Direct Community Resources
Direct Community Resources
Providing a helping hand to children and families
Impact 52%fewer school days skipped by youth matched with a mentor Youth services 43%fewer violent crime arrests after a summer jobs program Behavioral health 28%lower odds of homelessness per year in extended foster care Family stability 41%lower odds of arrest per year in extended foster care Anti-trafficking 332,000children in foster care in the United States Somewhere safe to go 11 to 21the ages we walk with
Direct Community Resources

Every young person deserves a next step, and someone standing there when they take it.

Programs for young people ages 11 to 21, and for the adults raising them. A child's stability runs straight through the adults in their life, so we work on both.

What we are known for

Four promises we do not break

Somewhere to go. A place that is theirs. One adult who stays. A way to earn their own living.

01 Somewhere to goDay programs after school, camps all year, and someone beside a child on the worst day of it. +

Three in the afternoon and nine at night are the two most dangerous hours in a young person's day. They are also the two nobody staffs.

  • Day habilitation on weekdays for young people with disabilities
  • After school programs with homework help, a gym and a free supper
  • Camps and clinics that run year round
  • Safe Passage: a person beside a child during a placement crisis, and a community around them

Same school. Same siblings. Same neighborhood, kept intact wherever we can.

02 A place that belongs to themThree buildings: courts, classrooms and a hub, plus a recording studio. +

Young people do not walk into a building because it offers services. They walk in because it is theirs.

  • The Courts. Skills training, leagues, conditioning and adaptive play
  • Classrooms. Tutoring, credit recovery, counseling and money skills
  • The Hub. Free suppers, a youth staffed front desk and a paid worksite
  • The studio. A real booth, music therapy, and a store where youth shop for themselves
03 One adult who does not leaveA screened, trained mentor matched for a full year, minimum. +

Ask a young person who aged out how many adults they have met. Then ask how many are still in their phone.

  • Background checks, references and training before anyone meets a child
  • Matched on career interest and personality, with the youth's own input
  • Twelve months minimum, with monthly check-ins on both sides

In a randomized trial, youth matched with a mentor skipped 52 percent fewer days of school.

04 A way to earn their own livingLife skills, a credential, paid work, a job, and ninety days of coaching after the hire. +

Nobody ages out of poverty on advice. They age out of it on a wage.

  • Life skills first: a bank account, a budget, cooking, laundry, a lease, an ID in hand
  • Resume workshops and mock interviews recorded and reviewed together
  • An industry certification and paid work experience
  • Placement with a partner employer, then ninety days of coaching

In a randomized evaluation, a summer jobs program cut violent crime arrests by 43 percent.

One conversation starts it

Tell us what you need. A person reads it and gets back to you.

Get Help

Ask us for what you need

No cost to you. No caseworker needed.

What you can get

Ask for one thing. We will look at all of it.

Eight kinds of help. Young people and the adults raising them both count here. If you were in foster care once and you are twenty eight now, you still count.

Food and clothesGroceries, hot meals, school uniforms, shoes, a winter coat. +
  • A free supper every program day, and breakfast and lunch in the summer
  • Groceries and food boxes for the household, plus weekend food when school is out
  • Help signing up for food benefits you already qualify for
  • Clothes and shoes you pick out yourself, in your size, not a bag of somebody's castoffs
  • School uniforms, gym clothes and a backpack with the full supply list
  • A new winter coat, hat and gloves before it gets cold
  • An interview outfit, and a dress or a suit for prom
  • Hygiene products, laundry, and a haircut before school pictures or an interview
  • Diapers, wipes and formula if you are a parent yourself
A place to stayHelp finding a placement, transitional housing, or your own apartment with support. +
  • Somebody with you while a placement is found, and help pushing for one near your school
  • A warm connection to emergency shelter if you have nowhere tonight
  • Short term and transitional housing
  • Your own apartment, with staff who visit and help you hold the lease
  • Help if you are leaving care, leaving detention, or have nowhere at eighteen
  • Help with a rent shortfall, a utility bill or a deposit, to keep a family together
Someone in your cornerA mentor, a counselor, or an advocate who shows up in court. +
  • A mentor matched to you for a full year
  • A therapist, for you or your family, insurance or not
  • Group sessions after a loss, and someone to talk to after something happens in the neighborhood
  • An advocate in court, and connection to a lawyer if you are in detention
  • Help finding relatives and people you were separated from
School and tutoringHomework help, reading and math, credit recovery, a diploma or GED. +
  • Homework help every weekday afternoon, with a quiet place and a computer
  • One on one tutoring in reading and math, at whatever level you are actually at
  • Credit recovery, so a bad year does not cost you a diploma
  • Help getting re-enrolled and getting your records after a move
  • Someone who goes with you to a school meeting when the school is not listening
  • GED preparation, college entrance test prep, applications and financial aid forms
  • A laptop, a hotspot and internet at home
Work and moneyFree training, a certification, a real job, and a bank account that grows. +
  • Free job training with a certification employers recognize
  • A first resume, mock interviews, and how to talk about a record or a gap
  • Paid work experience, then a real job with ninety days of coaching
  • Summer jobs for teens
  • A bank account, a budget that survives a real paycheck, and matched savings
  • A small fund for the one expense in your way, decided in days
Getting around and getting set upBus passes, your documents, a phone, storage, a license. +
  • Bus passes and rides to programs, work and appointments
  • Use our mailing address, get a voicemail line and a permanent email
  • Birth certificate, Social Security card and state ID, fees paid, we go with you
  • Help getting a free or low cost phone and data plan
  • Showers, laundry, lockers and a quiet room
  • Storage bins with your name on them, so you stop losing everything when you move
  • Driver's license: permit fees, driver education, practice hours and first year insurance
  • A first apartment kit and help with the deposit
For the adults raising themA job, a record cleared, parenting support, and help getting a child back home. +

A child's stability runs through the adults in their life. When a parent or a caregiver gets steady work and steady housing, the young person in that house gets both too. So we serve the adults on purpose, not as an afterthought.

  • The same free job training, certification and placement we give young people
  • Reentry support for adults coming home from incarceration: work, housing, documents and benefits
  • Help understanding what shows on a background check, and referral to legal help
  • Parenting instruction, supervised family time, and step by step support toward reunification
  • Counseling and recovery support for the adult, running alongside the child's
  • Help with a rent shortfall, a utility bill, a car repair or a work uniform
  • Training, respite and a person to call for foster, kinship and adoptive caregivers
  • Benefits navigation, so a household receives what it already qualifies for
Somewhere to be, and things to doGym, leagues, the studio, camps, and your birthday remembered. +
  • Open gym, skills training and organized leagues, free to participants
  • The recording studio: write it, record it, produce it, perform it
  • Camps and clinics all year, not just in summer
  • League fees, cleats, uniforms, instruments and camp tuition covered
  • Prom, graduation caps and gowns, and fees nobody warns you about
  • Your birthday, actually remembered
  • Help arranging visits with brothers and sisters you were separated from
Ask for it

You do not have to explain everything to get started

One short form. Answer what you can. A blank field will not stop us from getting back to you.

This is not a secure medical or legal channel. Please leave out a child's full name, case numbers and diagnoses. Sending this does not create an attorney and client relationship and is not legal advice.

Your message is ready to send

We opened your email app with it filled in. Press send. If nothing opened, write to info@directcommunityresources.com.

What happens next

After you hit send

A person reads it. No application number, no waiting to find out if you qualify.

We reach out

By the method you chose.

We look wider

You asked for one thing. We will tell you what else fits.

A plan you agreed to

In writing. You get a copy.

Or a real referral

If we are not right, we name someone who is.

Help right now

If this cannot wait

We answer during business hours. These answer all night, and they are free.

Immediate danger

Call 911, or your state child abuse hotline.

Suicide and crisis

Call or text 988.

Trafficking

1-888-373-7888, or text 233733.

Nowhere to sleep

1-800-786-2929, Runaway Safeline.

