SEED :. Services to Enhance Early Development

This program serves children from 0-5 years of age in a collaborative effort with the Center for the Vulnerable Child at Children's Hospital Oakland.

The risk of attachment problems and developmental delays increases greatly with each placement change a child experiences. The goal of the SEED Program is to minimize disruptions in attachment relationships by quickly placing court-dependent children with caregivers who would be willing to provide permanency (adoption or legal guardianship) if reunification with birth parents is not possible.

Children in this program are given comprehensive assessments of their health, development, and mental health as they enter foster care, and their progress is closely tracked. The family is served by a multidisciplinary team which includes mental health professionals, public health nurses, and child welfare workers.

Preliminary data indicates that children in the SEED Program average fewer placement changes than other children in the system. The concurrent planning model implemented by this program is only made possible by additional funding, allowing these workers to have lower caseloads and provides resources and services to meet the needs of the children and caregivers.