Kids' Turn San Diego
Helping Children Through Family Separations
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
We believe children are resilient and parents can change. Five year old Cassie sent a powerful Feeling Gram, a written note by a child that is delivered to their parent during the program. “Dear mommy, I feel scared when you and daddy fight. Please stop and give me a hug." Kids' Turn San Diego is helping children to find their voice and helping parents to understand HOW their words and behaviors impact their children. Our programs are needed because 96% of the child participants report that they learn new ways to communicate their thoughts and feelings and/or that the divorce of their parents is not their fault, thus freeing them up from self-blame!, and 94% of the parent participants report engaging with their children in more positive ways while participating in the program and 80% are self-reporting that they are engaging with their co-parent in more positive ways. We are equipping parents with new communication and coping skills that create brighter futures for the entire family.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Family Workshops for Separated and Divorced Families
The Family Workshop is a co-parenting program that changes family relationships in positive ways. Children learn new ways to understand their family situation, creative ways to express their feelings and that they are not alone. Parents learn strategies of how to best help their children transition through separation and divorce and how to handle challenging situations in new ways. The program is most effective when parents and children attend together, but it is not required for both parents to attend the same Family Workshop. Family Workshops are offered monthly throughout San Diego County. Each Family Workshop includes four consecutive classes for separated, divorced and never married parents and children ages 5-17.
Creating Brighter Futures for Children Counseling Program
Individual counseling services for children experiencing family separation, divorce or military transitions. Our Counseling program supports children and teens with the following: family changes and transitions, communication, conflict resolution, grief and loss, depression and anxiety, teen related challenges and many other situations related to family separation.
Continue the Conversation for Parents
Continue the Conversation for Parents is a 2 hour class for parents who attended a KTSD program and who want an opportunity to review the skills originally learned by attending this advanced refresher class.
Participant feedback: "This is a great class that is interactive. It was fascinating and I learned many helpful suggestions and ideas and was reminded that it is all about my kids!" and "This small class was really helpful. I sort of remember learning some of the skills but the owning your problem chart is something that I am going to use all the time!"
New partners/spouses are welcome to attend this class. Classes are offered quarterly.
Call 858-521-0027 to find out the date of the next Class.
Where we work
Awards
Distinguished Service Award 2007
San Diego Bar Association
Channel 10 Leadership Award 2006
San Diego News 10
Best Article in Military Month of the Child April 2020 Edition 2020
San Diego Veterans Magazine
External reviews
Videos
Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
Kids' Turn San Diego exists to change family relationships in positive ways so children experiencing family separation are happier. Our programs incorporate a strong evaluation plan utilizing the evaluation methods of pre- (Welcome Surveys) and post-tests (Impact Surveys) with parents attending the Family Workshop. These are completed during the first and last classes. At the beginning of classes 2, 3 and 4, parents also complete "Weekly Check Ins" that focus on changes in behavior and communication. Children complete the "Family Workshop Report Card" during the fourth class. They respond to questions about what they learned, what is different in their family and they provide us feedback on the Family Workshop. Children also indicate if they would like to receive counseling at Kids' Turn San Diego. In the Counseling program, children complete pre- and post-surveys to measure changes in school attendance, grades, communication, and feelings.
Family Workshop program goals include: 80% of parents will report an increase in positive communication, listening or interactions with their children, as measured by Weekly Check Ins; 90% of parents will report learning and using new skills, as measured by Impact Surveys; 100% of children attending all four sessions will learn new ways to express their feelings, that there are other children living in separated families, and that their parent’s behaviors are not their fault, as measured by completing the Report Card; and 85% of children will tell us what is different in their family, as measured by completing the Report Card. Counseling goals include: 85% of children who participate in services 4+ months will have the same (if reported 0 on the pre-survey) or less school absences; 85% of children who participate in services 4+ months will demonstrate an increase in their grades; 100% of children will feel more comfortable talking with at least one of their parents about their current situation; and 85% of children who report a negative feeling on the pre-survey, such as sad or angry, and who participate in services 4+ months, will report a change in how they feel most of the time, such as happy or calm.
Successful impact is measured through post test surveys, and it is most observed during program graduations when a child shares, "My mom put down her phone yesterday and we had a really good conversation. Thank you for helping her do that!" or "My parents aren't saying mean things about each other anymore. This makes me happy!"
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
We implement several organizational strategies that enable us to serve families with the goal of happy children.
1. We offer our Family Workshops for Separated, Divorced and Never Married Families throughout San Diego County. The program is offered monthly and we rotate throughout the County to ensure that the program is easily accessible to all families.
2. We provide Family Workshop Tuition Reduction Scholarships so lower income families have equal access to our program. When our Founder created the organization in 1996, she made a commitment to the community that everyone must pay something and we would never turn away a family for the inability to pay. In 2016, in honor of our Founder and our 20th year anniversary, we re-committed her promise to the community.
3. We collaborate with San Diego State University and offer internships for Bachelor and Master's Level Social Work students. These students provide the counseling services we offer in school settings and support the children's groups of the Family Workshops.
4. The Board of Directors are all committed to maintaining an "authentic passion" for our mission, meaning that all board members deeply believe in our mission and the services we provide. When a group of committed individuals live and breath your mission, they help us expand our outreach efforts well beyond the capacities of our staff and volunteers.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
As almost one in every two marriages ends in divorce, there is great concern for the children in these families. For most children, they will be resilient but for others, the changes in their family will greatly impact them. In addition, research documented in The National Study on Children conducted by Judith Wallerstein indicated that physical violence occurred in 50% of divorcing families during the first year after the decision to separate, with the children present two-thirds of the time (High-Conflict Divorce, by Larry M. Friedberg, Ph.D.) With the potential long-term impact of these statistics, there is great need for early intervention programs like the Creating Brighter Futures for Children Project.
KTSD’s service area includes families of all ethnicity and socioeconomic levels experiencing separations, divorce, or military transitions who reside in San Diego County. In general, 75% of participants are court ordered to participate by a Family Court Judge, some families may be newly separated while others have been divorced for 10 years, almost 10% of the families have a current Restraining Order, about 7% are military families, and over 50% are lower income. Child participants are between 5 and 17 years old and have all experienced a family separation.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
Kids' Turn San Diego has helped thousands of children and parents over the years. Each year, we average between 500-600 children and between 600-700 parents who go through our programs.
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
Kids' Turn San Diego
Board of directorsas of 03/14/2022
Julia Kitts
Julia Kitts
LCSW, Private Practice
Steve Throop
Hutchinson and Bloodgood LLP
Amy Hsiao
Hsiao Law
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? No
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
No data
Gender identity
Transgender Identity
Sexual orientation
No data
Disability
No data