May 2024 Issue 74
National Foster Care Month
May is National Foster Care Month. The Arizona Department of Child Safety is grateful to the entire foster care community for your dedication to and support of children and families.
As we all know, foster care is a vital and rewarding experience that provides children with stable, loving homes and families when they need it most. However, the need for foster families is constantly growing, and many communities struggle to find enough homes to meet the demand. Current and former foster families are in a unique position to help recruit others to foster. Here are some ideas for how you can do so:
- Share your story. You can share your experiences and the joys and challenges of foster care with others. You can speak at local events, share your story on social media, or participate in panels to educate the community about the need for foster families.
- Host information sessions. You can host information sessions or gatherings for others who are interested in fostering. You can invite representatives from your licensing agency to speak about the process and answer questions.
- Connect with faith-based organizations. Many faith-based organizations are interested in supporting foster care initiatives. You can connect with your local churches, synagogues, or mosques to spread the word about the need for foster families and encourage members to get involved. Even if members are not able to foster, there are still so many ways they can support foster care!
- Partner with schools and community organizations. Schools and community organizations are often looking for ways to give back to their communities. You can partner with these organizations to organize events and activities that raise awareness of foster care and recruit potential foster families.
- Be a mentor. Current caregivers can serve as mentors to other families who are considering fostering. You can share your knowledge and experience, offer support, and help guide them through the process. Speak with your licensing worker about getting paired with a family!
- Participate in recruitment campaigns. Licensing agencies and DCS constantly run recruitment campaigns to encourage more families to get involved, and we are always looking for families to share their story. If you have a story you think would benefit recruitment efforts, please reach out to see how you can become involved!
- Host a foster care day. You can organize a foster care day in your community, where you can invite potential foster families to meet with current foster families, hear their stories, and learn more about the process.
If you are in need of materials, such as informational brochures or cards with the link to the DCS orientation, please reach out, and the DCS Recruitment and Retention team would be happy to get you whatever you need!
Mother's Day for ALL Mothers
Mother's Day is a special occasion that celebrates the love and dedication of mothers everywhere. For birth mothers of children in foster care, however, this day can be bittersweet. While they may still love and miss their children, the circumstances of their separation can make it difficult to fully participate in the holiday. That's why it's so important to include birth mothers in Mother's Day activities and celebrations, both for their own sake and for the well-being of their children.
First and foremost, including birth mothers in Mother's Day activities and celebrations can help to maintain the bond between mother and child. This bond is crucial for the child's sense of identity and can help to mitigate the trauma of being separated from their birth family. By involving the birth mother in the celebration, we are acknowledging the important role she plays in the child's life and showing that her love and care are still valued.
Secondly, including birth mothers in Mother's Day activities and celebrations can help to normalize the experience of foster care. As with any other holiday or special occasion, it's important to make sure that all members of the family feel included and valued. By including birth mothers in the celebration, we are sending the message that they are still a part of the family, even if they are not physically present.
Thirdly, including birth mothers in Mother's Day activities and celebrations can help to build trust and positive relationships between birth parents and foster parents. This can be especially important if the child is eventually reunified with their birth family, as it can help to smooth the transition and make it easier for everyone involved.
There are many ways to include birth mothers in Mother's Day activities and celebrations. For example, they could be invited to attend a special brunch or other gathering, or to participate in a virtual celebration if they are unable to be there in person. Foster parents could also make a special effort to include birth mothers in the day by having the child handmake a gift for her or by ensuring that any gifts made in school are given to her.
Of course, there may be situations where including birth mothers in Mother's Day activities and celebrations is not possible or appropriate. For example, if there are safety concerns or if the birth mother is not interested in participating. In these cases, it's important to be respectful and sensitive to the mother's wishes, while still doing everything possible to maintain the connection between her and her child.
In conclusion, including birth mothers in Mother's Day activities and celebrations is an important part of supporting children in foster care and maintaining positive relationships between birth parents and foster parents. By doing so, we can help to normalize the experience of foster care, build trust and positive relationships, and support the emotional well-being of everyone involved. Let's make sure that all mothers, birth and foster, feel loved and valued on this special day.
