Company gives support to caregivers

Tim and Sharon Francis met in college, married young and had two boys by age 23. They learned early on about the importance of taking time apart from the active children to keep their marriage and parenting skills strong. With this inspiration and Sharon Francis' psychology background, they founded Channel Islands Social Services in 2004.

Based in Camarillo and now supporting hundreds of local families, the company provides respite care, similar to child care, all over Ventura County. Services are free to families of the Regional Center who have a child under age 3 at risk for developmental delays or have a developmental disability such as autism, Down syndrome, cerebral palsy or mental retardation. Respite care is provided to the parents to give them a short break so they can go out as a couple, run errands or relax.

Channel Islands Social Services also helps children with special needs attend local summer camps by providing an inclusion facilitator, or "camp buddy," so children who need a higher level of supervision can still go to camp.

Experienced, patient, caring people are needed all over the county, especially in Thousand Oaks and Simi Valley.

Help is needed mostly nights and weekends. For more information, cal(805) 384-0983, ext. 2, or visiwww.IslandSocialServices.org.