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Foothill Family Service Faces Increased Demand In Spite Of Decreased Funding

Tiffany Taylor |
November 29, 2011 | 1:25 a.m. PST

Contributor

Foothill Family Service branch at 111 S. Hudson Avenue, Pasadena, CA (Tiffany Taylor)
Foothill Family Service branch at 111 S. Hudson Avenue, Pasadena, CA (Tiffany Taylor)
Upon walking in the front doors of Foothill Family Service’s Hudson Avenue location in Pasadena, one feels welcome. The lobby looks new and the blue color scheme makes one feel at ease.

Foothill Family Service is an organization that works with over 20,000 clients each year who experience such stressors as poverty, community violence, domestic violence or job loss in the San Gabriel Valley.

Despite maintaining a well-kept appearance, the organization has been experiencing difficulty sustaining its clients’ needs during the current economic recession in California.

Foothill Family Service has seen a difference in how their organization operates today during tough economic times. This has resulted in staff cuts of the current 298 Foothill Family Service staff members.

In the midst of these cuts, the organization has been seeing more child abuse and domestic violence clients than in previous years. This has forced the organization to explore group treatment options.

“Last year, despite a recent increase in teen birth rates, we lost $500,000 in funding for support services to pregnant and parenting teens because of state budget cuts,” said Foothill Family Service development coordinator and Social Events and Volunteer Coordinator, Susan Dutra.

However, $500,000 does not seem especially significant, considering that the organization’s total annual budget is $15,700,000.

Foothill Family Service operates out of six of branches in the San Gabriel Valley, and their home administrative office is in Pasadena. According to the organization’s mission statement, “Foothill Family Service builds brighter futures – empowering children and families in our community to overcome challenges and achieve success in relationships, school and work.”

Despite limited funding and resources, they say they are doing the best they can to respond to the communities’ needs. Foothill Family Service evaluates how well they are meeting the needs of each of its client at each individual visit through standardized assessment tools.

In addition to evaluating individual sessions, client satisfaction surveys are distributed to clients or their parents and analyzed annually.  These surveys provide information on quality of treatment, if clients were able to make decisions and changes to address problem areas and if family dynamics have improved as a result of our intervention.

These surveys have produced less positive results this year than in previous years. This year, the number of clients rating the organization’s services as effective and as having influenced them to make a positive change or decision regarding their problem is 8% less than last year.

With increasing client demand, and decreasing funds and client satisfaction, Dutra proposed some solutions that Foothill Family Service is looking in to in terms of combating the tight budget facing California’s public service agencies, like Foothill Family Service.

Foothill Family Service is funded mostly through corporate sponsorship. The Capital Group, Kaiser Permanete, The Walt Disney Company and Wells Fargo Bank all currently sponsor the organization. “We recognize we need to capitalize on our partnership opportunities,” Dutra said.

However, despite corporate and private sponsorship, some of Foothill Family Service’s clients pay for their services. “As more people experience reduced work hours or job loss, many of our individual and family counseling clients who usually pay for services based on a sliding scale are unable to afford even the nominal amount,” said Dutra, “The need for services has increased as more families are under stress and fewer providers exist.”

One solution to all sides of the problem is to create public awareness of the crises that face social service agencies like Foothill Family Service and their clients. Government policy and funding decisions impact the services available to Foothill Family Service clients and the community as a whole. “The agency must improve our capacity to bring current mental health and social service issues to the attention of community members, local leaders and politicians so that our community is informed,” Dutra said.

Another possible solution, and a way that Californians can help, is through volunteering. “Meaningful volunteer opportunities engage community members, many of who later become long-term donors,” according to Dutra. Increased public awareness would hopefully engage possible volunteers, and hopefully create more long-term donors.

Last year, $1,100,000 of the agency’s total budget of $15,700,000 was raised through donations. While donations only make up about 7% of Foothill Family Service’s total annual budget, every little bit helps.


Reach Staff Contributor Tiffany Taylor here

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