April 2, 2026

Dear Friends and Supporters,

When we wrote to you in early January, we were not yet ready to say goodbye — only that we were trying everything to avoid it. Today, we are.

Angels Foster Family Network officially ceased operations as of March 31, 2026. 

In the months since our January letter, we continued to pursue every possible path forward — exploring mergers, partnerships, hibernation, and new funding models. None were viable. The policy and funding environment for foster family agencies (FFAs) in California has fundamentally changed, and there is no longer a sustainable business model that allows us to serve children and families the way they need and deserve.

When it became clear that closing was inevitable, we turned our full attention to the people who depended on us most. Every child in our care was successfully transitioned with continuity of care and relationships preserved. Every resource family who wished to continue fostering — whether they had a child in their home or not — found a home at another foster family agency. More than one receiving agency asked us afterward how our families arrived so well prepared and well supported. It was a question that didn’t surprise us — but one that made us proud.

We are equally proud that most of our staff have already secured new positions where they will continue serving our community. For the few still in transition, we remain committed to supporting them — and if you know of opportunities in the social services, child welfare, or nonprofit sectors, please keep them in mind. 

What makes this especially painful is the need has never been greater. Our pivot to supporting kinship caregivers — the grandparents, aunts, uncles, and family friends stepping up when parents cannot — was exactly the right response to where foster care is heading. The model worked. We proved it. Kinship families desperately needed the support Angels and other FFAs can provide. But the state and county systems were not yet able to adapt their practices, regulations, and funding to meet us there. Much in life is about timing, and we were ahead of ours. That is both our pride and our frustration. 

We are not alone in this. Other foster family agencies across California are closing, and sadly, we expect many more will follow in the months and years ahead. What is happening to Angels is a warning. 

But here is what we want you to hold onto: 

Angels set the standard. Partner agencies have told us directly — we defined what this work should look like, how it should be done, and what was possible when love, clinical expertise, and an unshakeable commitment to children and returning them to their family come together in one organization. We built the benchmark and shared it openly, because that is what we believed leadership required. More than one agency has told us they thought they understood collaboration and partnership — until they worked alongside Angels. We took that as the highest compliment. 

Our impact was not limited to the children and families in our direct care. Angels was a systems change organization. We worked alongside county partners, drove policy conversations, and helped change child welfare practices from the ground up — centering everything on what trauma-informed care actually requires. We leave behind not just memories and outcomes, but lasting change for the betterment of our entire community.

Over the past few months, so many of you have reached out to share your personal Angels stories — children who found love and stability, caregivers who found support, families forever changed by this work, and supporters grateful that every contributed dollar was stretched as far as it could go. Those stories are our legacy, and they are permanent. Since 1998, every child nurtured through their most vulnerable months, every caregiver who didn’t feel alone, every family strengthened by the kind of individualized attention the system rarely makes room for — that happened. No amount of rigid policies, broken funding structures, or missed opportunities can take that away from us.

To our staff and board: you gave everything to this mission, often in ways no one outside the organization will ever fully know. It has been an honor and a privilege to work alongside you.

To our resource families and kinship caregivers: you are the heart of everything Angels ever did. The courage it takes to open your home and your heart to a vulnerable child is extraordinary. We are grateful beyond words.

To our contributors, partners, and champions — those who supported us through the San Diego philanthropic and civic community, and those who believed in us long before the work was easy or widely recognized: thank you. You made it possible for us to do this work with integrity, for as long as we could, for as many children and families as we could reach.

To the children we have cared for — everything we did was for you. To give you the experience of safety, stability, and love during the moments that matter most. It was always about meeting your needs and we hope we made a positive and lasting difference in your lives.

Angels Foster Family Network was built on the belief there was a better way to do foster care — that every child deserves love, stability, and healthy attachment during the earliest and most formative days of their life. Since the fall of 1998, that belief never wavered.

We were ahead of our time. We may be again.

With profound gratitude,

Jeff Wiemann
Executive Director