Questions

Before you ask

Does it cost anything?
No. Never, for any young person or family. Contracts, grants and donors pay for it.
Do I need a caseworker or a referral?
No. You can ask for yourself. A parent, relative, teacher or coach can ask for you.
Does the young person have to be in foster care?
No. We serve youth in care and youth who have never been in the system at all.
What ages?
Core programs are 11 to 21. Housing and job training serve young adults. Basic needs and family support reach any age.
Do you ask about immigration status?
No. We do not require immigration documents to serve anyone.
How fast will someone contact me?
We work in the order requests arrive and move urgent ones up. If someone is in danger tonight, use the numbers above.
Who sees what I write?
Our intake team. Email is not secure, which is why we ask you to leave out full names, case numbers and diagnoses.
I want to help instead. Where do I go?
Mentoring and volunteering are under Contact Us. Gifts and drives are under Charitable Giving.
About

One organization, so nobody gets handed off

Direct Community Resources is the umbrella. Project DCR is its nonprofit arm.

Who we are

Meeting young people where they are

A child who needs a counselor, a tutor, a mentor and a bed should not tell their story to four agencies to get them. And the adults raising that child are part of the work, not a separate case.

Our missionTrauma informed, strengths based, and built around the whole young person.+

Many young people face gaps in education, limited access to resources, and emotional challenges from past trauma. Those barriers block school, work and independence.

We prioritize academic achievement, emotional wellbeing and life skills. We meet each person where they are, give them the tools to thrive, and build confidence and purpose.

We serve two generations at onceBecause a young person's stability runs through the adults in their life.+

A teenager cannot be stable in an unstable house. When a parent finds steady work, when a caregiver gets respite, when an adult comes home from prison and finds a job in the first month, the young person in that household is the one who feels it.

So the job training, the reentry support, the counseling and the emergency funds are open to the adults too. It is not charity spread thin. It is the shortest path to the outcome we are actually paid to produce.

Project DCR, our nonprofit armIt pays for what no contract covers, so we can still say yes.+

The winter coat. The birthday nobody remembered. The deposit on a first apartment. The tank of gas that saves a job.

Project DCR holds nonprofit eligibility, receives grants and gifts, and applies wherever nonprofit status is required.

DCR S.T.E.P.S., our program modelEight commitments carried out with every young person, ages 11 to 21.+

Success Through Empowerment, Preparation, and Support. We stay from the first assessment until a young person is housed, working or in school and no longer needs us.

Who we serve

The people we are built for

The ones most often written off.

Inner city and underserved communitiesProgramming placed where young people already are, free to participants and reachable without a car.+

Neighborhoods carrying the heaviest load of violence, school instability and unemployment, and households facing food and housing insecurity or disconnection from services they already qualify for.

Children in agency custody and foster careRemoved from home, in placement, or preparing to leave without a safety net.+

We have delivered government contracted services to children in CPS custody and foster care, and we know the referral process, documentation standards and reporting an agency expects.

Youth aging outTurning eighteen with no family to fall back on.+

Housing, employment, life skills, documents and a person who stays reachable long after the case closes.

Court involved childrenYoung people whose future is being decided in a courtroom.+

Guardian ad litem and attorney ad litem services, court reports and advocacy, so the record in front of the judge reflects the child rather than the paperwork.

Formerly incarcerated youth and adultsComing home and trying to build something that holds.+

Reentry support for young people leaving juvenile placement and for adults coming home, including parents working to reunify with their children.

Foster, kinship and adoptive familiesThe people who take children in, often with hours of notice.+

Training, respite, post-placement support, and someone to call at eleven at night.

How it works

From referral to independence

Seven stages, so a referring caseworker always knows where a young person stands.

1
Referral
2
Interview
3
Assessment
4
Support Plan
5
Weekly Programs
6
Progress Checks
7
Transition

Weekly sessions for 6, 10, or 12 months, with required community service hours. Young people give back, they do not only receive.

Our impact

What the research says works

We build programs around approaches that have been tested. Every figure below is from a named study.

Mentoring in foster care0%

Lower self reported delinquency by age 18. Fostering Healthy Futures randomized trials.

School attendance0%

Fewer days of school skipped with a mentor. Grossman and Tierney, 1998.

Youth employment0%

Fewer violent crime arrests after a summer jobs program. Heller, Science, 2014.

Staying out of the system0%

Lower odds of arrest per year in extended foster care. CalYOUTH, 2018.

Staying housed0%

Lower odds of homelessness per year in extended foster care. CalYOUTH, 2018.

Stated honestly. The mentoring and jobs figures come from randomized trials. The extended foster care figures are estimates from longitudinal data, not a trial.

The need

Why this exists

Federal data on what happens to young people who go through the system without support.

332,000

children in foster care in the United States on September 30, 2025.

1 in 4

report having experienced homelessness by age 21.

25%

of foster care alumni met criteria for PTSD in the previous year, against 4 percent generally.

8 to 12%

earn a college degree by their mid to late twenties, against about half of their peers.

1 in 7

children reported missing in 2025 were likely victims of child sex trafficking.

17%

of children reported missing from child welfare were likely trafficking victims.

News

Happening now

What is open, what is collecting, and where we need help.

Studio sessions enrollingSongwriting, recording and audio engineering, with music therapy alongside.+

Space is limited by booth time, so early sign ups get first scheduling.

Winter Coat Drive collectingNew coats, hats, gloves and boots, distributed before the first freeze.+

Group and company drop offs welcome. Youth and adult sizes both needed.

Christmas Give Back taking sponsorsFamilies are being nominated now and matched as sponsors come in.+

Sponsors receive each child's age, size and wish list. Volunteers are needed for sorting, wrapping and delivery week.

Employers wantedPaid worksites, fair chance hiring partners and apprenticeships.+

We also need hiring managers willing to spend a morning running mock interviews. It is the most useful hour a company can give us.

Mentor screening openApplications from adults who can commit to one young person for twelve months.+

Background checks, reference checks and pre service training all happen before a first meeting.

Open to agency and government partnersAccepting referrals and pursuing contracts across our service lines.+

Capability packets are available on request for any solicitation or funding review.

Access and equal opportunity

The door is open, and we help you through it

A program that is available but out of reach is not available.

Accessible facilities and adaptive programsWheelchair accessible spaces, adaptive equipment and modified play.+

Young people with disabilities take part rather than watch. Accessible entrances, restrooms and program spaces throughout.

Getting hereTransportation and bus passes, sites on transit lines, hours set around your life.+

Program hours are set around school, work and custody schedules rather than around ours.

Language and communicationSpanish intake and programming, interpretation and auxiliary aids on request.+

Sign language interpretation and large print materials are arranged at no cost. Staff will read a form aloud and fill it out with you.

No cost, no barrierNo diploma, work history, clean record, referral or immigration document required.+

Programs are free to participants. Tell us what you need to take part and we will work it out.

Equal opportunity statementServices, employment and volunteering without discrimination.+

Direct Community Resources and Project DCR provide services, employment and volunteer opportunities without regard to race, color, national origin, ethnicity, ancestry, religion, sex, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, marital or family status, pregnancy, age, disability, veteran or military status, genetic information, immigration status, or any other characteristic protected by law.

  • An equal opportunity employer and an equal opportunity service provider
  • Services delivered without regard to ability to pay
  • Reasonable accommodations and language assistance at no cost
  • LGBTQ young people served and affirmed in every program
  • Anyone treated unfairly may raise it with us, and we respond in writing
Accountability

What we measure and report

Public money and charitable gifts both deserve a public answer.

Attendance

Days present, by youth and program.

Grades

Performance and credit recovery.

Placement stability

Moves avoided, placements held.

Counseling

Sessions delivered, needs met.

Mentor matches

Made, and sustained.

Youth employment

Placements, hours, wages.

Meals served

By program day.

Completion

Program and transition outcomes.

Child safety standardsBackground checks, written policies, trauma informed training, set ratios.+
  • Criminal background and registry screening for all staff and volunteers
  • Written child safety, supervision and incident reporting policies
  • Trauma informed and mandated reporter training for everyone who works with youth
  • Supervision ratios set before a program opens, not after
Grant and contract complianceSeparate books per grant, on-time invoices, audit ready documentation.+
  • Grant reports and on-time invoices
  • Separate books for every grant and restricted gift
  • Insurance, licensure and registrations kept current
  • Corrective action tracked to closure, not to the next report
Subaward readiness

The four things a pass-through has to check, answered

Federal rules require a prime to evaluate four specific things about a subrecipient before making a subaward. Rather than wait to be asked, here are DCR's answers to all four, in the order the regulation lists them.

