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.