Optimist Youth Homes and Family Services

Optimist Youth Homes and Family Services Empowering foster and at-risk youth since 1906, we're on a mission to build bright futures through vital services that inspire hope and drive change.

Optimist Youth Homes & Family Services provides innovative and individualized treatment, education, and support services to children, young adults, and families to better their lives.

Helping young people become independent varies for each family. Sometimes it involves a deep conversation; other times, ...
08/20/2026

Helping young people become independent varies for each family. Sometimes it involves a deep conversation; other times, simply opening a bank account. One foster parent observed that Tony — an extended foster care non-minor dependent — had money scattered around his room: scholarship checks, earnings from his grades, and support from the county's Independent Living Program (ILP). Instead of leaving it there, she took him to open his first bank account. They went through the process together—making a deposit, checking the balance, and using a debit card for the first time. These practical skills build financial literacy and independence, helping a young person be prepared to manage life independently.

Today is National Nonprofit Day. It's a good moment to talk about a piece of the child welfare system in Los Angeles Cou...
08/17/2026

Today is National Nonprofit Day. It's a good moment to talk about a piece of the child welfare system in Los Angeles County that isn't always visible: how much of it runs through nonprofit organizations working alongside county agencies.

Nonprofits like Optimist work in partnership with public entities like the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services and Department of Mental Health. That's true across most nonprofit child welfare providers in LA County, not just at Optimist.

We're also looking at how to build on that foundation. County contracts fund core services, but they don't cover everything a young person or family might need. That's where philanthropic support (and innovative programs) comes in — funding programs designed to fill specific gaps that public contracts don't reach, so families get support that fully meets them where they're at.

Thank you to the nonprofits we work alongside in that shared effort, and to the county agencies who partner with us to make it possible.

A $1,000 deposit made today for an eligible child in foster care could grow to roughly $6,000 by the time they turn 18, ...
08/07/2026

A $1,000 deposit made today for an eligible child in foster care could grow to roughly $6,000 by the time they turn 18, based on historical stock market returns cited by Los Angeles County. The Board of Supervisors this week gave the Department of Children and Family Services 90 days to build a plan for reaching foster youth and resource families eligible for the accounts.

The funds come from a new federal savings program covering children born between 2025 and 2028, including those in foster care. Money can't be accessed until age 18, when it may go toward college, a first home or retirement savings.

For young adults aging out of foster care, that long-term investment matters. A fund toward college, a first home or retirement gives young people something few in this population have had: a financial head start. But reaching that point takes support along the way. Transition-age youth live on average 36% below the federal poverty line, and half experience homelessness within two to four years of leaving care. The financial cliff most of them face happens the day they age out, often without a family safety net to fall back on.

Long-term goals like these become achievable when the immediate needs, housing, transportation, basic stability, are met first. That's where programs supporting transition-age youth play a role, providing the day-to-day support that lets young people stay on track long enough to benefit from investments like this one.

What does it actually take to keep a young adult housed after foster care?In a new piece, Jodi writes about Sara, 18, wh...
08/06/2026

What does it actually take to keep a young adult housed after foster care?

In a new piece, Jodi writes about Sara, 18, who lost her transitional housing placement over a guest policy violation — a minor rule breach with an outsized consequence. For young adults without family to fall back on, a single setback like this can mean the difference between stability and homelessness.

Jodi draws on both her professional experience and her own history with homelessness as a young adult to make a broader point: housing placement alone isn't the solution. What matters is what happens after — sustained contact, coordination across housing, mental health, and case management systems, and someone tracking whether support is actually reaching the person who needs it.

Sara was back in interim housing within 72 hours of reaching out to Optimist, a result of existing coordination between Optimist and the LA County Department of Mental Health Office of Transition-Age Youth.

Jodi's piece is a useful read for anyone working in youth homelessness, transition-age services, or systems coordination.

Read the full article: https://loom.ly/JexWOY8

In 1906, Optimist began by giving young boys housing and meaningful work experience on a farm — a simple idea rooted in ...
07/27/2026

In 1906, Optimist began by giving young boys housing and meaningful work experience on a farm — a simple idea rooted in one belief: environment shapes outcomes.

That belief has carried through 120 years of change. Optimist moved away from a boys' home model, expanding to serve families working toward stability, children and youth in foster care, transition-age youth building independence, and survivors of exploitation. The programs look different today than they did in 1906. The belief behind them hasn't.

As child welfare has evolved, Optimist has moved with it — from congregate care toward trauma-informed, community-based support, and from responding to crises toward preventing them before they start.

07/24/2026

“What happened to you” — not “what’s wrong with you.”

That question shapes how our clinical team approaches trauma-informed care every day. Faith Oluwadare, one of our clinical supervisors, leads two of our mental health programs that use in-home services to meet families where they are — building trust, addressing the root of what a young person is carrying, and helping families move toward long-term stability.

Trauma-informed care is relational and consistent care. It’s part of an innovative shift in how Optimist supports children, youth, and families in Los Angeles County.
Watch Faith explain what trauma-informed, in-home care looks like in practice.

FosterCare OYHFS

07/24/2026

"What happened to you" — not "what's wrong with you."

That question shapes how our clinical team approaches trauma-informed care every day. Faith Oluwadare, one of our clinical supervisors, leads two of our mental health programs that use in-home services to meet families where they are — building trust, addressing the root of what a young person is carrying, and helping families move toward long-term stability.

Trauma-informed care is relational and consistent care. It's part of an innovative shift in how Optimist supports children, youth, and families in Los Angeles County.

Watch Faith explain what trauma-informed, in-home care looks like in practice.

Child welfare has moved toward prevention — reaching families before a crisis, not after one. Optimist's Family Preserva...
07/21/2026

Child welfare has moved toward prevention — reaching families before a crisis, not after one. Optimist's Family Preservation program is part of that shift. In partnership with the Department of Children and Family Services and Probation, staff go directly into the home to strengthen parenting skills, connect families to resources, and address needs that could otherwise lead to separation.

Family Preservation treats the whole family as the client, not just the child. Caregivers and children work through the process together, building the conditions for children to stay safely at home.

Foster care placements in Los Angeles County have dropped nearly 50% since 2020 — a trend tied directly to this kind of in-home, prevention-first work. As the field has moved this direction, Optimist has moved with it.

07/16/2026

There are two types of donations worth knowing about: unrestricted and restricted. Unrestricted giving funds wherever the need is greatest that day. Restricted giving directs your support to a specific program you care about. Both keep our work moving. Learn more about giving options here: https://loom.ly/QpJnDwc

When a child in foster care can't safely stay with a parent, kinship care means placing them with a relative — a grandpa...
07/13/2026

When a child in foster care can't safely stay with a parent, kinship care means placing them with a relative — a grandparent, an aunt or uncle, an adult sibling — instead of a non-relative foster family. Kinship placement is often prioritized in child welfare because it keeps children connected to the people, school, and community they already know, during a time that's already disruptive.

Kinship placements also tend to offer more stability than non-familial foster care. Staying with family, even extended family, gives children a sense of continuity and belonging that's harder to replicate in any other foster care setting.

At Optimist, kinship care is the first option considered whenever a child needs out-of-home placement. Supporting relative caregivers is part of how we help keep families connected during foster care involvement.

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1660 Hillhurst Ave
Los Angeles, CA
90026

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