Adoption, Foster Care, Safe Families for Children Open House!

 

 

 

 

 

Adoption, Foster Care, Safe Families for Children
Open House!

Wednesday, April 11th
7:30 - 8:45
Willow Creek Community Church
Room F280 (Hospitality Room)

Come learn about adoption, foster care, and Safe Families for Children and learn how you can get involved in these growing ministries at Willow Creek.

Interested in serving kids in foster care?  Representatives from C.A.S.A. (Court Appointed Special Advocates), Royal Family Kids Camp, and Teen Reach Adventure Camp will be on hand to show you ways you can get involved.

 

No registration necessary.  Questions? Email afs@willowcreek.org

When Church is a Challenge for Kids

When life is a struggle, Believers want and NEED church. We desire fellowship with others, corporate worship, and being led through Scripture for a nugget of God’s peace that passes all understanding. Unfortunately for many foster and adoptive parents, the idea of going to church may also bring up feelings of anxiety.

• Should I try to have my child attend Sunday School or will the separation be too much for them?
• Will people think that my kids are “out of control” because they struggle to self-regulate?
• Is it worth trying to actually get my kids to church?
• Will I be called out of service repeatedly if my child experiences a meltdown?
• Should I take my child even though he might be so overstimulated that it will take the whole rest of the day to help him regulate?
• Read more about foster/adoptive families’ experiences, here's a great place to start.

At Project 1.27, part of our mission is to help equip churches to support foster and adoptive families. As you think about your church, or the church your foster/adoptive family attends, consider the church culture and how it responds to children from hard places and the parents who care for them. Does the church leadership prioritize foster and adoptive ministries? Do the children’s programs seek to accommodate a child from hard places through extra training and understanding? Are there opportunities to engage the church congregation to think more about serving kids in foster care or those who have been adopted?

How can I help my church become more foster and adoptive friendly?

• Investigate your church culture through asking foster/adoptive families about their experience in church.
• Explore additional resources or ministries your church could offer to support foster/adoptive families.
• Schedule a time to talk with someone in leadership at your church about what you have learned and the need that exists at your church.
• Contact Project 1.27’s new Family Care Team Manager, Marilyn Robinson (mrobinson@project127.com), if your church leadership is interested in developing more strategic ways to support foster and adoptive families.

Empowered to Connect Conference!

This year, we have the awesome opportunity to attend the 

Empowered To Connect Conference LIVE in the Chicago area!

Geared toward foster & adoptive families, and applicable for potential adoptive or foster parents, and professionals or ministry leaders serving children. 
Learn an evidence-based, trauma-informed approach from global leaders on caring for children from "hard places". Learn how to promote healing, foster connection, and correct your children with methods that work. 

DATE: Friday, April 13th & Saturday, April 14th 2018  LOCATION: Harvest New Beginnings  5315 Douglas Road Oswego, IL 60543

• Experience practical teaching in a safe and supportive community!
• Each adoptive and foster parent will receive a certificate of attendance that can be turned into their agency & possibly counted towards training credits.

 Register HERE!

This conference, presented by Show Hope in partnership with the Karyn Purvis Institute of Child Development at TCU and Empowered To Connect, is a two-day event that equips families, churches, and professionals to better serve children impacted by adoption and foster care.

We strongly recommend attending with your spouse! It's beneficial for you to be on the same page. We believe this conference is worth taking a day off work if you need to. What you will learn is invaluable!

Podcast: How to Handle Overstimulation During the Holidays

 

The holiday season is full of fun and exciting sights, sounds, smells, treats, and activities. Mike and Kristin have asked their good friend, Jenn Hook, to join them as they discuss some ways parents can handle over-stimulation with their kids during the holiday season.  Listen in now for Part 2 of 4 in our “Holiday Survival Tips and Tricks Series.”

For more information and resources, visit the Confessions of an Adoptive Parent web site.

Listen Now:

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Stand Sunday...will you stand with us?

Will you Stand with us for Adoption, Foster Care &

Safe Families for Children?

Join us on November 11th & 12th!

Willow Creek Community Church

67 E. Algonquin Road, So. Barrington, IL

Look for us in the lobby after each service (services are at 5:30pm, 9am & 11:15am) to show your support.  You'll have a chance to sign our "Stand" wall 

and receive an "I Stand" sticker.

Questions? Email afs@willowcreek.org

Stand Sunday is an initiative of the Christian Alliance for Orphans and is hosted by the Adoption, Foster Care & Safe Families for Children Ministry at Willow Creek.

The Kindest Thing You Can Do for a Potential Foster Parent

A friend of mine recently told me about his daughter’s 5th birthday. Leading up to the birthday party, the one thing she kept asking for was a pinata.  Being good parents who wanted to give good gifts to their daughter, they went out and found the perfect teddy bear pinata.

On the big day when the teddy bear was revealed, she was thrilled.  They lined up all the kids, and armed with a blindfold and a stick, they began the normal pinata routine.  Each child came forward and took a swing, and everyone was having a great time.

And then it happened.

Read the rest of the story.

Taken from the CAFO blog
October 27, 2017 by Jason Weber

Empowered to Connect Conference!

Bringing Hope and Healing to Families

Show Hope is partnering with Empowered to Connect to present the Empowered to Connect Conference on April 13-14, 2018, in the Chicagoland area. Come experience practical teaching in a safe and supportive community as we work to equip families, churches, and professionals to better serve children impacted by adoption and foster care.

There will be several simulcast locations in the Chicagoland area.  Each day's sessions will run from 9am-5pm (check-in opens at 8am), with a one hour offsite lunch.

The Empowered to Connect Conference features Trust-Based Relational InterventionⓇ methods developed by Dr. Karyn Purvis and Dr. David Cross from the Karyn Purvis Institute of Child Development to help bring attachment and connection in families. The content is ideal for adoptive and foster parents, those considering adoption or foster care, and those who are serving and supporting others, including social workers, agency professionals, church staff and ministry leaders, counselors and therapists, childcare providers, and extended family members.
Find more information about the conference here >

For inquiries regarding the Empowered to Connect Conference, please contact 615-550-5600 ext. 116.  If seating is available, tickets may be purchased at the door.


CHILDCARE: Please note that childcare will NOT be provided at this event.  Please make arrangements off-site for childcare.

CONTINUING EDUCATION: This program has previously been approved by the National Association of Social Workers and the National Board for Certified Counselors for 11 continuing education contact hours. Approval for the 2018 event is pending.

Have questions about Empowered to Connect Conference 2018- Chicago Metro? Contact Show Hope

Foster Care Dialogue @ Allendale

 Foster Parent Rights and Responsibilities 

Implementation Plan Dialogue

 

 

Thursday, September 21st

6:30 – 8:30 pm

Allendale Association

 600 W Grand Ave, Lake Villa, IL 60046

Cheryl Stenzel, Ph.D., Director of Clinical and Community Services at Allendale, will facilitate a discussion on how the agency supports foster parents in their Rights and Responsibilities. This is an opportunity to be informed, ask questions and share input about the 2018 Foster Parent Law Implementation Plan.

Register for the training by calling Tammy Goodwin or Keri Beyer at Bradley Counseling Center, 847-356-3322 or tggodwin@allendale4kids.org and Kbeyer@allendale4kids.org.

Lydia/Safe Families Celebration!