Foster children are now able to obtain Library cards! In order to better serve the needs of youth who, through no fault of their own, are in foster care, an incredible group of individuals within our community took action. Thanks to the combined efforts of the County and City Libraries, Social Services, The Justice Project, Supervisor Janet Wolf, and CASA, Santa Barbara County has made the necessary changes to its library card registration requirements. Library resources will now be as available to foster children as they are to all other children in Santa Barbara County!“Sometimes, the most simple things in life make such a difference.” explained Ms. Kim Colby Davis, Executive Director of CASA Santa Barbara County. “Having a library card can open the world to a child, and now all children in our community will have that experience. I’m grateful to this wonderful group of committed professionals who worked together to make this happen in our community.”
Foster children face a multitude of challenges that limit their access to a number of resources. Unstable living situations, limited transportation options, and a variety of other factors make it hard for foster children to track and return library materials, or to secure library cards at all. Despite significant obstacles, our community members came together and made a difference.
“As County Supervisor, it was an honor and an amazing experience to bring together such dedicated public and non-profit professionals and community members.” Said Ms. Janet Wolf. “We arrived at a solution to improve access of library cards for our foster youth”
