- …expert consultation to member agencies
and advocacy for Alliance regulatory,
legislative and budgetary
public policy objectives. 
Carroll Schroeder
Executive Director
Carroll Schroeder presides over all Alliance advocacy, accreditation, member services and executive support activities and staffs the Executive and Nominating Committees.
Carroll came to the Alliance in 2001 after nearly 30 years in the field of child and family services. Beginning as a CPS worker in Baltimore in the early 70's, he moved to California to attend graduate school at UC Davis. After obtaining his Masters degree, he helped establish and grow FamiliesFirst where he worked for 18 years and held a variety of program and administrative positions ranging from youth care worker through social worker, program director, director of training, research and program development, and Associate Executive Director. He directed the residential, nonpublic school, and intensive family preservation programs.
After a brief stint in consulting, Carroll became Executive Director of Stanford Home for Children in 1995. There he redesigned the residential treatment program, was part of a four-agency joint venture that established the permanency-focused Family Alliance foster family agency, expanded Stanford Home's array of services to include mental health and vocational services, and brought all of the service offerings together through implementation of wraparound service and support.
He has chaired and served on numerous boards and commissions and has extensive, practical hands-on experience in nonprofit leadership and management, family-centered practice, residential care, foster family care, special education, family preservation and wraparound services.
Carroll holds an MS in Child Development from UC Davis and a BA in Sociology from Catawba College.
E-mail Carroll at cschroeder@cacfs.org.
Public Policy Advocacy
Doug Johnson
Associate Executive Director
Doug is Associate Executive Director and staffs the Residential Care, Juvenile Justice, and Research and Evaluation Committees. His particular areas of expertise include policy development in the areas of residential care and juvenile justice, with a special emphasis on federal and State funding, auditing and licensing requirements, and government regulatory processes.
Doug came to the Alliance in 1998 from nearly 20 years in State service, spending 18 years with the California Department of Social Services. Probably best remembered by member agencies for his work as a bureau chief in the Children and Families Services Division, Doug oversaw development and implementation of the current group home and FFA rate-setting systems. He served as Chief of the Foster Care Policy Bureau, the Child Welfare Services Policy Bureau, and the Emergency Assistance Program Bureau. Additionally, Doug held management positions in the Individual and Family Grant, the Refugee Services, and the Food Stamp Programs. His last assignment prior to joining the Alliance staff was as the Coordinator for Federal Legislation during welfare reform.
Doug holds a BA in Political Science from UCLA and did graduate work in Soviet Studies at the University of Glasgow. From 1975 Ð 1978, he was an adjunct professor of political science, teaching courses on comparative government and international relations at the Monterey Institute for Foreign Studies in Monterey and at Hartnell Community College in Salinas.
E-mail Doug at djohnson@cacfs.org.
Jacqueline Rutheiser
Senior Policy Advocate
Jacqueline Rutheiser is a Senior Policy Advocate responsible for advocacy on child welfare issues including the adoption of children from foster care, foster family-based care and services, in-home and family-based services, and housing, services and support for transition-age youth. Jackie staffs the Adoption, Foster Family Agency and Family-Based Services Committees.
Jackie came to the Alliance in 2007 with over 20 years experience in local, state and national politics, most recently with the California State Legislature where she served as senior staff for Senator Nell Soto (D-San Bernardino, Pomona) and previously as staff with Assembly Majority Leader Kevin Shelley (D-San Francisco). Prior to her work in the State Capitol, Jackie was a managing partner in a political research and campaign strategy consulting business for eight years and was the Research Director for the National Health Care Campaign for then First Lady Hillary Clinton and the Democratic National Committee.
Jackie holds a BA in International Relations from UC Davis.
E-mail Jackie at jrutheiser@cacfs.org.
Nicette Short
Senior Policy Advocate, Director of Grassroots Advocacy
Nicette is Senior Policy Advocate responsible for policy issues pertaining to children's mental health and for the Alliance's grassroots advocacy efforts. She staffs the Mental Health Committee and works closely with Alliance member agency executives and boards of directors to build relationships with legislators in their districts and assure they are well educated on issues important to Alliance members. Nicette's expertise lies in understanding governmental operations and policy-making from the inside out. She has extensive experience in legal and legislative analysis and performance measure evaluation.
Nicette came to the Alliance in 2002 from, most recently, a private firm where she was Senior Consultant, conducting performance audits of various governmental programs in Colorado, Arizona and California including the Los Angeles Police Department and the California Department of Education. Prior to consulting, Nicette spent 4 years as an auditor in the Office of the Legislative Auditor in Louisiana and the Bureau of State Audits in California conducting performance audits and program evaluations of state government. Her projects covered topics such as education policy, contract services, public/private partnerships and the justice system, and included audits of the Louisiana State Department of Health and Hospitals and the California Science Center.
Nicette holds a Master's degree in Public Administration from Louisiana State University, with a specialization in Public Policy, and a Bachelor's degree in Political Science from the University of Louisiana, Lafayette.
E-mail Nicette at nshort@cacfs.org.
Fran Edelstein
Consultant, Mental Health Policy
Fran serves as primary staff to the Mental Health Committee and is our consultant on public policy issues pertaining to children's mental health.
