A Spokane nonprofit that focuses on private foster care services and related support programs has reached a bit farther this year because of recent charitable gifts.

The Olive Crest Eastern Washington office based in Spokane is licensed by the state to find and train foster families, but it also has several programs that provide tutoring and support for foster and at-risk children.

"Our main focus we're doing here in Spokane is to support private foster care for newborn to age 18," says Carol Plischke, who is Olive Crest Eastern Washington's area director. "We do our own recruitment of foster families, and training and licensing, primarily through churches and service groups, for all ages and all levels."

She adds, "One of the main differences between Olive Crest and say, just the state alone, is we have much lower caseloads, and we have 24-hour on-call support. Also, many of these foster kids get bounced around, and they get behind in their education. Tutoring is big for us. We assign one-on-one tutoring to that child, and even if a child returns to biological parents, this tutor can stay with them."

Tutoring is one example among a few of the nonprofit's programs that rely entirely on private funds, as is the case with Project Independence, a pilot launched this past spring with the help of a $20,000 grant from Empire Health Foundation.

Project Independence teaches independent living skills to both foster and at-risk youths, who are referred to Olive Crest because of concerns about them dropping out of school or due to unstable home conditions. The program so far has served about 35 youths, most of them in the Riverside area 20 miles north of Spokane as part of a pilot effort there.

Olive Crest has forged a partnership with the Riverside School District, which will refer youth to the program, Plischke says. While the project also helps some Spokane foster kids, she says Riverside was selected as a pilot site because it's rural and has a sizable percentage of low-income households.

"An important reason is these rural areas just don't have a Boys & Girls Club and they don't have all these different programs that might be available here in Spokane," Plischke says. "Our hope is really teaching them the skills they need to fill out a job application, to balance a checking account, to find health services, to use public transportation."

A $3,000 grant received this month from the U.S. Bancorp Foundation is specifically targeted to benefit Project Independence. Plischke says Olive Crest hopes to increase Project Independence's reach, including by providing support for more foster care youths who need skills for independent living after emancipation from the child welfare system at age 18.

Another new program called Safe Families For Children will be part of a soft launch this month, and it too will rely entirely on private funds, she says. Safe Families recruits and trains Spokane families that can take children in for short-term voluntary stays because a parent is going through a situation such as a drug or alcohol rehabilitation.

Through a partnership with Life Center Foursquare Church in Spokane, Olive Crest has trained two families so far as a start to Safe Families. Plischke says Olive Crest also will work on a referral basis with the Vanessa Behan Crisis Nursery, which—as a part of its services—offers a safe place in Spokane for parents to bring their children if they're having difficulty providing safe, nurturing care.

"We refer to Vanessa Behan, and they refer to us," Plischke says. "Vanessa Behan will definitely be a referral source for this."

Vanessa Behan typically can take children for only up to 72 hours, although at times if circumstances warrant it, the center will keep them beyond that time period for short stays. However, Olive Crest's Safe Families program will be open for longer temporary stays of children whose adult caregivers have no family or support network here. The parents voluntarily place their children in the Safe Families home, so it's not considered foster care, Plischke says.

"You may have an adult going through drug or alcohol rehabilitation, or surgery, temporary homelessness, short-term imprisonment, or is flagged through Child Protective Services," she says.

She adds that the nonprofit will do a full launch of the program once it secures private funds to cover at least three years of operating expenses.

Meanwhile, a $10,000 grant that Premera Blue Cross awarded to Olive Crest this month will support its overall operations, which are focused mostly on foster care placement. In addition to Washington state, Olive Crest has branches in California and Nevada, with a general mission to support abused, neglected, and at-risk children and their families.

Plischke says about 35 percent of the nonprofit's $1 million annual budget this fiscal year is coming from charitable giving, including individual contributions, while the other 65 percent is funded through state contracts.

As is the case with many nonprofits bracing for likely cuts as the Legislature addresses budget shortfalls, the agency will work on raising more from private donations while cutting operating expenses, she says.

"We're looking at a 10 percent cut of state funding right now that would take effect in January," she says. "We may have to cut some programs."

At the same time, more foster care homes are needed here, she says, citing a recent news story about the state placing more than 250 children in Spokane County foster care homes in the past three months. Olive Crest is considered by the state as a private, licensed child-placing agency.

"We don't have many private agencies here doing foster care," Plischke says. "There's a huge need for foster parents right now."

She says at least one other group here, Lutheran Community Services Northwest, offers foster care programs, including Families For Kids, a network of current and former members of foster and adoptive families, and the Lutheran Therapeutic Foster Care Program, which serves children and youths ages 6-17 who require intensive support often because of behavioral issues.

Plischke says Families For Kids has a contract to recruit and retain the system of state foster homes in Spokane County, while Olive Crest with its private, state-licensed foster homes will get referrals from the state through the Department of Children and Family Services.

All of Olive Crest's foster homes are licensed through the state Division of Licensed Resources, Plischke adds, which is part of the Department of Social and Health Services, the overall agency that oversees foster care.

"We have quite a few open homes right now," Plischke says. "The state has many contracts with child-placing agencies. They'd call us and ask if we have homes open, and we'd check with our families to see if there is a good match."

She says the nonprofit has a solid track record for stable placement of foster children, with a focus on trying to make good matches.

"Olive Crest is all about transforming children's lives," Plischke says. "Often children come from horrific situations where they are neglected, broken, angry, and traumatized, and Olive Crest foster families and staff work tirelessly to transform them into safe, loved, thriving, hopeful youths."

For its fiscal year ending June 30, the nonprofit placed 43 foster children in Eastern Washington, mainly in Spokane. Plischke says that the nonprofit's record for its solid placements, a 12-month tracking period of children staying in a stable foster home without transfer, is at 90 percent. Another measure called permanency, which is defined as a child being discharged from foster care and returned to biological family or adopted, was tracked at 96 percent for the past 12 months, she says.

While foster families receive a monthly reimbursement from the state to cover foster care expenses, it's usually not enough to pay for the full care of a child, Plischke adds. At the same time, these families often need ongoing training and mentoring support in caring for a foster child, she says.

"We had 12 kids get adopted last year by their Olive Crest foster families," she adds. "We really believe in the power of the family."