HISTORY

History

In 1989, Family Support Services of the Bay Area was founded by two social workers, Lou Fox and Judy Levin. They were spurred into action when the Children’s Home Society (CHS) decided to terminate their Respite Program. By October of the same year, Family Support Services of the Bay Area, now known as Family Support Services, had been incorporated. Because of their swift action, FSS was able to begin operating in Oakland, and was able to provide respite services with no interruptions (due to the transition from CHS) to families whose children had developmental disabilities, and Alameda foster parents.

In 1990, Family Support Services was awarded federal nonprofit status exemption, and we received our first federal grant to provide Regional Respite Services. After years of hard work, we were able to expand our services to include our current programs:  The Respite Program, Family Preservation Program, Kinship Support Services Program, Kinship Youth Program, and our mental health program, Growing Up Strong.