A comprehensive foster & adoption agency providing behavioral health, parent advocacy, family strengthening and community training.
A comprehensive child & family services agency providing mental health care for children, parent advocacy & mentorship, family strengthening, parenting classes and community trainings.
01/29/2026
On Tuesday, our Senior Leadership Team and staff at A Better Way’s Berkeley headquarters came together to celebrate a very special milestone: 20 years of leadership and service by our President & CEO, David Channer.
David’s unwavering dedication to the well-being of local children, youth, and families has helped shape A Better Way into the organization it is today. His compassion, vision, and commitment to our mission continue to inspire our staff, partners, and community every day.
We are deeply grateful for David’s two decades of leadership and for the countless lives touched through his work. Here’s to 20 years of impact and to the future ahead.
01/29/2026
Human trafficking happens here in California, and it often targets people facing housing instability, economic stress, or isolation. Awareness is one of the strongest tools for prevention.
Know the signs:
• Someone is being controlled or closely monitored
• They cannot leave work or living situations freely
• Threats, fear, or unpaid labor are present
Help is available 24/7:
📞 National Human Trafficking Hotline: 1-888-373-7888
📱 Text 233733 (BEFREE)
💻 humantraffickinghotline.org
At A Better Way, we believe prevention starts with connection, education, and community support. This month, we stand with survivors and those working to end exploitation.
01/16/2026
In observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, A Better Way will be closed on Monday, January 19.
We honor Martin Luther King Jr. and his enduring call to lead with love, courage, and compassion. His words and actions continue to inspire service, justice, and care for one another.
We will reopen on Tuesday, January 20.
01/15/2026
Important update for undocumented adults with Medi-Cal.
If you missed your Medi-Cal renewal deadline, you may still be able to keep your coverage. California allows an additional 90 days to complete your renewal and avoid losing benefits.
Access to health care is essential. Acting now can help ensure your coverage continues without interruption. Help is available, and your information is confidential.
12/31/2025
Today is a beautiful day to make a difference.
When you give to A Better Way, you become part of a child’s smile, a parent’s relief, and a family’s fresh start. Your generosity brings comfort, healing, and hope to children and families right here in our community.
Because of people like you, families feel supported, children feel safe, and parents know they are not alone.
And today, your kindness goes even further.
Our 2X matching gift ends tonight, doubling the love and care you make possible.
Give today and feel proud knowing you helped create something truly good.
Or mail a check, dated by December 31 to: A Better Way, 3200 Adeline Street, Berkeley, CA 904703.
12/30/2025
Unity, creativity, and purpose, these are some of the principles of Kwanzaa. We wish you a holiday season full of tradition, joy, and connection with the ones you love. Habari Gani from your friends on Sesame Street. ❤️🖤💚
12/26/2025
A Better Way will be closed from December 25 through January 1, allowing our staff time to rest and be with loved ones.
We will reopen on January 2 and look forward to continuing our work alongside the children, families, partners, and supporters who make our mission possible.
Wishing you and yours peace, warmth, and joyful moments this holiday season. Thank you for being part of our community.
12/26/2025
Will you stand with a family when the hardest conversations begin?
When Marcus was separated from his parents, every visit felt heavy.
There was love, but also fear, frustration, and so much left unsaid.
At A Better Way, families like Marcus’s work with Therapeutic Visitation teams who help make space for hard conversations, even when progress comes slowly.
With support from people who care, something begins to change. Children find the courage to speak. Parents learn how to listen in new ways. Trust can start to grow again.
Will you stand with families like Marcus and his parents?
Families like theirs are still in the middle of their healing journeys, and they need people willing to stand with them.
Make a gift today and have twice the impact.
All donations are matched dollar-for-dollar.
Give now:
Right now, families in our community need help. Your gift can help today — and be doubled. Families across the Bay Area are facing separation, instability, and overwhelming stress.Your donation provides therapy, parent advocacy, and support that helps families heal and stay together.Every gift is ...
12/23/2025
Thank you to everyone who gave to A Better Way’s Annual Holiday Toy Drive. Your kindness is already bringing comfort, joy, and the reassuring message that children and families are cared for during this season.
We are especially grateful to those who purchased toys and gift cards through our Amazon Wish List, and to our generous community partners who donated hundreds of toys, including Family Giving Tree, Fostering Wishes, Toys for Tots Alameda County, Bay Area Christian Church and BART Police Department.
Our staff has been delivering these gifts directly to children and families we serve, with a few still on their way, turning your generosity into moments of excitement, relief, and meaningful connection.
From all of us at A Better Way, thank you for showing up for children and families when it matters most.
12/22/2025
Wishing a happy Hanukkah to all who celebrate.
May this final evening of Hanukkah be filled with light, warmth, and peace, and may the days ahead bring comfort and hope.
12/18/2025
Alex had a stomach ache every day.
Stress at home had taken over. Bills piled up. Food assistance was delayed. Small disagreements turned into arguments, and the place Alex depended on for safety no longer felt calm.
Alex grew quiet at school and stopped asking for help.
With your support, families like Alex’s receive mental health care from licensed clinicians and guidance from parent advocates with lived experience. Your generosity helps parents stabilize their home and helps children feel safe again.
Right now, your support is being matched to help twice as many children and families.
The match ends December 31. Your gift goes twice as far.
Double your Impact for a Child in Crisis Your December gift will be matched dollar-for-dollar to help local children and parents receive therapy, support, and stability when they need it most.A Better Way supports children and families across the Bay Area through mental health care, parent advocacy,...
12/11/2025
Our Toy Drive is off to an incredible start — thank you to everyone who has already donated toys for the children, youth & famlies we serve.
We do have one special need: gift cards for our teenage clients are running low.
Teens often request gift cards because they allow them to choose something that fits their interests, their style, and their growing independence.
If you’d like to help make a teen’s holiday brighter, please visit our Holiday Wish List and select a gift card. Our staff will deliver it directly to a young person who truly needs it.
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A Better Way Inc was founded in 1996 as a Foster Family Program. Since then, we have grown into a comprehensive foster and adoption services agency, providing adoption, community training, parent advocacy, and behavioral health services to children and families at risk or involved with the foster care system. The mission of A Better Way is to empower children and families to develop the insights, life skills, and permanent relationships that promote their social, emotional, educational and economic well-being.
Since 1996, A Better Way has provided foster care placements to more than 2,000 children and has finalized 300 adoptions. We are the one of the few organizations in San Francisco and Alameda counties with expertise in assessing and providing behavioral health services to children 0-5 involved in the social services system through pre- or post-adoption, outpatient mental health, and reunification services.
A Better Way has provided behavioral health services to close to 2,500 children, many of whom live in our communities’ most impoverished and violence-ridden neighborhoods. In addition to behavioral health services, we provide intensive support and case management for parents pursuing reunification through our Parent Engagement Program with the help of parents who have successfully navigated the reunification process.
As a training center for foster parents and service providers, A Better Way provides about 2,000 hours of training per year in Alameda and Solano Counties – primarily through Title IV-E Training contracts with Chabot-Las Positas Community College. We coordinate and provide comprehensive training on an array of topics to professionals from other agencies, A Better Way staff, County personnel, and foster and birth parents.
Annually, A Better Way serves over 450 foster and adoptive children and families though behavioral health services and the Parent Engagement Program. All of A Better Way’s programs emphasize a strengths-based, capacity-building approach that helps parents and families achieve lasting success.
