California Alliance Membership Application

What We Do

The California Alliance of Child and Family Services is a statewide association of more than 160 nationally accredited nonprofit child and family serving agencies committed to providing the highest quality services in the most caring and effective fashion. 

The California Alliance of Child and Family Services provides budgetary, legislative and regulatory advocacy influencing a wide range of key policy issues on behalf of our member agencies and the children and families they serve. Committed to improving outcomes for children in the public human services systems, the Alliance also provides members with a wide range of practice improvement tools and opportunities.

About our Members

The California Alliance is composed of a diverse group of member organizations
located throughout California providing a wide range of services and support to tens of thousands of children and their families each year.

Alliance member agencies are mission-driven; they survive and thrive because of their single-minded dedication to the best interests of the vulnerable children, youth and families they serve. The Alliance exists to help members assure their agencies achieve their missions.

All members share a commitment to excellence and continuously strive to improve the quality of care and services they provide to high-risk children and families. As an indication of that commitment, all member agencies must meet rigorous national accreditation standards.

Member agencies participate in the Alliance’s practice improvement initiatives
including provision of evidence-based practices, utilization of common elements
with demonstrated efficacy, development of practice-based evidence, and national
and state benchmarking.

Accreditation Requirement

Consistent with California law, the California Alliance requires that all member agencies be accredited by an Alliance recognized national accrediting body including the Council on Accreditation (COA), The Joint Commission (TJC) and the Commission for Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF). 

Organizations that are already accredited may join as full “General Members” of the Alliance. Organizations
not yet accredited join as Provisional Members and retain that status until they have completed accreditation. Provisional Members are required to complete national accreditation within three years of being accepted for membership. To that end, the Alliance Membership Committee requires that Provisional Members select an accrediting body within 12 months of being approved for membership

The California Alliance is proud of the reputation for quality services earned by our members over the years. Members believe that the process of becoming accredited and maintaining accreditation improves the quality of agency services, administration, and operations. Accreditation involves a comprehensive evaluation of an agency’s operating systems based on nationally accepted standards of governance, finances,
personnel, safety and of best practices in specific service areas, and includes on-site reviews by teams of executives and specialized staff. Accreditation, as a prerequisite for membership, has been an Alliance requirement since its formation in 2000, and dates back to the late 1960s as a requirement of one of the founding associations.

Why join the Alliance?

The California Alliance of Child and Family Services "provides a great benefit" for chief executives of organizations serving the state’s most vulnerable populations. Here’s why:

• Alliance advocacy assures member’s voices are heard in Sacramento. Each
  voice is more powerful because it is joined with the voices of all Alliance
  member agencies.
  • Alliance lobbyists, staff and consultants advocate with the Governor’s office; the Legislature; state departments of education, health, social services, and the division of juvenile justice; with county government associations; and with other child advocacy groups. The Alliance
    works proactively to impact policy, budget, legislation and regulation. Our history of integrity, effectiveness and expertise has made the Alliance one of the most respected voices in Sacramento. Each member’s voice becomes more powerful when it joins the voices of all Alliance member agencies.
• The Alliance provides members with timely, vital information they need to
  make critical decisions affecting their agencies’ futures.
  • Members receive the critical information they need to make decisions for their agencies and it is delivered quickly, clearly and accurately. Alerts provide members with the best summation of state legislation, budget and policy available in California, all with a dash of good humor. Emails from Alliance policy experts make sure members get critical information – often available only to Alliance agencies – that they can use in real time. Alliance conferences bring the experts to members. Ask the tough questions, get the real answers.
• Alliance staff with specific policy area expertise and real world experience
  across multiple service sectors are available to members by phone or email.
  • Members gain access to Alliance staff, with specific policy area expertise and real world experience. Challenged by a licensing problem? Trying to understand the impact of the federal budget action on local school districts? Staff responds quickly with data, insights and knowledge members can use today. Unlike other associations, moreover, Alliance staff expertise–and advocacy–spans multiple child and family serving systems including child welfare, mental health, juvenile justice, education, and prevention services.
• Members gain access to the collected wisdom of over 160 other chief
  executives who are their colleagues .
  • Member agency executives join a select group of the most dedicated,
    entrepreneurial, supportive, principled nonprofit executives in California.
    They are available for encouragement, know-how, and collaboration.
    Members have reciprocal access to that collective wisdom.
  • As the saying goes, many hands make light work. That’s why the heavy lifting at the California Alliance is handled by the board of directors in conjunction with a host of business and program committees made up of member agency executives and senior level management. Each program area represented by the Alliance has a committee that determines and monitors the legislative and regulatory agenda in the program area. Member agencies have access to the following committees: 
    • FFA
      Adoption
      Commercial Insurance
      Residential Care
      Juvenile Justice
      Education
      Prevention 
      TAY
      Behavioral Health
      CEO/ED 
      HR/CFO Directors
      Evolving CEO
      DEI Workgroup

