FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Local Foster Youth Get Artistic For Spring With Free Arts
April 16, 2011, Covina, CA: Ettie Lee Youth & Family Services welcomed Free Arts for Abused Children at their offices in Covina to welcome in the spring season. More than 20 foster youth participated in spring themed arts and crafts projects which where guided by Free Arts volunteers. Kids made bracelets, designed artwork with stickers and stamps and painted coffee filter flowers. They even got a chance to design their very own egg and Easter baskets and were treated to pizza and snacks.
Free Arts for Abused Children sponsered this Free Arts Day at Ettie Lee's Foster Family/Adoption Agency. It's a mini art festival for children living in residential care facilities, being served by foster agencies, or receiving support from other community resource providers. Art provides a way for "children to work through obstacles and discover their abilities and talents," said Stephanie Abrams, Free Arts Day Coordinator.
For more than 60 years Ettie Lee has served the complex needs of at-risk youth with emotional and behavioral problems and their families in Southern California. When Miss Ettie Lee opened the first group home in 1950 she introduced the model of providing a family atmosphere. Athough Ettie Lee has grown significantly since 1950, providing a family atmosphere has been so successful that we still follow that model in all of our nine group homes and 30 foster homes. Last year Ettie Lee served 342 unduplicated boys and girls and their families: 69% were Hispanic, 17% African-American, 11.5% Caucasian, 1.3% Asian/Pacific Islander; .4% American Indian; .8% other and over 97% were from low-income and/or disadvantaged families.
Ettie Lee's residential group homes expertise is serving older children - teenage boys (aged 13-18) - who are on probation. All of our group homes are located in residential areas and provide family-syle residential treatment that focuses on the importance of being active in the community to develop the skills for success in life. Ettie Lee also operates a therapeutic Foster Family/Adoption Agency. It is located in Covina, CA and the boys and girls are placed in the loving homes of foster parents who are trained and licensed.
Ettie Lee Youth & Family Services is a nonprofit child welfare agency serving the complex needs of at-risk youth who have been abused, neglected or abandoned. Its mission is to assist troubled youth who are in need of guidance and support to develop values and skills that will facilitate their success in life. Ettie Lee complies with the highest standards of Community Care Licensing, Los Angeles County Department of Children & Family Services, and Los Angeles County Department of Probation. Ettie Lee is accredited by the California Alliance for Children & Families and the Council on Accreditation.