01Prior experience with the same or similar subawardsWhat DCR has delivered before, under whose contract, and for how long.+

DCR has delivered contracted services to children in CPS custody and foster care, and operates community programming, workforce training and behavioral health service lines today.

  • Awarding entity, contract term and annual value for each prior award
  • Scope of services delivered, volume served and period of performance
  • Named performance references with current contact information

Named references, award terms and closeout letters are provided in the subaward package.

02Results of previous audits, including Single Audit statusWhether DCR receives a Single Audit, and what the last one found.+

Financial statements, the current Single Audit status and any findings with their corrective action plans are provided on request and in the subaward package.

  • Most recent audited financial statements
  • Current Single Audit status, and the reporting package where one applies
  • Any findings, the corrective action taken, and whether it has been closed
03New personnel, or new or substantially changed systemsWho runs the work, how long they have run it, and what has changed recently.+

A prime is assessing whether the people and systems that will carry the subaward are settled. DCR reports leadership tenure, key program and fiscal staff, and any change to its accounting, payroll or case management systems in the last twelve months.

  • Leadership and key program and fiscal staff, with tenure in role
  • Accounting and payroll systems, and any change in the last twelve months
  • The case management system that produces service records and reporting
04Federal agency monitoring and its resultsWhether DCR holds awards directly, and what any monitoring found.+

DCR discloses whether it receives federal awards directly from an agency, the results of any monitoring or site visit, and its current status in the System for Award Management, including exclusions.

  • Whether DCR holds federal awards directly from an agency
  • The results of any federal monitoring visit or programmatic review
  • Current System for Award Management registration and exclusion status

On rates. Indirect cost treatment is stated in the proposal for each opportunity rather than published, since it depends on the award and the cost base. DCR provides its rate and supporting documentation with the subaward package.

Sources

Where our numbers come from

We cite what we claim, and we say when a finding is not from a trial.

Federal dataAFCARS, NYTD and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.+
  • U.S. Children's Bureau, Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System, preliminary FY2025 estimates
  • U.S. Children's Bureau, National Youth in Transition Database, Data Brief number 8, 2023
  • National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, 2025 reporting data
Peer reviewed researchEducation outcomes, mental health and physical activity.+
  • Okpych and colleagues, systematic review of education outcomes, AERA Open, 2025
  • Pecora and colleagues, Northwest Foster Care Alumni Study, Casey Family Programs, 2005
  • Recchia and colleagues, physical activity and depressive symptoms, JAMA Pediatrics, 2023
Randomized trialsMentoring and summer employment.+
  • Grossman and Tierney, Big Brothers Big Sisters impact study, Evaluation Review, 1998
  • Taussig and colleagues, Fostering Healthy Futures, rated Promising by Blueprints
  • Heller, summer jobs and violence, Science, 2014
  • Raposa, Rhodes and colleagues, mentoring meta analysis, 2019
Estimates, stated with their limitsExtended foster care, kinship care and after school programs.+
  • Courtney, Okpych and Park, CalYOUTH, Chapin Hall, 2018 and 2021. Quasi experimental, not a trial
  • Winokur and colleagues, kinship care review, 2014. All included studies were non randomized
  • Durlak and colleagues, after school meta analysis, 2010. Benefits appear only for structured programs
What we do not claimTwo widely repeated figures we deliberately leave off this site.+

We do not repeat the claim that three percent of foster youth earn a college degree, which current research has retired. We do not state that most trafficked children come from foster care, which misreads the underlying data.

Services

What we deliver, and what you can contract

For child welfare agencies, courts, cities, counties and states.

Signature programs

What we do ourselves, instead of handing you a phone number

Seven programs. Tap any one for how it actually runs.

01Safe PassageCommunity response when a child's placement falls apart, so they are not alone in the gap.+

When a placement breaks down or a teenager runs, a child spends hours or days in limbo. Waiting in an office. Riding around. Sitting in a hospital hallway. Nobody is assigned to that gap, and it is where children get lost.

What we do in it. Somebody answers the phone while the call is still live. An advocate goes to the child and stays with them through the wait. We work the placement search alongside the caseworker, and we push for the option closest to their school and their siblings. We supply what they left with nothing of: clothes, a duffel bag of their own, hygiene, a phone charger, food.

The first days after. School re-enrollment and records. A counselor. A mentor match. Support to whoever took the child in, so the new placement holds. Relative and kin search runs from day one, because the best outcome is family.

For teens who have run. Outreach, a warm connection to licensed emergency shelter, and a door that opens without a lecture. The goal is coming back inside, not being caught.

Community driven. We recruit inside the neighborhoods children are removed from: congregations, neighborhood organizations, coaches, barbers, teachers and bus drivers trained on what to look for and who to call, alumni on staff who have been through it, and local businesses supplying what a child needs the day they arrive with nothing.

On exploitation. Traffickers recruit from exactly this gap: the bus station, the stranger's couch, the hours nobody is watching. A young person with somewhere to be and someone with them is far harder to reach. Where a child has been exploited we screen, bring in a trained advocate, and work with law enforcement and the agency.

Licensed placement itself is provided by our partner agencies. Safe Passage is the response around it.

02Guardian ad litem and child advocacyCourt appointed advocacy backed by a network of attorneys.+

When a judge decides where a child lives, the judge is working from a file. We put a person in front of the court who has actually sat on the floor of that child's bedroom.

How it runs. We meet the child where they live, consistently. We investigate independently: parents, relatives, caregivers, teachers, therapists, plus school and medical records. We file written recommendations on the court's schedule, we testify, and we track every court ordered service to completion.

Two different roles, and we say which one we are in. As guardian ad litem we argue best interest, and we always put the child's own wishes on the record alongside it. As attorney ad litem, through our network of licensed attorneys, we represent the child as a client. Where counsel is already appointed we coordinate rather than duplicate.

Where we are appointed. Child welfare cases, juvenile detention, older youth transition hearings, and guardianship matters.

What makes it different. An attorney network behind every case. Capped caseloads. Trained volunteer advocates. Trauma informed interviewing. Language and cultural match. The same advocate across the life of the case.

Ad litem roles are created by court appointment and the rules differ by jurisdiction. Contacting us does not create an attorney and client relationship and is not legal advice.

03Supervised Independent LivingA real address for a young adult, with three staff roles and single digit caseloads.+

The hardest birthday in foster care is the eighteenth.

Settings. Apartments, scattered site apartments, shared housing, host homes, college and non-college dormitories, and family units for pregnant and parenting young adults.

Staffing. A youth advocate who meets weekly in the community. An education and employment specialist. A housing specialist who handles the lease, inspections and repairs while teaching tenancy by doing it. Caseloads in single digits and on-call support around the clock.

What they leave with. Savings built into the program, so a young person exits holding a deposit rather than a list of phone numbers. Enhanced case management is available where medical or behavioral needs are complex.

The measure that matters. Not program completion, but whether they are still housed, still working or in school, and still connected twelve months later.

04Mentor MatchScreened, trained, career based mentors committed for twelve months.+

Mentoring fails when it is casual. A young person who has already been let down cannot afford another adult who fades out.

Five stages. Recruit and screen with background checks, registry screening, references and an in-person interview. Train on trauma informed practice, boundaries, confidentiality and mandated reporting. Match on career interest, personality, availability and the youth's own input. Sustain with monthly check-ins on both sides and staff intervention at the first sign of drift. Measure match length, contact frequency, attendance, grades and youth reported connection.

Mentors come from trades, healthcare, business, law enforcement, athletics and the arts.

05The basicsAn address, documents, a phone, storage and a same-week flex fund.+

A young person cannot get a job without an address, an address without ID, or ID without a birth certificate they have never seen.

  • A mailing address, a voicemail line and a permanent email account
  • Vital documents tracked to completion, with fees paid and trips made
  • Credit reports pulled and disputed, since identity theft in care is common
  • Help enrolling in free or low cost phone and data plans
  • Same-week flex funds for the one expense in the way
  • Labeled storage bins, so a young person stops losing everything each move
  • A store where they shop and choose, not a donation closet
  • Driver's license end to end, including first year insurance
  • Food, showers, laundry, lockers, charging and a quiet room, on published hours

Open to young people in care, out of care, and never in care. Alumni can come back at any age.

