Ventura County will pay to keep a foster home in Thousand Oaks open until November, in the hopes that a new nonprofit will step forward to run it.

Interface Children Family Services has run the program for the past 10 years, relying on state funding and private fundraising. It´s an apartment building where as many as eight teenagers can live semi-independently as they prepare for their 18th birthday and their release from the foster care system.

Earlier this month, Interface told the county it would shut the program down Sept. 15 because it couldn´t afford to keep it running. The state pays Interface $3,863 per month for each child in the program, and Interface says its actualcosts are much higher.

On Friday, the CountyBoard of Supervisors voted 4-1 to pay Interface up to $15,452 to keep the home open for an additional two months.

That will give Interface time to look for another nonprofit to take over, or, if one can´t be found, to look for foster homes for the four teenagers who live there now.

Erik Sternad, Interface´s executive director, said two

nonprofits have expressed interest in running the program.

With some changes, it would be possible to run the program on the money the state provides, Sternad said.

For example, if seven children lived there instead of the current four, it would probably break even.

It´s hard to keep the program full because not every foster child is right for it, he said. They must be able to live on their own, hold down a job, and stay in school and out of trouble.

Supervisor Peter Foy was the lone “no” vote.

He said he was worried the program could become an open-ended obligation for the county, and he also didn´t want to set a precedent that could encourage other nonprofits to ask the county for money.

“I´m not saying we shouldn´t care for these kids, but are there other ways that they can be taken care of, programs that work better, financially?” Foy asked.

The rest of the board said the urgency of the children´s situation outweighed the financial concerns.

“These are our kids — we are literally, economically, financially, morally, ethically the parents of these kids,” Supervisor Steve Bennett said.