community health.

During their annual grant cycles, Barton provides funds to programs and organizations, and this year they will award grants to those who address mental health, substance abuse, and access to healthcare services.

Community collaboration helps to change the stigma of mental illness

The third annual Mental Health Forum in South Lake Tahoe today brought together almost 60 people who are dedicated to helping the mental and behavioral health in the community.

Hosted by Barton Health, this year's forum participants shared the progress they've made on strategies for mental health and local service gaps that were generated during the 2015 event.

Jeanne Nelson from the South Lake Tahoe chapter of NAMI (National Alliance for Mental Illness) was very pleased with the outcome Thursday.

Kiwanis collecting suitcases and backpacks for South Lake Tahoe children

Event Date: 
April 2, 2016 - 10:00am

With almost 300 children in the Lake Tahoe Unified School District not having a permanent home, the Kiwanis Club of Tahoe Sierra is holding a community event to help them with a big need: luggage and backpacks.

Local children treated to gifts and banquet by Tahoe Douglas Rotary

The Tahoe Douglas Rotary Club recently held their annual Children's Christmas party and traditional turkey dinner at the Lake Tahoe Resort Hotel. On the guest list were families from both Live Violence Free and Sierra Child and Family Services. Thirty families and 80 children enjoyed an afternoon of food, entertainment, a visit from Santa and gifts.

Op/Ed: 44, 32, 0

When children are removed from their homes and put into foster care, it is most likely the worst day of their life. Foster children are kids who have to be taken from their homes due to some sort of safety risk, such as abuse, neglect, parental incarceration, or illegal activity in the household. When a community does not have enough homes to accommodate for foster youth, the children have to move to the closest available foster home, often times being several hours away.

On any given day there are 100 South Lake Tahoe kids living away from their parents

The phone rings late one evening. The person at the other end of the line asks if there is a foster family available for one child for the night.

The person who answered the phone is Megan Ciampa, Regional Manager for Sierra Child & Family Services who is based in their South Lake Tahoe office. She says the hardest part of her job is to say "no" to phone calls like that. Just this week she's had to say "no" to three children and it was only Tuesday night when we talked. "Nothing hurts me more than to say no."

County Asks for Community Input on Mental Health Services Act Plan for 2014/15

Studies show that an average of 4.6% of a population are in need of services to treat a serious mental illness at any given time. That number doubles in a population where people live below 200% of the poverty level (an annual income of $23,340 for 1 person, $47,700 for a family of 4 for example).

With the current population of El Dorado County at approximately 181,000, that means anywhere between 8,329 and 16,114 people are in need of Mental Health Services.

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