06Lifelong connectionFamily finding, circles of support and written permanency pacts.+

Roughly one in four young people leaves foster care without a lasting connection to any caring adult. Research is consistent that relationship closeness, not service count, predicts how they do at twenty five.

  • Find the people. A systematic search of records and networks for every adult who has ever mattered
  • Circles of support. A facilitated meeting built around adults the young person chooses
  • Written commitments. A named adult commits in writing to specific things: a seat at Thanksgiving, a place to do laundry, an emergency contact, a couch after an eviction
  • Siblings. Funded visits and travel, sibling days, and contact reported as an outcome
  • Alumni for life. No upper age limit. Coming back is the design, not a relapse
07NormalcyBirthdays, prom, sports fees, college break housing and matched savings.+

Foster care is full of paperwork for the serious things and nothing at all for the ordinary ones.

  • A birthday plan for every young person
  • Prom and graduation: dresses, suits, tickets, caps, gowns, fees and someone in the audience
  • League fees, instruments, equipment, camp tuition and yearbooks
  • Somewhere to be at the holidays, when a group home empties out
  • Housing over college winter and summer breaks, when dorms close
  • Matched savings toward a car, a deposit, tuition, tools or credit repair
  • Paid youth staff and a compensated youth advisory board with real authority
Full catalog

Everything we can be contracted for

You do not have to read all of it. Tell us who you are, or search for the thing you came for.

Start here

Nothing matches that. Try a broader word, or .

Placement support and watchful oversight5 services
Foster home recruitment and supportChild placing agency services

Recruiting, screening, training and supporting foster and adoptive homes, with ongoing supervision of placements and support to caregivers holding difficult placements.

Enhanced and maximum oversight placementsSpecialized care levels

Support for children needing higher supervision levels, including youth with complex behavioral needs and children who have experienced exploitation.

Pregnant and parenting youth supportSecond chance programming

Placement support and parenting instruction for expectant and parenting young people in care, so two generations are served at once.

Placement crisis responseSupport through the gap

An advocate who goes to a child when a placement breaks down and stays through the wait, works the placement search alongside the caseworker, supplies what the child arrived without, and supports the receiving caregiver so the next placement holds.

Respite and stabilization supportPlacement preservation

Short-term relief for caregivers and rapid stabilization support when a placement is at risk, to prevent an avoidable move.

Family preservation and prevention5 services
Intensive in-home family preservationRemoval prevention

Short-term, high-intensity in-home work with families at imminent risk of removal, addressing the safety concern directly rather than referring it onward.

Parent aide and parent educationIn-home skill building

In-home modeling, coaching and supportive supervision of parenting skills, with structured parent education for reunification and in-home safety plans.

Prevention of unnecessary placementBarrier removal

Targeted, flexible support that removes the one concrete barrier, such as housing, utilities, childcare or transportation, that would otherwise force a removal.

Supervised visitation and family timeParent and sibling contact

Monitored parent-child and sibling visits in a child-friendly setting, with written observation reports delivered to the agency and the court on schedule.

Reunification supportSafe return home

Step-down support through trial home visits and the months after reunification, when families are most likely to come apart again.

Behavioral health and assessment4 services
Comprehensive child and family assessmentMulti-domain assessment

Full psychosocial, educational, developmental and family assessment producing findings and recommendations a caseworker can build a case plan on.

Individual, group and family counselingLicensed clinical services

Therapy delivered by licensed clinicians, including trauma specific treatment, grief and loss work, and counseling to stabilize a placement in crisis.

Wraparound and care coordinationTeam-based planning

Team based, individualized planning for children with complex needs across child welfare, education, behavioral health and juvenile justice systems.

Substance use support for youth and parentsAssessment and counseling

Screening, assessment and counseling, coordinated with treatment providers so a parent's recovery and a child's permanency plan move together.

Independent living, education and workforce11 services
Independent living skills trainingPreparation for adult living

Structured life skills instruction across health and safety, housing and transportation, job readiness, financial management, decision making and relationships.

Transitional living supportAging out and aftercare

Transition planning, circles of support, housing navigation, personal documents assistance and aftercare for young adults leaving care.

Supervised independent livingHousing with support

Apartments, shared housing, host homes and dormitory placements for young adults, with life skills coaching, case management and enhanced case management where needs are complex.

Educational advocacy and tutoringSchool stability

Enrollment and records advocacy after a placement move, tutoring, credit recovery and support toward a diploma or GED.

Youth employment and job readinessFirst job support

Paid work experience, resume and interview preparation, employer matching and coaching through the first paycheck and past it.

Drop-in center operationOpen access, no referral

A walk-in center for young people in care, leaving care, homeless or otherwise at risk: meals, showers, laundry, storage, computers, mail and voicemail, with partner agencies co-located on site.

Vital documents and identity protectionRemoving the first barrier

Obtaining birth certificates, Social Security cards and state identification, covering the fees, and pulling and disputing credit reports for young people whose identity was used while they were minors.

Matched savings and asset buildingMoney that becomes something

Dollar for dollar matched savings accounts with a financial coach, spendable on a vehicle, a housing deposit, education, tools, health costs or credit repair.

Driver education and licensing supportAccess to work

Permit and license fees, driver education tuition, supervised practice hours and first-year insurance, which is where most licensing programs stall.

Youth leadership and peer navigationLived experience on staff

Paid roles and a compensated youth advisory board for young people with lived experience, plus trained peer navigators who reach young people staff cannot.

Financial literacy and asset buildingMoney skills

Banking, budgeting, credit and savings instruction, including matched savings support toward a car, a deposit or tuition.

Kinship, adoption and permanency6 services
Relational permanency and family findingLifelong connections

Systematic search for relatives and past connections, facilitated circles of support built around adults the youth chooses, and written permanency pacts committing named adults to specific supports.

Sibling connectionKeeping brothers and sisters together

Funded sibling visits and travel, sibling days and camps for separated siblings, with sibling contact tracked and reported as an outcome.

Kinship caregiver navigationRelative caregiver support

Helping grandparents and relative caregivers reach the benefits, legal support and services they are entitled to and rarely told about.

Caregiver pre-service training and family evaluationsHome development

State approved pre-service training for prospective foster and adoptive parents, and written family evaluations and home studies.

Post-adoption and post-permanency supportDisruption prevention

Information and referral, casework, parent groups, counseling, respite and crisis intervention for adoptive and permanent placement families.

Case management and documentationAcross every service line

Assigned case managers, written service plans, progress documentation and reporting built to the agency's own format and deadlines.

Medicaid waiver services for children with serious emotional disturbance12 services
Community living supportsIn home and in community

Direct support in the home and community to build daily living, social and behavioral skills, and to keep a child stable in their own home rather than in a facility.

Respite, in home and out of homeRelief for caregivers

Planned and crisis relief for the adults caring for a child with serious emotional disturbance, delivered in the family home or in an approved setting.

Family supportsParent and caregiver partner

Peer delivered support, education and coaching for parents and caregivers, so the adult raising the child is supported alongside the child.

Supportive family based alternativesFamily setting care

Care in a trained family setting for a child who needs time outside the home, billed daily, as an alternative to institutional placement.

Paraprofessional servicesTrained direct support

Trained paraprofessional staff working directly with a child on the goals in their plan of care, under clinical supervision.

Specialized therapiesMusic, art, recreational, animal assisted, nutrition

Music therapy by a board certified music therapist, art therapy, recreational therapy, animal assisted therapy and nutritional counseling by a licensed dietitian, delivered against a treatment plan rather than as enrichment.

Supported employmentKeeping the job

Ongoing support to a young person who has a job, so that a mental health condition does not end it.

Employment assistanceGetting the job

Help identifying, applying for and securing competitive employment, including employer negotiation and accommodation.

Transitional servicesOne time setup support

One time, non recurring support to set up a household or a transition, up to the program cap, covering the costs that otherwise stop a move from happening.

Adaptive aids and supportsEquipment and assistive items

Items and equipment that let a child function safely at home, at school and in the community.

Minor home modificationsSafety and access

Physical changes to a family home that make it safe and accessible for a child with behavioral or physical needs.

