Orangewood Foundation

Orangewood Foundation was established in 1981 as the first public-private partnership of its kind to build a shelter for abused and neglected children in Orange County. The Orangewood Children & Family Center opened its doors in 1985, which the Foundation deeded to the county to own and operate. Orangewood next focused the Foundation’s attention on supporting youth in foster care between ages 18-24 in their transition out of the foster care system and into adulthood through innovative programming across four service areas: health and wellness, housing, life skills and employment, and education.

Orangewood’s youth support specialists, case managers, and youth advocates worked for decades with transitional age foster youth throughout Orange County. As we worked with our foster youth, our organization partnered with community-based providers that worked with youth in the same age group as our own and who faced similar challenges. In remaining flexible, collaborative, and attuned to the needs of our community’s youth, Orangewood Foundation assessed for greatest needs and expanded its reach to become a leading provider, partner, and advocate for transitional-aged youth (TAY) in Orange County. All transitional-aged youth residing in Orange County between ages 18-24 are eligible for our services as we continually seek to reduce the barriers that youth face in meeting their needs, overcoming trauma, and building a life of stability and self-sufficiency.

Today Orangewood Foundation is a private nonprofit organization located in Santa Ana, CA, that works each year with roughly 2,000 transitional-aged youth (TAY) between ages 18-24 across Orange County. We offer trauma-informed, strengths-based programming and direct services, which includes case management, community referrals, mental healthcare, life skills and education, and resources for basic needs and stable housing. As a networked nonprofit, community leader, and a leading provider for youth, Orangewood Foundation advocates for our youth and connects them with partners, providers, and resources across Orange County. The Orangewood resource network consists of individuals, corporations, government agencies, and nonprofit organizations across our community that work together to build innovative resources, programs, and direct services that keep up with the changing needs, challenges, and strengths of the youth who seek our support. Our goal in working with youth is that they have the skills, community connections, education, and resources needed to thrive as healthy and independent adults and community leaders. We envision a community where every youth thrives, and we are guided by respect, trust, empathy, inclusion, and advocacy.

Orangewood Foundation offers innovative resources, support services, and programs across four service areas that align with evidence-based best practices in youth support services: (1) health and wellness, (2) housing, (3) life skills and employment, and (4) education. We use a low-barrier case management, care coordination model to connect youth with wrap-around services both within Orangewood and in the Orange County community through referrals to an expansive network of community partnerships, including local government agencies, other nonprofit service providers, and corporate partners. This model allows Orangewood to serve as a one-stop resource for transitional-age youth seeking to coordinate their care and service access. Case managers across Orangewood’s programs employ a trauma-informed approach to service delivery and use a variety of strategies, such as harm reduction, motivational interviewing, and strengths-based, client centered support.

Each youth who seeks Orangewood services comes with different experiences, needs, and goals. Our Youth Support Specialists meet youth where they are in their journeys by building trust-based relationships, assessing needs, and supporting youth in finding stability and achieving their goals. As a youth’s needs change, Youth Support Specialists guide them through Orangewood’s services and connect them to community resources as they work toward longer-term success.

Orangewood Foundation has a 40-year history of successful innovation in youth services, designing programs to meet our youth’s ever-changing needs. Orangewood is a private nonprofit organization located in Santa Ana, CA, and one of the leading service providers for transitional-aged youth (TAY) in Orange County. As a networked nonprofit, we partner with foundations, corporations, individuals, government agencies, and nonprofit organizations across our community to build a network of innovative resources, programs, and direct services.

Orangewood Foundation’s programs and services are data-driven and outcome-oriented. We track our progress, measures success rates, and employs best practices in youth services through case management, evidence-based assessments, and data management. Our programs succeed only when youth succeed. By tracking and measuring individual rates of stability and success among youth, this data enables Orangewood to measure overall program outcomes and identify areas for improved services and needed innovation.

Orangewood Foundation is committed to financial transparency and stability so that we can make a deep and sustained impact on Orange County’s transitional-aged youth (TAY). Orangewood adopts innovated solutions to diversify revenue streams and secure long-term funding. Orangewood Foundation has remained financially solvent since its founding in 1981 through committed community partnerships and increasingly diversified revenue streams and investment strategies. Orangewood is led by a strong Board of Directors made up of community leaders. Our Board actively supports the youth, missions, and programs of Orangewood Foundation through fundraising, strategic input and guidance, and partnerships with Orangewood’s leadership team on key initiatives. The Board relies on program outcomes and data provided by program directors, as well as feedback from the youth we serve, to lead our strategic planning.

Innovation is our foundation at Orangewood. Since 1981, Orangewood Foundation has created strong partnerships to meet our youth and our community’s needs. We have a 40-year history of successful and innovative programming that supports our youth’s changing needs:

In 1981, Orangewood Foundation worked with the County of Orange to launch the first public-private partnership of its kind to build the Orangewood Children & Family Center, which it deeded to the County in 1985 to own and operate.

In 1998, Orangewood collaborated with California State University, Fullerton (CSUF) to innovate the first Guardian Scholars’ program in the nation.

In 1998, Orangewood partnered with a group of businessmen to open the Rising Tide transitional housing program with low-cost rent and wraparound supportive services.

In 2009, Orangewood established the Advanced Studies Fund to provide scholarships for former foster youth seeking graduate degrees.

In 2013, the Orangewood Board of Directors created the Samueli Academy, a public charter school designed to boost graduation rates for youth in foster care and youth from under-resourced communities.

In 2015, Orangewood opened The Lighthouse to provide safe, secure, and supportive transitional housing and trauma-informed wraparound supportive services to survivors of trafficking. Orangewood also partnered with the County of Orange to provide specialized support and preventative services to youth involved in or at-risk of sex trafficking, creating Project CHOICE.

In 2018, researchers at UC Irvine, the OC Superior Court, and Orangewood Foundation partnered to create Young Adult Court, which offers youth ages 18-25 charged with a non-violent felony the opportunity to expunge their felony from their record through a two-year case management program.

In 2021, Orangewood opened the Youth Connected Program on the Samueli Academy campus, a licensed and accredited Resource Family Agency providing onsite housing for foster youth.

In 2022, Orangewood Foundation partnered with local companies to create the Lyon Workforce Academy, a 12-month trauma-informed work apprenticeship program that places youth in local companies to earn living wages and break the cycle of generational poverty.

In fall 2020, Orangewood adopted a new strategic plan with five key initiatives: to (1) become an outcomes-based organization, (2) invigorate positioning and messaging, (3) become a trauma informed organization, (4) embrace diversity and inclusion, and (5) create an employee empowered culture. Orangewood’s long-term goal is to deepen the impact that our program and service outcomes have on the youth experience in Orange County.

Orangewood is committed to cultivating a staff that reflects the diversity of identity and experience of the youth we serve. We embrace diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging in all our programs and practices. Working to promote diversity and equity is continuous and shapes our partnerships and programs.