Horrible practice. The host families are great, but the staff is a nightmare! They will lie countless times to your face. For the past year, I've been desperate for respite. Having an autistic toddler is like having a conjoined twin. I've called Olive Crest twice a week for over a year in desperation for help, and they promise to help only to ghost you! Months back, my health took a turn, and I literally begged Nicole months for help. The last three month my health has been at its worst. The hospital has tried to admit me countless times, but Nicole plays games only to ghost you. She only does her job when a third party contacts her about the concerns. Olive Crest has amazing host families, but the staffing and favoritism are killing the organization. read more

A place where you can go to complete just 3 simple parenting classes and receive a certificate! read more

Olive Crest - Olive Crest sign - Community Service/Non-Profit Near Me - Santa Ana, California

Horrible agency to work for in their ILS program! Their management is subpar! Do not work for this agency! Training is horrible. Case load is not attainable! read more

Our family has loved being a host family and helping other families through hard times. I watch my kids grow in their generosity, their views of the world, and their love for kids in our community. Nicole and Todd are so supportive and responsive! We've met so many amazing families who are persevering through challenging times and are raising the most wonderful, funny, curious and sweet children. thank you Olive Crest for all you do to bring our community together! read more

I was really hoping this would be a positive review. But unfortunately this program is not being executed well. They seem to pick "Christians" with savior complexes for their host families. I wanted so badly to be grateful for their help. All I got was a lady that trash talked me to my kid the whole time, my daughter begged me not to make her go back. Saying things like I was selfish for wanting to get counseling for my recent rape. Saying I didn't love or care about my daughter.. Saying that if she wanted to live "the good life" she would need to stay with her. The list of toxic things she filled her head with is pretty long. But Olive Crest did not seem to care. Seems they're about the money & NOT the children's wellbeing. This program would be a MILLION times better if they vetted out this judgement Christians, just looking for an ego stroker story. I brought all this to their attn & did not get the impression they cared in the slightest. Sad for my daughter & all the other kids who could've really benefited from a prog like this. And from talking with the other mom (host fam) they tried to pair me with.. Seems most moms/dads aren't treated well. It's the kinda program you use once & never again. If you want someone to bash you to your child, judge you & just plain be disrespectful/rude... this is the program for you! read more

Olive Crest - This was also coming from a licensed behavior tech. Someone like her should know better- - Community Service/Non-Profit Near Me - Santa Ana, California

Shady business practices. I'd recommend looking elsewhere for a FFA. They will say anything to get you to take a placement and talk out of both sides of their mouth. They don't care or listen to what your wants/needs are. We had a truly terrible experience and wouldn't wish the interactions we had with them on our worst enemy. The lack of respect shown to my family was unconscionable. Use any FFA besides this one. It really does say something when their last good review was over three years ago... read more

I called this agency over 2 weeks ago for help for my family. I spoke to Sylvia. She told me lies and never called me back after trying to reach out to her multiple times. They never helped me or my family. Not just this employee, but this whole company should be shut down. Why be in this business if you really don't care for the kids? read more

I am very disappoint with this agency. First of all, they want to remove my daughter from the Medical. Danielle Dewees told us in order to foster a child I must cancel medical from my daughter. Then, her comments are like racist she got upset because my wife does not speak English, she wanted to send her to English class in the Community . She started to talk about Jesus and churches. I am not religious but in order to foster you most be religious. Finally, she complain about my house it was too small. I believe this agency has some bias to multi racial people Specialist Mexican. They only want white people. read more

Very restrictive, difficult, and interrupted my conversation with my child and reprimanded me in front of my child.

My husband and I started our foster-to-adopt process in March and just completed our certification a few weeks ago. We have been so blessed by Olive Crest Orange County and are looking forward to the next steps and meeting our kiddos. Diane Gomez was AMAZING in getting us started and through the certification process. She answered EVERY question I had along the way (and I had a ton) and had great suggestions for us along the way also. Our Case worker, Kathrine and every other person we have encountered has been great as well! Again SO incredibly helpful and on our side through the process! They really care about their families and their kiddos as well. When we started to look into this process we were deciding between a few different agencies and we are so glad God put Olive Crest on our hearts as the organization for us. Excited to continue our journey with the amazing team at Olive Crest Orange County! read more

We just completed our foster/adoption certification with Olive Crest after 14 months. The delays were due to our own issues & not the fault of Olive Crest. We could have easily completed the process in about 9 months if we didn't have a number of unrelated delays. Olive Crest staff have been so supportive, kind & helpful. They were very patient with us, delay after delay. Each person that we've been in contact with, whether in person or over the phone, were so wonderful. We look forward to the children that we'll be matched up with. No matter how long or how short their stay, we know our lives will forever be changed by each & every one of them. So glad we went through Olive Crest instead of directly through OC Social Services! read more

I can say that I give them one start for taking the time and giving flyers, but I would give them zero. Two weeks ago, I went to an event hosted by Santa Ana Unified School District. Here, I collected some flyers that I thought would be helpful for families who I work for. I have made copies and passed these flyers to some families. Unfortunately, the telephone number that appears on the flyer is disconnected. I like to think that they made a mistake. I found their actual number on line, but nobody answers either. read more