Non medical transportationGetting to the service

Transportation to community services, activities and appointments that are not covered as medical transport, billed per mile.

Court services and child advocacy5 services
Guardian ad litem servicesBest interest advocacy

Court appointed advocates who meet the child, investigate the circumstances, and give the court an independent recommendation on the child's best interest.

Attorney ad litem representationExpressed wishes

Representation by licensed attorneys for children entitled to counsel, presenting the child's own expressed wishes to the court rather than an adult's view of them.

Court reports, social studies and testimonyEvidence for the record

Written social studies, placement and home evaluations, progress reports filed on the court's schedule, and staff available to testify to their findings.

Volunteer advocate recruitment and supervisionCommunity advocates

Recruiting, screening, training and supervising community volunteers who serve as advocates for children with an open case, so no child stands in court unaccompanied.

Court liaison and hearing supportFamily navigation

Preparing youth and caregivers for hearings, explaining what was decided afterward, and tracking court ordered services to completion.

Rehabilitation and reentry6 services
Juvenile reentry and aftercareYouth returning home

Transition planning that begins before release, school re-enrollment, mentoring, family mediation and structured programming in the first ninety days, when recidivism risk is highest.

Adult reentry supportReturning citizens

Employment readiness, workforce certification, housing navigation, benefits and identification documents, transportation and peer support for adults coming home.

Reunification after incarcerationParents and children

Parenting instruction, supervised family time and step-by-step reunification support for parents working to regain custody or rebuild a relationship after release.

Diversion and alternatives to detentionBefore the record starts

Structured diversion programming, conflict resolution and community service placements for young people facing a first or low level offense.

Fair chance employer partnershipsWork that sticks

Recruiting employers willing to hire on capability, preparing candidates for the interview and the first ninety days, and coaching both sides through the early problems.

Recovery and stability supportWraparound reentry

Substance use and behavioral health coordination, mentoring, financial literacy and connection to the community supports that keep a person from cycling back.

Community and neighborhood programs9 services
Day habilitationDaytime structured programming

Weekday daytime programming for young people with intellectual and developmental disabilities: adaptive sports, life and social skills, community integration, individual plans and progress documentation.

Summer camp and enrichmentFull day summer site

Full day summer camps, sports clinics and enrichment with meals served on site, plus paid work roles for older teens.

Music therapyCredentialed therapeutic services

Music therapy delivered by credentialed therapists for regulation, expression, group work, and grief and trauma processing, coordinated with a young person's counseling plan.

Creative arts and media trainingStudio based programming

Recording studio programming teaching songwriting, audio engineering, production, podcasting and media, with a pathway toward paid creative work.

Sports based youth developmentAthletics as engagement

Coached athletics used as the engagement strategy for academic, behavioral health and life skills programming, including adaptive and unified play.

Out of school time programmingAfter school and summer

Supervised, structured programming in the after school and summer hours for young people in high need neighborhoods, free to the family.

Violence prevention and youth diversionNeighborhood safety

Prevention programming, organized athletics and conflict resolution placed in the neighborhoods carrying the heaviest burden of youth violence.

Food access and basic needsRemoving the barrier first

Daily meals during programming, food and supply distributions, school supplies, uniforms and emergency household support for families in crisis.

Benefits navigation and community outreachClosing the eligibility gap

Helping families actually receive the benefits, school services and community resources they already qualify for but have never been walked through.

Need the whole list on paper?

Contract officers and grant reviewers can request our capability statement, which carries all sixty three service lines, our organization data, NAICS codes and past performance references on two pages.

Contracting

Easy to fund and contract with

We accept grants, subawards, purchase of service contracts and fee for service.

Organization data

Legal nameDirect Community Resources
Nonprofit armProject DCR
SAM.gov UEI
CAGE code
Licensure
Accreditation
Vendor registrations
Insurance

NAICS codes

624110Child and Youth Services
624190Other Individual and Family Services
611620Sports and Recreation Instruction
713940Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers

Past performance references, insurance certificates, licensure documentation and policy manuals available on request.

Our ask. Name us an approved provider. Include us in requests for information, industry days and funding cycles. Meet with our team within 30 days.

Nonprofit

Project DCR

The nonprofit arm of Direct Community Resources, and the programs it runs.

The model

DCR S.T.E.P.S.

Success Through Empowerment, Preparation, and Support. Eight commitments, ages 11 to 21.

D

Direct Guidance

Support tailored to each young person's needs.

C

Community Building

Mentors, peers and a real support network.

R

Resources Access

Tools, scholarships and knowledge.

S

Success

Skills and confidence to reach their own goals.

T

Training

Life skills, job readiness, education prep.

E

Empowerment

Resilience, self esteem, independence.

P

Preparation

Readiness for independent living.

S

Supportive Environment

Trauma informed care and mentorship.

Programs we run

Nothing here runs only in the summer

Six programs, all free to participants, all year round.

Safe HoursHomework, tutoring and skills training in the after school window, with a free supper.+

The hours when unsupervised young people are most at risk. Homework help first, then skills training and open gym, and nobody goes home hungry.

Mind and GameCounseling delivered alongside sport, so getting help is normal.+

Clinicians are on site during practice and league nights. Coaches are trained to notice distress and hand off warmly. A young person can step off the court for a few minutes rather than be pulled out in front of their team.

Second Chance LeagueOrganized league play with conflict resolution built into every session.+

For young people who need an alternative to a harsher path, including diversion referrals.

First Job CourtPaid youth jobs with resume and interview prep, and coaching past the first paycheck.+

Real paid placements, supervised, with a timesheet and a supervisor who knows they are part of the training.

Fuel the SquadA free supper or snack every program day.+

No young person can study, train or talk through a hard week while hungry.

Day HabilitationWeekday daytime programming for young people with disabilities.+

Adaptive and unified sports, movement and motor skills, music, life skills, social groups and community outings, with individual plans and progress notes.

The campus

Nobody ages out of this building

Three buildings, open all year. Sport brings them in the door. Everything else is why they stay.

BuildingAfternoonsEveningsSummer
The CourtsSkills and fitnessSecond Chance LeagueDay camps and clinics
ClassroomsTutoring and homeworkCounseling and mentoringJob and money skills
The HubFree suppers and snacksYouth staffed front deskPaid youth worksite
Why sport is the doorThe gym is where a lot of young people were first good at something.+

Trauma lives in the body, and hard play discharges what a young person cannot yet say. A team is a place where somebody notices when you do not show up. And our clinicians are courtside.

What we play. Basketball, volleyball and soccer, flag football and track, strength and conditioning, cheer and dance, adaptive and unified sports, yoga for regulation, and esports for the ones who would never walk into a gym.

Three ways in, all year roundDay habilitation, after school programs, and camps and clinics.+

Day Habilitation. For young people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, and youth not in a school placement. Adaptive sports, music, life skills and community outings.

After School Programs. Ages 11 to 21. Homework and tutoring, skills training, open gym, studio time and a free supper.

Camps and Clinics. Full day camps, tournaments, field trips, recording sessions, plus job and money skills, with paid roles for older teens.

The recording studio and music therapySome of them will never say it out loud. They will say it on a track.+

A real booth with real gear, where a young person writes, records, produces and walks out with something finished that belongs to them. Showcases on campus where families and caseworkers come and watch.

Music therapy runs alongside our counselors: rhythm and drumming for regulation, writing and performing for expression, ensembles for group work, and structured sessions for grief and trauma.

It also teaches a trade. Audio engineering, podcasting and media, and the business side, so a young person with talent is not the last one paid for it.

Instruments, gear and studio time are free to participants.

How we keep it safeScreened coaches, trained staff, medical readiness and set ratios.+
  • Background and registry checks on every coach, staff member and volunteer
  • Trauma informed coaching, mandated reporter training and written conduct standards
  • CPR and first aid certified staff, concussion protocol and a written emergency plan
  • Supervision ratios fixed before a program opens, with sign in and out every session
Calendar

You can plan your life around us

Programs run on a standing weekly schedule. Events are built around it.

DecAdoptive Family Christmas Give BackSponsors adopt adoptive, foster and kinship families for Christmas.+

Gifts for every child, a holiday meal and household basics, delivered by volunteers in the week before Christmas.

