Emergency Child Care Bridge Program for Foster Children (Bridge Program)

Overview

The Emergency Child Care Bridge Program for Foster Children (Bridge Program) aims to facilitate the immediate placement of children within the foster care system into a stable child care and development setting by supporting eligible families in accessing child care services upon placement. Eligible families include:

• Approved resource families
• Family placements in an emergency or for a compelling reason (often relative caregivers)
• Parents under the jurisdiction of the juvenile court, including nonminor dependent parents

The Bridge Program provides time-limited vouchers for child care and child care navigator services for families to help with accessing child care. There is also a Trauma-Informed Care (TIC) training and coaching component for child care providers to enhance their ability to provide nurturing and safe environments for children.

The Bridge Program is not an entitlement, instead it is a time-limited “bridge” to longer-term child care solutions. These solutions are used at the time of placement and are meant to stabilize children in the best possible settings, ensuring that families have adequate support to balance their work and home lives.

The Bridge Program was implemented in January 2018 with California County Child Welfare Departments (CWDs) in partnership with their local Resource and Referral (R&R) Programs opting into a share of the funding.

The goals of the Bridge Program are to:

• Increase the number of foster children successfully placed in home-based family care settings,
• Increase foster care placement stability,
• Increase capacity of child care providers to meet the needs of children in their care, and
• Maximize funding to support the child care needs of eligible families.

County Contact Information

The Bridge Program is made up of three major components:

Families may receive a time-limited voucher to help with child care costs for children in the foster care system birth through age 12, and for youth with exceptional needs up to age 21. A voucher may be issued for an initial six months and then extended for an added six months, or until the child is successfully transitioned into a long-term, child care program. Eligibility may be extended beyond 12 months for a compelling reason, at the discretion of the county. All vouchers must be paid in accordance with the Regional Market Rate (RMR) ceilings for subsidized child care payment rates. Counties may issue vouchers directly or enter into a formal agreement with the local Alternate Payment Program (APP) and/or R&R Program.

The child care navigator, employed by a local R&R Program, works with the eligible family and others authorized to assess child care opportunities and provide consumer education based on the child’s age and needs. Navigator services are available to any child in foster care, any child previously in foster care who has returned to their home of origin, and any child of parents involved in the child welfare system.

Through the Bridge Program, child care providers have access to trauma-informed care training and coaching to learn practical strategies for working with children who have experienced trauma. Trauma-informed care training and coaching are available to all child care providers. A child care provider is not required to have a family using a Bridge Program voucher in their program to receive training. The California Child Care Resource and Referral Network developed and delivers the training curriculum to certify trainers in the local R&R Program who then deliver training locally to child care providers. The certification of trainers and use of the designated curriculum is encouraged for all participating R&R Programs.

If you have questions about the Bridge Program, please contact the County Child Care Programs section at ChildCareBridge@dss.ca.gov .

• County Fiscal Letter 25/26-41
• County Fiscal Letter No. 25/26-04
• All County Letter 18-80E
• ACWDL (August 23, 2019)
• Bridge Program FAQs
• CCB 22-27 (September 26, 2022)
• County Fiscal Letter 18/19-04
• County Fiscal Letter 18-19-04E
• CFL 23-24-15 (October 4, 2023)
• Emergency Child Care Bridge Program Fact Sheet