Because of the pandemic,  the center was closed down from March through July 2020.  They reopened on July 7, 2020.  Their new operations is completely curbside.  833 foster children have been served in the new format since July 7.  Volunteers spend 5 minutes with the client, who remain in their cars, to find out the clients clothing and color

preferences.  A client's is like a virtual waiting room.  The volunteers then go into the store and bundle up the donated items in an outside tent and load the bundles in the client's car.

 

Kristin further said that with the pandemic there has been a dramatic increase in the numbers of foster children.  Covid-19 has exacerbated the problems of parents.  There has been a change in the age that a child can remain in foster care.  It is no longer 18 years, but 21 years, and that has made everyone happy.

 

Kristin gave an example of how well the Children's Resource Center, donors and foster parents can work together for wonderful results.  There is now, and has always been, a problem in getting foster parents.  A drug addict mother gave birth to premature twins, 3 lbs, and 4 lbs.  A foster mother with 5 foster children has already stepped forward to receive the children.  But she had no diapers or other new born supplies.  They were able to get those supplies from Carter's in Camarillo.  Now those pre-term babies are 14 lbs.

 

Zoraida added that premature babies caused by their mother's abuse of drugs, usually have natural defense to a lot of diseases.  She went further to say that the brains of premature babies are less sensitive to hypoxia (low level of oxygen in the blood) during fetal distress than full term babies and less sensitive to brain damage, specifically the the "thinking brain", therefore premature newborns can have normal intellect despite of hypoxia.  However, this is not referring to children of moms with history of drug addiction only, it is referring to any premature newborn who has been under fatal distress.