No matter where you are, you’ll find us at county fairs, festivals and other events. We also host our own events, like “Ask a Foster Parent” nights. And at every event, you’ll be meeting with Foundation child welfare professionals or foster parents who can share their experiences. Check out the events below and call us at 1-877-505-KIDS (5437) for more information.

Eastern Region

Carbon, Daggett, Duchesne, Emery, Grand, San Juan, & Uintah Counties.

Foster parent pre-service training will be held in the following locations:

January – Moab

February- Uintah Basin

March – Price

Please plan ahead in order to attend the trainings held near you.

Attendees must contact kobi.marchello@utahfostercare.org or 1-877-505-5437 or 435-650-4114 to register for these classes.

Ask a Foster Parent Night – Price

Tuesday, February 7th

6:00-8:00 pm

UFCF office

475 West Price River Drive, Suite 152

Price

Hear the facts about children in Carbon and Emery Counties who need local foster families.

Ask a Foster Parent Night – Monticello

Tuesday, February 28th

6:30 pm

Monticello Library

80 North Main- Monticello

Hear the facts about children in San Juan and Grand Counties who need local foster families. For details, call Geri at 435-259-3345.

Ask a Foster Parent Night – Blanding

Thursday, March 1st

6:30pm

DCFS Office

522 North 100 East-Blanding

Hear the facts about children in San Juan and Grand Counties who need local foster families. For details, call Geri at 435-259-3345.

Ask a Foster Parent Night – Moab

Tuesday, March 6th

6:30pm

Utah Foster Care Foundation office

180 South 300 East- Moab

Hear the facts about children in San Juan and Grand Counties who need local foster families. For details, call Geri at 435-259-3345.

Salt Lake Region

Salt Lake & Tooele Counties.

Foster parent pre-service training is held at our Murray office each month.

Attendees must contact Dan, Jordan, Amy or Christina at 801-994-5205 or 1- 877-505-5437 to register for these classes.

Entrenamiento en Espanol -

Llamar Christina para inscribirse a 801-747-0522.

Ask a Foster Parent Night- Tooele

Thursday, February 2

6:30 – 7:30pm

Tooele City Library

128 West Vine Street

Find out about children from the Tooele area who need safe, loving homes and foster parents.

Ask a Foster Parent Night – Murray

Monday, February 6th

6:00- 8:00pm

UFCF offices

5296 South Commerce Drive, Suite 400

Murray

Find out about children  who need safe, loving homes and foster parents.

Fostering Teens: Rewards & Challenges

Wednesday, February 22nd

6:30 – 8:00pm

UFCF offices- 5296 South Commerce Drive. Suite 400

Murray

Hear the experiences of foster parents with teens and older children in foster care. RSVP requested 877-505-KIDS (5437). 

Information Table- Safe Kids Fair

February 24-25th

South Town Expo Center

Sandy

Ask a Foster Parent Night – Daybreak, South Jordan

Tuesday March 6^th

6:30- 8:30pm

Daybreak Community Center

4544 Harvest Moon Drive

South Jordan

Find out about children in the Daybreak area who need safe, loving homes and foster parents.

Ask a Foster Parent Night – West Valley City

Wednesday, March 21st

6:00-7:00pm

West Valley Library

2880 West 3650 South

Find out about children in West Valley, Magna and Kearns who need safe, loving homes and foster parents.

Ask a Foster Parent Night – Sandy

Monday, March 26th

6:00- 8:00pm

UFCF offices

Sandy Library

10100 South Petunia Way

Find out about children in Sandy and Draper who need safe, loving homes and foster parents.

Northern Region

Box Elder, Cache, Davis, Morgan, Rich, & Weber Counties.

Foster Parent Pre-Service training will be held in the following locations:

January/February – Ogden

March – Bountiful

April- Ogden

May- Logan

June – Ogden

Please plan ahead in order attend the trainings held near you.

Attendees must contact Brenda or Maryanne at 801-392-1114 or 1- 877-505-5437 to register for these classes.

Fostering Teens: Rewards & Challenges

Saturday, February 25th

10:00am – Noon

Holy Family Catholic Church

1100 East 5550 South – South Ogden

Hear the experiences of foster parents with teens and older children in foster care.  Sponsored by the Holy Family Catholic Church Youth Group.  

Information Booth

Saturday, April 21st

10:00am – 3:00pm

Weber County Health and Safety Fair

Weber County Fairgrounds

Stop by our booth and learn more about foster parenting in Weber and Davis Counties.

Western Region

Juab, Millard, Summit, Utah, & Wasatch Counties.

Please plan ahead in order attend the trainings held near you.