For questions about Alliance membership, contact Corina Dubon, Membership & Outreach Manager at cdubon@cacfs.org or 916-594-8771.

Mission Statement: Promoting the health, wellbeing and safety of children, youth, and families in California as a collective voice impacting policy and best practices to strengthen the systems that serve them.

Vision Statement: All children, youth and families thrive in loving, healthy, safe communities. 

Guiding Principles:

• Child and Family Centered - We engage and promote those most impacted by representing diverse communities across the state and ensuring they have a seat at the decision-making table.
• We invest in and advocate for the permanency and well-being of every child, youth, and family, acknowledging their  fundamental right to be respected and loved.
• We commit to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusiveness in our practices, policies, advocacy, and member support.
• We recognize our interconnectedness and the necessity to strive for deep levels of collaboration to bring together organizations who serve children and families, break isolation, and promote peer sharing. No one can do this alone.
• We engage in critical dialogue and analysis to continuously innovate and improve practice models that are rooted in evidence.
• We invest in staff to ensure they reflect the communities served, are supported by trauma-informed work environments, and can maintain endurance in the field.

Code of Ethics

Given its mission, the California Alliance has adopted a Code of Ethics to guide itself, member agencies, and Associates in their conduct. The Code contains broad principles reflecting the types of behavior the California Alliance expects toward children and youth, their families, other private human service organizations, public agencies, constituents, donors, employees, and the public. This Code of Ethics is an effort to highlight the fundamental values and ethical principles considered essential to our mission and the mission of our members.

This policy is not intended as a stand-alone policy. It does not embody the totality of the California Alliance ethical standards, nor does it answer every ethical question or issue that might arise. Rather, it is one element of a broader effort to create and maintain a quality organization that give ethical conduct the highest priority.

Alliance Associates, member agencies, their staff and boards of directors must:

1. Act honestly, truthfully and with integrity in all transactions and dealings to reflect positively on the profession, the Alliance and member agencies.
2. Keep the rights, needs and interests of the children, youth, and families for whom services are provided as the focus of all transactions.
3. Strive for excellence and innovation and demonstrate professional respect and responsiveness to clients, contracting public agencies, donors, and others.
4. Treat every individual with dignity, respect, and fairness.
5. Treat all executives and staff from other agencies with respect, and accurately and fairly represent the services provided by colleagues.
6. Avoid conflicts of interest in transactions and relationships and notify the Membership Committee if they exist.
7. Act responsibly toward the communities in which member agencies work and for the benefit of the communities they serve.
8. Be responsible, transparent, and accountable for all our actions.
9. Comply with applicable federal, state, and local laws and regulations.
10. Honor commitments and promises to the best of our abilities.
11. Not discriminate in relationships or services with children, youth and families, contractors, and colleagues on the basis of race or ethnicity, gender, gender identity, gender expression, age, religion, national origin, sexual orientation or
disability.

 

Requirement of Membership

Adherence to this code of ethics is a requirement of membership in the California Alliance for Child and Family Services. If a possible instance of unethical practice on the part of an Alliance member or Associate is brought to the attention of the Alliance, it may be referred by the Executive Director or Board of Directors to the Membership Committee for consideration of a response up to and including expulsion/probation as detailed in Section 3.6 of the Bylaws. It is the responsibility of the Membership Committee to gather all relevant facts concerning the alleged ethical breach and to present a report including recommendations for action to the Board of Directors. While performing its fact finding, the Membership Committee will give the agency under question the opportunity to respond to all expressed concerns.