The kinship program is one of a kind! So helpful for grandparents, aunts, uncles, and any other family member taking care of a child in their own family. read more

My husband and I were very disappointed with Olivecrest. They decided to reject us on the basis of us both working full time and therefore not having enough time to bond and attach with a young child. My job is very flexible and had already agreed I could reduce my hours to accommodate a child when the time came. They also mentioned infertility - that's usually considered a good reason to adopt. I believe our age (40's) was the real factor as we have friends with full time jobs who adopted a baby through Olivecrest. I only wish they had been more up front with us so that we could have avoided going through a process only to be rejected and now have to explain to any other agency where we apply that we were denied a foster license and the explain why. Most importantly though it's the kids that lose out on a stable and loving home. read more

We have foster-adopted 3 children through Olive Crest Orange County and have high praises for most of their staff. They really guide you and care for you during the process. The foster system itself is laborious, slow and confusing and they help you navigate through it. They have a monthly support group which is very insightful and invaluable. They have a lot of events for foster families to do with the kids. Their trainings are great and I can't imagine going straight through the county while going through this. With Olive Crest, you are not alone! It is a very caring, dedicated group of professionals that truly care for the well-being of children. Thanks, Olive Crest! read more

I signed up with Olive Crest through the recommendation of a friend who had a good experience with them. What a mistake! The social workers seem completely clueless as to the process of fostering. They took a long time to match me, and the profile for the child I wanted was very broad. If I did searches for a child and asked them to check into it, they would never respond with any feedback. When they did finally find a match, they provided no insight into the legal process, often not knowing what would come next, or what questions to ask or when to follow up. The county is not always truthful or forthcoming, and Olive Crest had no clue how to deal with them. They forced a child on me that I had serious misgivings about. When I took that child in, the child had a lot of issues that were never mentioned. I tried to seek help for the child through a therapist or assessment, they blew off all my concerns. That child was exhibiting serious problems, and not just transition issues. No one at Olive Crest ever wrote down my concerns, they treated me like I didn't know what I was talking about and insisted all the child's problems would go away if I just kept going. They offer no help at all. It felt criminal to try to explain to someone the problems a child is having and that person is ignoring you and refusing to help. I've spoken to other foster agencies since and they were shocked at the way Olive Crest handled the situation and insisted that is not commonplace and they were completely incompetent. I would not recommend this agency to anyone. read more

Having worked as a social worker myself with counties and a foster family recruiter with many different foster family agencies Olive Crest was my 1st choice when I decided to become a foster adoptive parent myself. We fostered a sibling set of 4 kids after learning they would be separated from each other if someone didn't step up. This was a huge change for us! We were supported every step of the way. Our case manager was always available 24/7 to support us and tell us any updates. She always told us the truth even if it was hard to hear. After having the 4 kids for a little under a year they went back to their mom. This was a very positive event even if we felt sad about them not being with us anymore. God knew what he was doing though because shortly after we were called about 3 kids who were adoptable. These 3 kiddo's chose us to be their parents as much as we choose them to be our kids, we love being called mom and dad! We know that in the future there may be issues that come up and concerns. We are happy to know that Olive Crest will be by our side and available for us during those times. Olive Crest is a Foster Family Agency that is no cost to foster/adoptive parents. They have an amazing and personal touch to helping find families take in abused and neglected children who need love and support. Their process to become certified to have children in your home is easy and can take 6-9 months on average. You don't need to be rich to be able to foster/adopt, just pay for your own bills and have the space in your home and heart. There are so many foster kids out there who deserve a chance to have a family......if it only be for a few months or for forever. Become and Olive Crest Foster Family and know that you have all the support and tools to be the best family you can be! read more

I don't have enough words to describe how awesome our experience was with Olive Crest in San Diego county! I have had Olive Crest's info for years now (I saw Vanessa speak many times at different events through the years) knowing that that is where we wanted to go once we decided to start the foster-adopt process. We had 2 boys, brothers, placed with us last year as a foster-adopt placement and they were officially adopted last week!! :) All the pre-training was excellent and prepared us (as much as you can be) for providing loving, understanding care to our kiddos. It took us about 6 months to get certified as we needed a little extra time with my husband's work schedule and Vanessa really helped walk us through that and get everything done smoothly. Our case manager was always a phone call away and always got back to me the same day. She was always supportive and provided guidance whenever we needed it. Going into instant parenthood can be a shock to the system but she was with us the whole way. I also appreciate all the fun events that Olive Crest does to get all the families together! It's encouraging for us as the parents to meet with other foster/adoptive parents and it's fun for the kids too. :) Olive Crest really cares about the whole family, the kiddos and the parents. I couldn't have asked for a better experience. Thank you Olive Crest! read more

