Five Acres and Carbon Health Partner to Administer COVID-19 Vaccine to Children in Foster Care

Five Acres, an Altadena-based children’s foster care agency, and Carbon Health, a leading technology-enabled healthcare provider, announced a new COVID-19 vaccination event on its premises for eligible children in foster care.

During the pandemic, many children experienced isolation, instability, and anxiety and for children in foster care, those feelings may feel compounded, as their permanent safety and stability may be impacted. Families have been afraid to take children into their homes because they are unable to understand the amount of COVID-19 exposure that child has had. In 2020, the number of children in foster care in Los Angeles County increased to 21,876, a 3.5% increase since the prior year.

“Today, there is renewed hope for children in foster care who are eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine,” said Dr. Rachel McClements, Chief Operating Officer of Five Acres. “During the pandemic, Five Acres continued to provide basic essentials, such as safe homes, support, COVID-19 testing and PPE, along with the well-being and mental health of the children and families in our care. And now, we are excited to partner with Carbon Health to continue that work and bring the vaccine directly to our eligible children in foster care. The vaccine provides families and foster children a sense of permanency, security, safety, and well-being, opening new opportunities for foster and adoption placements.”

“Carbon Health’s mission is to make high-quality healthcare accessible to everyone, especially underserved communities like foster care children. Often, that means meeting people where they are, whether at a community center or at an agency like Five Acres,” said Dr. Sujal Mandavia, Chief Medical Officer of Carbon Health. “Including our partnership with the City of Los Angeles, Carbon Health has played a key role in administering more than 1.5 million COVID-19 vaccines, and we are proud to partner with Five Acres to bring this life-saving healthcare to their foster care community.”

While administering the vaccine, Five Acres and Carbon Health have personalized the experience to the needs of the children in foster care to make them feel comfortable and taken care of. Extra efforts to get kids excited about the vaccine included an onsite petting zoo and longer vaccination windows to make the youth feel comfortable and not rushed.

One youth waiting his turn was excited to get his vaccine, asking, “When is it my turn?”

These vaccinated children have a greater sense of hope and personal safety as they are able to be fostered, adopted, or rejoined with their biological families. Families can also now be assured their foster and adopted children are protected from COVID-19, opening up more opportunities to provide kids stability.

To learn how you can become a foster parent or be certified to be an adoptive parent, visit https://Five Acres.org/foster-care/.