ORANGE : Foster-Care Group to Seek Workers

Advanced Resource for Kids, a center that supports families raising foster children, will begin a volunteer drive Monday to recruit additional workers.

The group hopes to double its current roster of volunteers--from 100 to 200--to help meet the growing demand for support services in the foster-care system.

“We’re really getting to the point where we’re expanding beyond our volunteer level,” said Michelle Kasson, a spokeswoman for the center that recently moved from Anaheim to Orange.

The group needs adults interested in working at the center, which provides day-care and related services for foster parents who may need a day off to run errands or spend time alone. The center also provides a place for biological parents to visit their children.

Additionally, the group is seeking workers for its “Family Friends” program, a relatively new effort in which volunteers become acquainted with one foster family and its children.

The group will begin the volunteer drive on Monday by sending information sheets to churches and community organizations throughout the county. Information is also available at the center.

Volunteers must attend a two-hour information session before working with the children and their families.