Neurosequential Model of Caregivers Group Training
OLR Reminders
When you begin fostering, veteran caregivers will often tell you that it is not a matter of "if" but "when" there is a licensing concern. In most cases, it is easily remedied and often preventable. Below are some reminders from the OLR Concerns Unit to help you out:
The biological or adoptive parent retains the ability to make education decisions, including special education decisions, unless one of the following circumstances exist:
- The identity of the parent (biological or adoptive) is unknown.
- The whereabouts of the parent is unknown.
- Parental rights have been terminated.
- The court has suspended the biological or adoptive parent’s special educational rights.
Your licensing agency is partnered with DCS to be your family's support throughout your fostering journey, including bumps in the road. Reach out to your licensing worker for resources, such as support groups or a mentor who has experienced something similar.
Royal Family Kids Summer Camp - Phoenix
Royal Family Kids Summer Camp - Payson
CCV Summer Camp
Azura Free Virtual Reading Program
Mentor Program
Arizonans for Children has mentors available for kiddos between the ages of 5-18 with an open DCS case in Maricopa County. Children can be in any placement setting, including licensed, kinship, and congregate care. Children cannot have a current safety plan due to behavior, as volunteers are not professionally trained to manage that level of need. Anyone on the child's team can complete the application, as long as they have sufficient information on the child's case.
Foster Cooperative
Foster Cooperative is an open-sourced online community powered by Foster Arizona for anyone helping children and youth facing adversity to find connections, peer support, quality resources and training, community events, and innovative communication methods to be empowered with tools needed to succeed.
ASA Now
ASA Now is a non-profit organization that ADVOCATES for, SUPPORTS, and ASSISTS children and families impacted by foster care. We are passionate about providing support to families and professionals by restoring hope and empowering them to better serve these children in need.
Services we offer include tutoring & extracurricular activities, food pantry, clothing, and meeting basic necessities. Other services include life skills for youth, respite care, therapeutic programs, family activities, peer-to-peer support groups, education and training on utilizing Jacob's Law to obtain behavioral health services, providing resources to families and caregivers to successfully navigate the foster care system, raising awareness, recruiting new foster families, and advocating for families and their children.
The Foster Alliance
The Foster Alliance provides essential needs for children in foster care in an effort to help every foster child feel safe and loved. Our programs provide beds, clothing, hygiene items, birthday packages, backpacks filled with school supplies, licensing safety items, foster footlockers, and more. Our services are open to kinship and foster families with a current Notice to Provider.
Arizona Association for Foster and Adoptive Parents
Christian Family Care Training
Helen's Hope Chest
At Helen's Hope Chest, our mission is to engage the community to provide for the basic needs of children and teens in foster and kinship care. Helen's provides more than just clothes for kids in care. It is important that every youth who comes through our door feels a sense of confidence, acceptance, and dignity. Our boutique environment allows kids to choose their favorite items and feel like they are in a regular store, all at no cost to the foster/kinship family.
Families with a current foster or kinship placement are encouraged to call us at 480-969-5411 to schedule an appointment.
A Mighty Change of Heart
A Mighty Change of Heart provides FREE duffle bags to foster children with new, age-appropriate items inside: 2 outfits, shoes & socks, underwear, a book, diapers/wipes, hygiene items, and more. These bags have the children’s names embroidered on them and are something that they can call their very own. They have delivered over 3,500 bags across the state.
Please check out their website for more information: www.amchaz.com. If your family, business, church group, or school would be interested in holding a donation drive, please contact A Mighty Change of Heart. Items are always needed.
Aviva Children's Services - Tucson
More Than a Bed - Tucson
Spreading Threads - Tucson
Spreading Threads is a grassroots, nonprofit community clothing bank that provides free clothes to foster youth in southern Arizona. The organization was founded by two foster moms in Tucson who have fostered and adopted several children in Arizona. Your donations go directly to local children in need. On the second Saturday of each month, foster, adoptive, and kinship families can visit the clothing bank. A Notice to Provider will be needed. The clothing bank events are held at 2945 N Flowing Wells in Tucson.