JanSafe Passage community trainingTraining neighbors, congregations and coaches on what to watch for.+

Caregiver sessions and a neighborhood briefing on how to spot a child in a placement crisis, what to do, and who to call.

MayMentor recruitment nightAn open evening for prospective mentors, foster parents and volunteers.+

Meet staff, hear from young people, and start the screening process the same night.

AugBack to School DriveBackpacks, supplies, uniforms and haircuts, timed to the first week.+

For children in foster, kinship and adoptive homes.

NovSenior Send Off and Scholarship NightRecognition for participants finishing a cycle or graduating.+

Scholarship awards and a send off for young people heading to work, college or trade school.

WeekThe standing weekWeekday afternoons and evenings, Saturdays, plus monthly and quarterly sessions.+
  • Weekday afternoons. Safe Hours: homework, tutoring, skills training, supper
  • Weekday evenings. Second Chance League, counseling, family sessions, mentoring
  • Saturdays. Mentor Match sessions and community service hours
  • Monthly. Caregiver support circle, with childcare provided on site
  • Quarterly. Partner and funder briefing with outcome data and a site walk through
Charitable Giving

Your gift becomes a supper, a mentor, a first paycheck

Every gift is tax exempt, and every dollar is tracked to the program it funds.

Ways to give

Give the thing you actually have

Four ways: money, items, a sponsored family, or your company.

Give moneyOne time or monthly. Monthly is the steadiest thing we have.+
  • $100 keeps free suppers on the table during program hours
  • $500 supports a mentor match through a full year
  • $1,500 underwrites counseling hours and family sessions
  • $2,500 funds Safe Passage response: an advocate, supplies and transport when a placement falls apart
  • $5,000 carries one young person through a full S.T.E.P.S. cycle

Recurring gifts of any size let us commit to a young person for a full year.

Give itemsCoats, laptops, duffel bags, groceries, school supplies and gift cards.+

In-kind gifts are acknowledged and recorded the same as cash. See the drives below for what is needed right now.

Sponsor a family or a childChristmas, Thanksgiving, a birthday, a season of sports.+

You receive each child's age, size and wish list. Sponsors who want to meet their family are welcome at distribution.

Give as a companySponsor a program, host a worksite, send mentors, fund a scholarship.+

We build the partnership around what your company actually has to offer, not a generic sponsorship tier. Bequests, donor advised fund grants, matching gifts and workplace campaigns all welcome.

Drives

Every list here came from a real family

Twelve drives. Tap one to see what it needs. Every drive takes a donation.

DecAdopt a Family for ChristmasGifts for every child, a holiday meal and household basics.+

Sponsor an adoptive, foster or kinship household. You get each child's age, size and wish list.

NovThanksgiving Feed a FamilyA complete Thanksgiving meal delivered to families in our programs.+

Most needed: turkeys, grocery gift cards, canned goods, pie and side ingredients.

OctWinter Coat DriveNew coats, hats and gloves, distributed before the first freeze.+

Most needed: new coats in youth and adult sizes, gloves, hats, thermal socks, boots.

YearTechnology DriveLaptops and tablets, wiped, set up and assigned to a named youth.+

Most needed: new or refurbished laptops, tablets, chargers, headphones, hotspots and data plans.

JulGrade School Supply DriveBackpacks, full supply lists, uniforms and haircuts.+

So the first day does not start with being noticed for the wrong reason. Most needed: backpacks, notebooks, pencils, crayons, uniforms, lunch boxes, shoes.

AugCollege and Dorm DriveMove-in kits for students with no family covering the list.+

Most needed: twin XL bedding, towels, laptops, textbook and course fee funds, storage bins.

YearSweet Dreams Duffel DriveNo child should move homes carrying their life in a trash bag.+

Every duffel goes out packed with bedding, pajamas, a toothbrush kit and something that belongs to them alone.

YearBirthday Box ProgramA cake kit, decorations, a card and a gift, delivered on their day.+

A birthday that actually happens. Most needed: gift cards, cake and candle kits, decorations, age matched gifts.

MayFirst Apartment Starter KitsPots, dishes, a bed, cleaning supplies and help with the deposit.+

For young adults aging out and signing a first lease. The deposit often decides whether they get the place at all.

YearDiapers and Formula DriveFor pregnant and parenting young people in our programs.+

Raising a child while still being one. Most needed: diapers in all sizes, wipes, formula, car seats, strollers, cribs.

YearSports, Arts and Activity FundLeague fees, instruments, cleats, uniforms and camp tuition.+

The costs that quietly decide which children get to be part of something and which ones watch.

OpenEmergency Family Stability FundThe fund we reach for at ten at night.+

A utility bill, a car repair, a rent shortfall, a bus pass. Small money at the right moment that keeps a family from losing a child to a removal.

Give now

Your gift is assigned before it is spent

Tell us what you want to give. We reply with instructions and your acknowledgment letter.

Goes to info@directcommunityresources.com. We reply with payment or drop-off instructions.

Your details are ready to send

We opened your email app with it filled in. Press send. If nothing opened, write to info@directcommunityresources.com.

Tax exempt giving

Every gift is a tax exempt donation

Project DCR is a 501(c)(3). Your acknowledgment letter is sent to you.

501(c)
(3)

What your letter says

  • Our legal name and federal tax identification number
  • The date of the gift, and the amount or a description of items
  • Whether any goods or services were provided in exchange, as the IRS requires
  • In-kind gifts are acknowledged by description. Donors set their own valuation
  • Federal tax identification number:

Contributions are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law.

Job Skills Training

A paycheck is the fastest way out

Free training, a credential, paid work, a job, and ninety days of coaching after the hire.

Who it is for

Built for the people employers overlook

No diploma required. No work history required. No clean record required.

Youth 16 to 21

First job, first paycheck, first time answering to someone other than a teacher.

Young people leaving care

Income to hold housing the day the case closes.

Returning citizens

A job in the first month changes everything that follows.

Parents rebuilding

Stable income is often the last box a court needs checked.

How it works

From no experience to ninety days on the job

Placement is the easy part. Staying employed is where we earn our keep.

01Assessment and a planInterests, reading and math level, barriers, and what work would actually suit you.+

Not whatever happens to be hiring.

02Documents and barriers firstState ID, Social Security card, birth certificate, a bank account.+

Plus an honest plan for talking about a record in an interview.

03Life skillsA budget that survives a real paycheck, cooking, laundry, a lease, an appointment kept.+

Reading a paycheck, taxes and withholding, opening an account, and avoiding check cashing traps. The things that quietly decide whether a job lasts.

04Resume and interview workshopsA first resume with no work history, and mock interviews on camera.+

Reviewed together. How to answer the hard question about a gap or a record without apologizing for your life. Plus workplace communication: calling out the right way, asking for a day off, handling a supervisor who is wrong.

05Training and certificationA track you chose, with a credential an employer recognizes.+

Short, stackable credentials that lead to work in the local labor market, not long programs ending in a certificate nobody hires on.

06Paid work experience, then placementA real paid placement, then a job with a partner employer.+

Supervised, with a timesheet and a supervisor who knows they are part of the training. Then the interview is prepared for and the first-day logistics are sorted before day one.

07Ninety days of coachingWeekly contact with the worker and the employer.+

So a small problem gets solved instead of becoming a walk-off.

Training tracks

A credential an employer actually hires on

Eight tracks. Availability varies by site, funding source and employer demand.

TrackWhat you learnCredentials
Construction and tradesJobsite safety, tools, blueprint basics, framing, intro to electrical and HVACOSHA 10, NCCER Core, forklift
Healthcare supportPatient care basics, infection control, vital signs, working a clinical shiftCPR and First Aid, nurse aide prep, phlebotomy pathway
Logistics and warehouseReceiving, picking and packing, inventory systems, equipment safetyForklift, OSHA 10, warehouse fundamentals
Culinary and hospitalityKnife skills, food safety, line work, guest serviceFood handler, ServSafe, customer service
Technology and digitalComputer fundamentals, documents, spreadsheets, help desk basicsDigital literacy, IT fundamentals, office productivity
Office and administrationPhones, scheduling, records, professional writing, front deskOffice productivity, customer service
TransportationDriving fundamentals, logs and regulations, route workPermit support, commercial license pathway
Youth entrepreneurshipPricing, cost, licensing, bookkeeping and pitchingBusiness plan portfolio, financial literacy
What we remove so people can show upTransportation, boots, documents, childcare, meals, technology and record navigation.+
  • Bus passes and rides to training and the first weeks of work
  • Boots, uniforms, scrubs, interview clothing and starter tools
  • State ID, Social Security card, birth certificate and the fees
  • Childcare navigation and scheduling around custody and court dates
  • Food on training days
  • A laptop or tablet, a hotspot, a working email and phone number
  • Understanding what shows on a background check, and referral to legal help
  • Behavioral health and recovery support running alongside, not instead

All of it free to the participant, funded by workforce contracts, grants and donors.

