American Indian Child Resource Center (AICRC)

American Indian Child Resource Center (AICRC)

522 Grand Avenue | Oakland, CA 94610 

Phone

Phone (510) 208-1870 | Fax (510) 208-1886 

The San Francisco Bay Area has a large American Indian population estimated at over 172,000 individuals.  In fact, more Indian people live in urban settings than on the reservation.  The federal government’s Relocation Program in the 1950’s resulted in a significant number of American Indians moving from reservations to various cities, but there was no program in place to deliver the critical transitional assistance that was needed.  Today, the Bay Area has one of the highest concentrations of urban American Indians in the country with more than 200 tribes represented. 

In 1972, a group of women helped organize and incorporate the Indian Nurses of California to assist families who felt isolated, disillusioned, and disenfranchised after being relocated from their reservations and their communities.  Two years later, the group wrote the first grant to establish funding for the Urban Indian Child Resource Center, with specific focus on the prevention of child abuse and neglect.  Agency staff dealt with a myriad of issues faced by the Indian community with cultural integrity, competence and respect.   We later changed our name and became who we are today - the American Indian Child Resource Center. 

AICRC is a nonprofit social service and education agency serving urban Indian children and their families.  Governed by a voluntary Board of Directors with Native American members who are sensitive to the issues facing Indian families, AICRC has thrived for over 30 years in Oakland with services in ten counties of the greater Bay Area. 

Programs have developed over the years to meet the challenges faced by the community we serve.  The growth of the agency from a small group of Indian nurses to a diverse staff providing services through many different programs demonstrates that we have the essential knowledge and experience needed to fulfill our mission.  AICRC has formal and informal working agreements with multiple agencies, school systems, and government entities and is committed to the need for networking and collaboration in order to most effectively deal with the complex situations facing the urban Indian community.

The American Indian family has always been a resourceful, influential, and productive cornerstone of our society.  By providing social services, community support and education, AICRC helps Indian families stay together and promotes the success of our Native youth.