STEP Training- Tucson
Support, Tools, and Education for Parents (STEP) is designed to build positive relationships between family members. It provides a safe space to discuss topics that may be too difficult to talk about at home. These conversations are about peer pressure, stress, and the importance of working together as a team. When caregivers and children work together, it creates a stronger family! The Children’s Advocacy Center understands that family does not always mean a biological parent and child. STEP is a program that will benefit the whole family, including biological, foster, kinship, and adoptive families.
Families enrolled in STEP will meet virtually each week. Each session consists of different topics, such as communication, stress management, substance abuse prevention, and how to talk to your child about difficult topics (identifying potential child abusers, child abuse, healthy and concerning sexualized behavior), each session building on the next. Child care will be available when classes are offered in person again. For questions, please contact Jackie Ballesteros at jballesteros@soazadvocacy.org or 520-724-2148.
Warmline Supports Kinship and Foster Families
The Foster Parent Warmline is available for kinship families and licensed foster parents. While not an emergency number, Warmline staff can assist with information, timely communication, and support. It is not intended to discourage or replace direct and regular communication between the DCS Specialist and the out-of-home caregiver. You can reach the Warmline by calling 1-877-KIDSNEEDU (1-877-543-7633) and selecting Option 3. Please leave a message with your name, the child's name, DOB, and dates of placement/departure, as well as an explanation of the issue. You may also send an email to Warmline@azdcs.gov and include the above information.
Children's Heart Gallery
More than 70 percent of the children in need of forever families are adopted by their relatives or foster parents. For the remainder, special recruitment efforts like the Heart Gallery are used to connect them with a forever family.
The children featured in the Heart Gallery represent all ethnic groups and range in age from toddlers to teenagers. Some have special behavioral or medical needs, some are without siblings, and others are in groups of siblings.
Royal and Christian
Christian is a dynamic and engaging young man with a radiant presence that lights up any room. With his captivating dark brown eyes and infectious smile, he effortlessly draws others into his world of adventure and creativity. Whether he's basking in the freedom of the playground or lost in the depths of his imaginative games, Christian's boundless energy and enthusiasm for life are evident in everything he does. Indoors, he finds joy in constructing elaborate worlds of Legos, immersing himself in his favorite TV shows, or enjoying the company of friends. He has passion for recreational sports like soccer and basketball.
Royal is a delightful little girl with a heartwarming smile, adorned with beautiful brown hair and big brown eyes that sparkle with curiosity. Though initially reserved with new acquaintances, she quickly warms up, revealing her energetic and affectionate nature. Royal finds joy in the company she holds dear, delighting in moments spent playing on the playground, nurturing her dolls, and reveling in outdoor adventure with friends. With a fondness for sweets, Royal's favorite treats include cake, watermelon, and strawberries, reflecting her joyous spirit and zest for life. She dreams of exploring the graceful world of ballet and the thrilling realm of gymnastics.
Christian was born in 2016, and Royal was born in 2017.
Thailey
Thailey is an artistic individual who is always ready to start a creative art project. She most recently was able to sell slime at her local farmer's market. She loves animals- it does not matter what kind, as long as she can play with them. Thailey's love language is quality time, and she lives for family movie nights. She loves learning all sorts of new things and trying new experiments. On any given day, you can find Thailey working on a project in her room or playing with animals outside.
Thailey was born in 2009.
Jesiah
Meet Jesiah, an irresistible little boy whose infectious laughter is bound to brighten your day. Though he can be initially shy around unfamiliar faces, Jesiah's personality radiates warmth and charm. Whether going for a ride in his stroller, exploring the outdoors, or immersing himself in playtime with toys, Jesiah is full of joy.
Jesiah was born in 2021.
AZ Families Thrive is published monthly by the Arizona Department of Child Safety to inform foster, kinship, and adoptive families across the state. Rhiannon Schaudt-Hobkirk created this edition. Please feel free to email with questions, comments, or content you may be interested in seeing in future editions. Sign up to receive email updates when new issues are posted.
Interested in becoming a foster or adoptive parent? Call us: 1-877-KIDS-NEEDU (1-877-543-7633) or email us: FosterAdoption@azdcs.gov. Visit us online: www.azkidsneedu.gov.
To report child abuse or neglect: 1-888-SOS-CHILD