For employers

Hire someone who has been prepared for you

Trained, credentialed, screened, and someone to call if the first three months go sideways.

Host a worksite

Take a paid youth placement. We cover the wage during the work experience period.

Fair chance hiring

Hire on capability. We brief your supervisors and stay reachable for ninety days.

Build a pipeline

Apprenticeships into hard to fill roles, trained to the certifications you require.

Teach a track

Send a journeyman, a nurse, a chef or a shop supervisor. The people doing the work teach it best.

Sponsor equipment

Fund tools, boots, laptops or a training space, and put your name on a track.

Run mock interviews

Send hiring managers for a morning. The most useful hour a company can give us.

Obtener Ayuda

Pídanos lo que necesita

Gratis. Sin trabajador social. Para jóvenes y para los adultos que los crian.

Qué puede pedir

Pida una cosa. Vamos a revisar todo lo demás.

Siete tipos de ayuda. Toque uno para ver qué incluye. Si estuvo en cuidado de crianza y hoy tiene veintiocho años, usted cuenta.

Un lugar donde quedarseUna cama esta noche, vivienda temporal, o su propio apartamento con apoyo.+
  • Un hogar anfitrión verificado la misma noche, en su propio vecindario
  • Vivienda temporal y de transición
  • Su propio apartamento, con personal que lo visita
  • Ayuda si sale de cuidado de crianza, de detención, o no tiene a dónde ir a los dieciocho
Alguien de su ladoUn mentor, un terapeuta, o un defensor que va a la corte.+
  • Un mentor emparejado con usted por un año completo
  • Un terapeuta, para usted o su familia, con seguro o sin seguro
  • Un defensor en la corte, y conexión con un abogado si está detenido
  • Ayuda para encontrar familiares de quienes fue separado
Escuela y trabajoTutoría, diploma o GED, capacitación gratuita, certificación y empleo.+
  • Ayuda con la tarea cada tarde, con un lugar tranquilo y una computadora
  • Tutoría individual en lectura y matemáticas
  • Recuperación de créditos e inscripción después de un cambio de hogar
  • Alguien que lo acompañe a una reunión escolar
  • GED, solicitudes universitarias y ayuda financiera
  • Capacitación laboral gratuita con una certificación reconocida
  • Experiencia laboral pagada y luego un empleo real
Comida y ropaComestibles, comidas calientes, uniformes escolares, zapatos y un abrigo de invierno.+
  • Una cena gratis cada día de programa, y desayuno y almuerzo en el verano
  • Comestibles y cajas de comida para el hogar
  • Ayuda para inscribirse en beneficios de alimentos
  • Ropa y zapatos que usted mismo escoge, en su talla
  • Uniformes escolares, ropa de gimnasia y una mochila con todos los útiles
  • Un abrigo nuevo, gorro y guantes antes del frío
  • Ropa para una entrevista, y un vestido o traje para el baile
  • Productos de higiene, lavandería y un corte de pelo
  • Pañales, toallitas y fórmula si usted ya es madre o padre
Lo básicoUna dirección, sus documentos, un teléfono, ropa, comida y almacenamiento.+
  • Use nuestra dirección postal, con buzón de voz y correo electrónico permanente
  • Acta de nacimiento, tarjeta de Seguro Social e identificación estatal, pagamos las cuotas
  • Ayuda para conseguir un teléfono y plan de datos gratis o de bajo costo
  • Comidas, duchas, lavandería, casilleros, computadoras e internet
  • Ropa y zapatos que usted mismo escoge
  • Almacenamiento con su nombre
  • Un fondo pequeño para el gasto que lo está deteniendo
Para los adultos que los crianUn trabajo, apoyo para padres, y ayuda para recuperar a un hijo.+

La estabilidad de un joven depende de los adultos en su vida. Por eso servimos a los adultos también.

  • La misma capacitación laboral, certificación y colocación que damos a los jóvenes
  • Apoyo de reingreso para adultos que salen de prisión: trabajo, vivienda y documentos
  • Clases de crianza, visitas familiares supervisadas y apoyo hacia la reunificación
  • Consejería y apoyo de recuperación para el adulto
  • Ayuda con la renta, un servicio atrasado o un uniforme de trabajo
  • Capacitación y descanso para cuidadores de crianza, familiares y adoptivos
Dinero e independenciaLicencia de conducir, ahorros equiparados, primer apartamento y su cumpleaños.+
  • Licencia de conducir: cuotas, clases, práctica y el primer año de seguro
  • Ahorros equiparados, con un asesor financiero
  • Un kit para su primer apartamento y ayuda con el depósito
  • Graduación, deportes, instrumentos y su cumpleaños
  • Ayuda para ver a sus hermanos
Solicitud

No tiene que explicarlo todo para empezar

Un formulario corto. Conteste lo que pueda. Un campo en blanco no impide que lo contactemos.

Este formulario no es un canal médico ni legal seguro. No incluya el nombre completo de un menor, números de caso ni diagnósticos. Enviarlo no crea una relación de abogado y cliente.

Su solicitud está lista

Abrimos su aplicación de correo. Presione enviar. Si no se abrió, escriba a info@directcommunityresources.com.

Ayuda inmediata

Si no puede esperar

Contestan las 24 horas, en español, y son gratuitas.

Peligro inmediato

Llame al 911.

Suicidio y crisis

Llame o envíe un texto al 988.

Trata de personas

1-888-373-7888, o texto al 233733.

Sin dónde dormir

1-800-786-2929.

Preguntas

Antes de preguntar

¿Cuesta algo?
No. Nunca, para ningún joven ni familia.
¿Necesito una referencia?
No. Usted puede pedir ayuda por sí mismo, y un padre, familiar, maestro o entrenador puede pedirla por usted.
¿Tiene que estar en cuidado de crianza?
No. Servimos a jóvenes bajo custodia y a jóvenes que nunca han estado en el sistema.
¿Preguntan por el estatus migratorio?
No. No pedimos documentos de inmigración para servir a nadie.
¿Hay personal que hable español?
Sí. Ofrecemos admisión y programación en español, e interpretación en otros idiomas sin costo.
Family Defense & Preservation

A lawyer can win the hearing. Someone still has to pay the light bill.

Family defense has two halves. The legal half is advice, representation and the record. The other half is the deposit, the beds, the parenting class, the counseling and the ride to get there. DCR is built for the second half.

Family defense and legal access partnerships for legal aid organizations, family defense programs and pre-petition counsel.

The 45 Day CPS Window

By the time a petition is filed, the case is mostly decided

An investigation runs about forty five days. Most families spend it making decisions nobody explained to them, about a problem nobody helped them fix.

01The report comes inA caseworker arrives and names a condition that has to change.+

Often it is not abuse. It is a cut off utility, an eviction notice, no beds, no food in the house, no childcare during a shift, or a parent who needs treatment and has no ride to it.

02A safety plan is signedFrequently without counsel, and with terms the family cannot actually meet.+

This is where early legal advice changes everything. It is also the moment a parent learns exactly what has to be fixed, and has no money to fix it.

03The clock runsWeeks pass while a family tries to solve a concrete problem alone.+

Waitlists for parenting classes. A housing voucher that will not come in time. A treatment intake three weeks out. The case does not wait for any of it.

This is where DCR works. A referral starts our clock the same day it arrives.

04The decisionThe condition changed, or a petition gets filed.+

In programs that pair legal advocacy with someone who removes the concrete barrier, the large majority of these cases close without a filing. The legal half alone does not produce that number, and neither does the service half alone.

