Monthly Pot-Luck Gathering

Monthly Pot-Luck Gathering

for Adoptive, Foster and Safe Families, and those who support them.

Sunday, October 21, 2012

5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.

Willow Creek Community Church, 67 E. Algonquin Road, So. Barrington IL

Room F150 (park in lot F and follow signs to room F150, downstairs)

 This month we are excited to have Peter Woodbine, Director of Quality and Training from Youth Service Bureau of Illinois Valley come and speak to us.

This will be part one of a series on the topic of working with birth parents.

BRIDGING THE GAP: The importance of working with the birth parent(including a theological perspective), Roadblocks (including grief cycle of the birth parent, and how the “system” shapes our thinking towards abusive parents), and a foster parent who will share about their recent experience interacting with a birthparent.

This is essential information to think about if you are interested in building a relationship with the parents of the children whom you are providing care. We hope you can come to hear insights from, these experienced individuals, as the Vulnerable Children’s Ministry at Willow seeks to support you in the important work that you are doing. DCFS credit hours will be awarded for all licensed foster parents who attend this meeting.

Please bring a dish to share.  Beverages will be provided.

Child care is available if you r.s.v.p.with the number of children and their ages  to Dina at vcministry127@gmail.com. 

 

 

 

New Resource for Foster Care Agencies

Breaking the Ice Between Birth and Foster Parents

Gone are the days when child protection systems "saved" children by whisking them away from struggling families. Today, much more is known about the protective qualities of family relationships, and working to keep birth families involved in caring for their children while in foster care is an essential role for child welfare systems. While team decision-making and other elements are critical in this process, a new publication describes how icebreaker meetings between birth and foster parents can be especially critical in supporting children who have entered out-of-home care or changed placements.

Building working relationships between birth parents, foster parents, and caseworkers can be extremely important for foster children, and using Icebreaker meetings can be an effective mechanism for doing that. However, to be successful, an agency seeking to introduce Icebreakers must understand how the practice works. This publication is designed to:

• Give agencies an overview of Icebreaker meetings;
• Describe a work group process for planning and implementing Icebreaker meetings;
• Identify common barriers and roadblocks to successful implementation of Icebreaker meetings;
• Identify implementation steps that are often overlooked or missed;
• Share successes and examples of agencies using Icebreaker meetings;
• Share samples of Icebreaker documents and materials developed by agencies from across the country; and
• Provide a self-assessment tool to guide your planning and implementation.

For more information visit http://www.aecf.org/OurWork/ChildWelfarePermanence/IcebreakerMeetings.aspx