IN MY OPINION, don't go to Olive Crest to adopt. Reunification (getting the children back to their possibly still addicted, possibly still abusive, relatives) is EVERYTHING. Therefore, they have a huge need for foster parents, and almost no need for adoptive parents, BUT THEY WON"T TELL YOU THAT UPFRONT. They will lie, and suck you in with promises of adoption, then push and squeeze and verbally abuse you (find something "wrong" with you, and make you "fix" it) until you either get fed up and leave, or agree to foster. Don't ever go to Olive Crest to adopt. And if you do, make them TELL you -- in the first class -- how much of a need they have for adoptive parents. Make them admit -- as they did when they were pushed -- that they really only want foster parents. Make certain that your assigned social worker treats you with respect. And by the way -- write down everything she says that you know to be unacceptable. Use direct quotes, and write down the date. Then bring the information to her supervisor. Her supervisor already knows -- the pressure to get rid of adoptive parents comes all the way from the top -- so keep complaining until you get to the head of the agency. Raise your voice. Make yourself heard. (I gave it three stars so my review won't be demoted.) read more

Certified and a placement. Thank you to Olive Crest Orange County for all that they do. We have been going thru the fost-adopt process for some time and had stalled with only a small amount of paperwork left. A phone call about a girl needing placement kick started us into action. Think God knew we needed that little shove to move in the right direction. The Olive Crest team has been great - Janelle Olson (San Diego), Diane Gomez (Orange County) and all the others have been great. This is a difficult mission that they have. It is messy, complicated and heart-breaking work. God bless them in all that they do. read more

Olive Crest has represented our family throughout our current fostering process. They do the absolute best job they can with they are given to deal with the bureaucratic county and social services process. We would recommend them to anyone, and we have! read more

We adopted our daughter through Olive Crest in 2009 after two years of caring for her as a foster child. Everyone at Olive Crest was wonderfully supportive. They were with us every step of the way, and they provided extensive training. The staff is warm, caring, and highly skilled. If we were to do it all again we would definitely go back to Olive Crest, and I recommend Olive Crest to anyone considering foster parenting or fost-adopt. read more

Two loving, giggling, sweet little brothers came into our lives a year ago, and my husband and I are forever changed! We are a month away from legally adopting them, and it's been a privilege to be their parents and see the changes in their lives as they've settled in and understood that we will be a forever home for them! We've had an amazing experience with foster adoption, and we're indebted to Olive Crest for their loving support and guidance throughout this process! From the initial preparation and training needed to become certified, to the counseling and guidance as we received our children, and the ongoing support and resources throughout this year as we've fostered the kids, we've been blessed! Our case manager has been just a phone call away, and she's genuinely happy to help in any way possible to ensure that we, and the kids, are supported. In fact, all of the individuals that we've been in contact with at Olive Crest are genuinely concerned about the welfare of the kids, and helpful in practical ways. Both in the San Diego County and the Orange County offices, we've been impressed with the professional way that their offices are run, and also the supportive community of Olive Crest families that they've developed. They truly feel like family because they care so deeply for our children! We highly recommend Olive Crest to any families considering fostering or foster adoption! You will be well prepared, and supported, and you will be joining a community and a family! read more

well...we did "foster to adopt", and 1 year later we adopted. our social worker was amazing, the whole team was a pleasure to work with. i highly refer olive crest to anyone that seems interested in the foster process. read more

We were certified through the Orange County Olive Crest in mid-March and received a short-term placement from March 31-April 12. We planned to be available for a placement in June, but said we were willing to do short-term before then. Our placement was a sibling set which turned out to be extremely challenging. We already have two young biological children so I had my hands very full. Christi Fried came when the kids first arrived and stayed for a couple hours, getting us all a bit more settled. She brought a bag of various kid items from coloring books to sippy cups to bibs, pacifiers, blankets, pjs, small toys, toothbrush and toothpaste, etc. She walked me through all the paperwork for the kids and when she left, she made sure I had her cell phone number to call or text any time I needed to. Jessica Smith was my social worker and was such a huge blessing, as she was available to answer all my questions and what-do-I-do-when-this-happens texts. She came to our first visitation and modeled how to monitor a visit, and even after reviewing for us how to monitor visits she didn't just leave. She gave me a copy of her monitored visitation form so I could see what I needed to observe for future visits and helped me feel comfortable interacting with the biological family. When she came to our house to go over all the paperwork needed, she was very clear and knowledgeable in her explanations and open to any questions throughout. She also was very friendly with my entire family and took her time patiently listening to any concerns I had. When the kids were transferred to a family friend on April 12, Jessica came for the transfer and chatted with us as a bit of a debrief, again listening and responding in a very understanding way. Before our placement and during the certification process, Diane Gomez was available by email to answer all of my questions and explained things clearly when I got confused (there is a LOT of paperwork to get confused about!) or misunderstood something. During the various training opportunities we attended, Olive Crest staff were informed, empathetic, and genuinely cared about making the foster system function as best as it can in such heartbreaking situations. They care about the kids, their biological families, and foster families and want to do everything in their power to ensure positive experiences for everyone involved. Having watched some close friends go through the certification process with the county, and now having been through it with Olive Crest Orange County, I would HIGHLY recommend them to anyone interested in foster care. The opportunity to have knowledgeable, caring people just a phone call/text/email away is invaluable for a foster family, and Olive Crest Orange County has provided exactly that for us. I'm so very thankful that we decided to certify with Olive Crest and look forward to future placements with them! read more