When we step in

Built around when families actually need help

Legal help lines close at six. Court dates end eligibility. Service plans still have to be finished. We are built for the parts in between.

01Evenings, weekends and holidaysCPS does not knock between nine and six.+

Most legal help lines run weekday business hours. Removals and after hours investigations land on evenings, weekends and holidays, when a parent is most frightened and least able to wait until Monday.

DCR takes those calls, handles the immediate need, and makes a warm introduction to counsel once their office opens. A family with no minutes left can walk into one of our hubs and make that call from our phone.

02Before, during and after a caseEarly defense programs end at the courthouse door. We do not.+

Pre-petition legal programs generally serve families whose CPS matter has not yet reached court, and eligibility ends the day a petition is filed.

DCR stays. A family can work with us through an investigation, through a filed case, and for ninety days after it closes, so the support does not disappear at the moment the stakes rise.

03Family Based Safety Services plansFBSS keeps a child at home on the condition that the plan gets finished.+

Parenting education, counseling, substance use treatment, housing stability. An FBSS plan is not a legal process. It is a list of services somebody has to deliver.

DCR delivers all of them, documents completion in the format the agency accepts, and sends the record to the family, the caseworker and counsel.

04Documentation that holds upService records, receipts and progress notes, written to be used.+

Challenging an investigative finding through an administrative review means showing the condition was addressed. Service completion records, receipts paid to the vendor rather than the family, progress notes and documented home conditions are what carry that argument.

Our documentation is built for that purpose from the first visit, not assembled afterward.

On housing the two halves are obvious. Eviction defense buys a family time. A paid arrearage keeps the apartment. Legal help and concrete help are two halves of the same save, and DCR is the second half.

What we do for Clients

The concrete barrier, removed

Every item below is a service line DCR delivers today, staffed, funded and documented.

Barrier removal fundThe one expense standing between a family and a closed case, decided in days.+

A utility reconnection, a rent arrearage, beds and a crib, a car repair that restores a work shift, a deposit, a birth certificate fee. Flexible, fast, documented, and paid to the vendor rather than to the family.

Parent education and parent aideIn home coaching, not a waitlist for a class across town.+

Modeling and supportive supervision of parenting in the home, plus structured parent education that satisfies what the agency and the court are asking for, with written completion documentation.

Supervised visitation and family timeChild friendly setting, written observation reports on schedule.+

Monitored parent and sibling contact with observation reports delivered to the agency and the court on time, which is often the record that carries the case.

Housing and benefits navigationGetting a family the thing they already qualify for.+

Housing search and placement support, plus walking a family through SNAP, TANF, Medicaid, childcare subsidy and school services they are eligible for and have never been guided through.

Childcare and transportationThe two barriers that quietly end the most cases.+

Childcare navigation and scheduling around work and court dates, bus passes and rides to appointments, treatment, court and work.

Behavioral health and substance useLicensed clinicians, and coordination so recovery and the case move together.+

Assessment, individual, group and family counseling, screening and substance use support, coordinated with treatment providers so a parent's progress is documented in a form the agency accepts.

Food, clothing and household basicsSame week, no eligibility interview.+

Groceries, school supplies, uniforms, clothing and emergency household support, because an empty refrigerator is a finding in a report.

Parent partners with lived experiencePeople who have been through a case, on staff.+

Every evaluated version of this model pairs the attorney with a social worker and a parent partner. DCR staffs both roles directly, so the legal side stays legal.

How a referral works

From a name to a solved problem

First contact within forty eight hours. The concrete barrier addressed within fourteen days, or a written explanation of why not.

01The referral arrivesA name, a best number, and the one thing that has to change.+

Email, a form, or whatever fits the referring organization's intake system. DCR builds around an existing workflow rather than asking anyone's staff to learn a new one.

02The family is reached in forty eight hoursIn English or Spanish, by phone, text or a visit.+

If a family cannot be reached, the referring office is told. No family disappears into a referral.

03The barrier is named and pricedOne page back: what it is, what it costs, how long it takes.+

Within days everyone knows whether the thing standing in the way is a four hundred dollar problem or a four month problem, which changes how a case gets advised.

04It is removed and documentedPaid to the vendor, with receipts and written service records.+

Documentation is built to the format the agency and the court expect, so it goes straight into a file and into the record.

05We stay past the closureNinety days of follow up after the case closes.+

The families who come back are the ones nobody checked on. We check.

Conflicts

We do not take both sides of a case

DCR also provides guardian ad litem and attorney ad litem services. Those roles sit on the child's side of a case, which is adverse to the parent in a family defense matter. We treat that as a wall, not a footnote.

Screened at intake

Every referral is run against our ad litem appointments before the file is opened. A match means the referral is declined in writing that day.

No appointment after

DCR does not accept a guardian ad litem or attorney ad litem appointment in any case where we have served the family through a family defense referral.

Written into the agreement

Both commitments go into the referral agreement, so they are obligations a partner can enforce rather than promises they have to trust.

Our family preservation staff and our ad litem network are separate teams with separate files. Where a partner's conflicts policy requires more than that, we build to it.

The evidence

Programs built this way keep children home

Results from evaluated pre-petition and early defense programs in other states, cited so they can be checked.

ProgramResultSource
Detroit Center for Family AdvocacyLegal objectives achieved in over 98 percent of preventive cases, with no children entering foster careCasey Family Programs
Ohio pre-petition representation92 percent of pre-petition cases did not progress to a formal filingCasey Family Programs
F.I.R.S.T. Clinic, WashingtonDependency petitions prevented in 82 percent of casesCasey Family Programs
Iowa Legal Aid$6.93 in economic benefit for every dollar investedCasey Family Programs
Why the service half matters to those numbersEvery one of these programs pairs the lawyer with a social worker and a parent partner.+

When the Texas Indigent Defense Commission surveyed the field, respondents said social workers are invaluable for navigating to resources, and that families in these cases need help with rent, utilities, benefits, documentation and treatment. Only nineteen percent of respondents reported that any pre-petition legal service existed in their community at all, and funding was the barrier named most often.

Legal advocacy is the part now funded in Texas. The concrete supports are the part that is not, and that is the work DCR does.

Referral partnerships

Referrals cost the referring organization nothing

DCR is not a legal provider and does not seek legal work. We are the place a family goes when the problem is not legal.

What DCR commits to

First contactWithin 48 hours of referral
Barrier planOne page back in 5 business days
Resolution target14 days, or a written explanation
LanguagesEnglish and Spanish
Cost to the partnerNone
ConflictsScreened at intake, written into the agreement

Reporting we provide

Per referralDate received, date contacted, barrier identified
Per caseServices delivered, dollars spent, date resolved
OutcomeWhether a petition was filed, where known
Follow upStatus at 90 days after closure
FormatThe partner's template and schedule

Delivered monthly, or on whatever cycle a partner's own funder reporting runs on. Data elements can be added on request.

Who this is for

Legal aid organizations, family defense and pre-petition programs, courts, caseworkers and community partners who need somewhere to send a family when the problem is money, housing, transportation or a service plan rather than the law.

Contact Us

Start the conversation

Tell us which door you are coming through.

Who to contact

There is no wrong one to pick

Four doors. Pick one and the form fills in the rest.

Agencies and caseworkers

Referrals for a child, a young person, or a family.

Government and funders

Solicitations, subawards, capability packets and partnerships.

Donors and sponsors

Gifts, sponsorships, in-kind donations and drives.

Families, mentors and volunteers

Join a program, mentor, tutor or serve.

Send a message

Say as much or as little as you want

One form, straight to our team. Fields with an asterisk are required.

Referral details

Initials and an age are enough to start.

Please leave out a child's full name, case numbers and diagnoses. Sending this does not create an attorney and client relationship and is not legal advice.

Your message is ready to send

We opened your email app with it filled in. Press send. If nothing opened, write to info@directcommunityresources.com.

Office and email

Where to find us

Mailing address

8102 Fry Rd, Ste A #1006
Cypress, TX 77433

If a child is in immediate danger

Call local law enforcement or your state child abuse hotline. For suspected trafficking, the National Human Trafficking Hotline is 1-888-373-7888, 24 hours. Direct Community Resources is not an emergency service.