Formerly Deputy Director of the California Association of Children's Homes, one of the parent organizations of the Alliance, Fran continued with the merged Alliance first as a Program Director and later as a consultant in her primary area of expertise. Prior to joining CCH, Fran served as Residential Treatment Director and Special Projects Director at FamiliesFirst, Program Director of the Adolescent Inpatient Psychiatric Unit at the UC Davis Medical Center, and as Chief Psychologist and Day Treatment Programs Director with the Yolo County Mental Health Department. After completing her doctorate, Fran was a Clinical Psychology Intern and Fellow at Children's Hospital National Medical Center in Washington, D.C.
A licensed psychologist in California, Fran holds a PhD in Clinical Psychology with a specialty in child and adolescent psychology from George Washington University and a BA from Sarah Lawrence College. She is an Associate Member of the American Psychological Association and a Member of the Sacramento Valley Psychological Association. For six years, Fran served on the Board of Directors of CMHACY and is also a past member and President of the Board of Trustees of BHC Heritage Oaks Hospital.
E-mail Fran at fedelstein@cacfs.org.
Gina Plate
Consultant, Education Policy
Gina Plate manages all policy advocacy pertaining to educating children in foster care, with particular emphasis on the use of nonpublic schools and charter schools to provide educational services, and staffs the Alliance Education Committee.
Gina has a wide range of administrative and teaching experience including experience as regional director, program director, director of educational services, and special education teacher at Seneca Center for Children and Families. She has more than fifteen years of experience in the special education field in both public school districts and non-public schools. Gina worked as a special day clas teacher and taught severely emotional disturbed pupils at the elementary and middle school level. She also served as a full inclusion aide, transition job coach and speech therapy aide.
Gina holds a Masters degree in Special Education from the University of San Diego and a BA in Communication with a minor in Business Administration also from the University of San Diego.
E-mail Gina at gplate@cacfs.org.
Membership and Accreditation
Kristian Ross-Patchin
Director of Membership and Accreditation Services
As the Director of Membership and Accreditation Services, Kristian Ross-Patchin staffs the Membership Committee and is responsible for Alliance accreditation standards and member reviews. She heads up Alliance new member recruitment efforts and assists members throughout the membership and accreditation process. As all Alliance member agencies must be accredited either through a national accrediting body or through the Alliance, Kristian schedules and oversees 30-40 accreditation reviews annually. She assures that Alliance accreditation standards are kept up to date and reflect best practices in all administrative and program areas.
An attorney by training, Kristian joined the Alliance in 2006 and brings expertise in the areas of regulatory compliance and accreditation, quality improvement, best practice, and policies and procedures. Prior to joining the Alliance, Kristain was a certified legal intern at the San Diego Public Defender: Dependency Division and later, Director of Provider Relations for the North Carolina Council of MH/DD/SA Community Programs. In the latter capacity, she oversaw provider outreach and accreditation during the state's divestiture of services from county run programs to Local Management Entities overseeing private providers.
She holds a Jurist Doctor degree from California Western School of Law and a BA from San Diego State University.
E-mail Kristian at kross-patchin@cacfs.org.
Conferences and Training
Deborah Clore-Myers
Certified Meeting Planner
Debbie coordinates all conference and training events and assists in staffing the Continuing Education Committee. A Certified Meeting Planner, Debbie is responsible annually for the coordination of three executive conferences, the Essential Skills Program, the Partnership Conference, and several other FFA and group home conferences cosponsored with Community Care Licensing.
Debbie came to the Alliance in 2000 through the merger of the California Association of Children's Homes (CCH) and the California Association of Services for Children (CSC). From 1990 to the merger, Debbie worked with CCH as executive assistant, meeting planner and office manager. Prior to joining CCH, Debbie held bookkeeper and full-charge bookkeeper positions in several settings including the California Psychiatric Association.
E-mail Debbie at dcmyers@cacfs.org.
Administration and Support
Kim Janoe
Finance and Human Resources Manager
As Finance and Human Resources Manager, Kim Janoe manages all Alliance bookeeping functions, payroll and human resources activities. Kim assists the Executive Director with Board and Executive Committee Meetings and is also the support for the Director of Membership and Accreditation Services.
Kim came to the Alliance in 2000 when it was formed by the merger of the California Association of Services for Children (CSC) and the California Association of Children's Homes (CCH). Previously, Kim worked at CSC as a bookeeper, office manager and executive assistant and worked in the financial sector with Van Kasper and Company and E. F. Hutton.
E-mail Kim at kjanoe@cacfs.org.
Patricia Bryant
Executive Assistant
Patricia Bryant joined the Alliance in 2007 as Executive Assistant. Her responsibilities include tracking legislation, assisting with conferences, managing the website and other special projects.
Patricia has experience in governmental and non-profit public policy working on issues related to child maltreatment, including foster care. Prior to joining the Alliance, she worked as a legislative aide in the State Capitol, as a staff services analyst with the California Department of Social Services, and as a policy analyst for FamiliesFirst and the National Committee to Prevent Child Abuse.
Patricia holds a Masters degree in political science with a concentration in Public Policy and Public Administration from the State University of New York (SUNY) at Binghamton and a BA in Political Science from SUNY Cortland.
E-mail Patricia at pbryant@cacfs.org.