Attendees must contact Wendy or John at 801-373-3006 or or 1- 877-505-5437 to register for these classes.

Fostering Teens: Rewards & Challenges

Wednesday, February 15th

6:00 – 7:30pm

UFCF offices- 274 West Center Street

Orem

Hear the experiences of foster parents with teens and older children in foster care. RSVP for dinner 877-505-KIDS (5437).  In-service hours for licensed foster families.

Ask a Foster Parent Night

Thursday, February 23rd

7:00 – 8:30pm

UFCF offices- 274 West Center Street

Orem

Find out about children from Lehi and surrounding areas who need safe, loving homes and foster parents.

Ask a Foster Parent Night

Thursday, March 22nd

7:00 – 8:30pm

UFCF offices- 274 West Center Street

Orem

Find out about children from Saratoga Springs and Eagle Mountain who need safe, loving homes and foster parents.

Southwest Region

Beaver, Garfield, Iron, Piute, Sanpete, Sevier, Washington, & Wayne Counties.

Foster parent pre-service training will be held in the following locations:

January – Beaver

February- St. George

March – Cedar City

Please plan ahead in order attend the trainings.

Attendees must contact Debbie at 435-656-8065 or 1- 877-505-5437 to register for these classes.

Ask a Foster Parent Night - Richfield

Wednesday,  March 21^st

6:30-7:30pm

DCFS Office Bldg -201 E. 500 North

Richfield

Hear about children from Sevier County who need safe, loving homes and foster parents. For more information, call Marissa Douglas at 1-(877) 505-5437.

For the past 6 years it has been a privilege to help find
Christmas Services for children in foster care.
Every year, without fail, miracles happen.
For the 2011 Christmas season, over 200 children living in Western
Region foster homes were served.

• Miracle  1. United Way of Utah County did it again! They found
  sponsors for 140 children in foster care (5,000 children in all categories throughout
  the state). We are truly been blessed to work with them!

Miracle  2 & 3. Sportsman’s Warehouse (Midvale, Provo, and corporate)  Two stores helped with our Giving Trees,
collecting toys and gifts for some 40 children who were placed after the
November 1^st United Way deadline. They have generously worked with
us for children in foster care for the past 8 years!  Carey from the corporate
office called me one morning to find out if everyone was covered. At that time,
things were fine.  But later that day I
found out there were two teens in foster care that needed some help, and there
was nothing!  A quick call to Carey and
within 24 hours, the Sportsman’s Warehouse corporate office collected a
beautiful assortment of gifts for these children. It was an emotional
experience meeting Carey, collecting the gifts, and delivering them!

• Miracle  4. The Staker Family!! A few days before Christmas, an email alerted
  me to a sibling group just placed in a foster home. Then, a call came from Heather
  Staker, telling me her family decided to purchase gifts for children who were
  around the same ages as their own and could we use these items? Their
  children’s ages & genders matched the sibling group in foster care. A truly
  touching moment!

• Miracle  5, 6, 7, etc. Natalie Kershaw & Leah Hallows are
  foster moms from the Wasatch/Summit Cluster. Amazing, tireless, giving,
  resourceful, & wonderful! They worked through the season gathering donations,
  working with schools & other businesses organizing toy/gift drives, purchasing
  gifts, wrapping gifts. They worked closely with the Heber DCFS office to make
  sure anyone who needed help received it. Children in foster care, kinship and bio
  families.

Natalie said some neat things happened
with people giving random clothing and matching exact sizes that were needed.
She called these donations “Little Blessings”- very fitting indeed!

Jessica Hannemann, UFCF  Retention Specialist

What do you get when you bring together hundreds of children in foster care and 80 Hill Air Force Base airmen? Lots of smiles and hugs, as members of the 419^th and 388^thFighter Wings made their annual delivery of holiday gifts.

ABC4 Utah, KSL, and the Deseret News sent photographers to document the gathering at Utah Foster Care Foundation headquarters in Murray. In Northern Utah, sincere thanks to the Ogden Standard-Examiner for another look at great holiday tradition.

Want to help children year ’round? Make a cash donation, online, right here:

             At first thought, five teenager daughters under one roof can sound quite daunting and down right crazy. But the love and laughter that generates in the Bartz home diminishes most of those feelings the second they open their door.

            In celebration of November being National Adoption month, Richard and Anisa Bartz of Brigham City shared their story of adopting their five daughters, Olyvia, Deja, Trinity, Dezire and Staysha through the Utah Foster Care System.

            “Adoption is just a word,” stated Richard. “I don’t look at these girls like they are adopted because they are my family.”

            Richard and Anisa’s journey began after they had their first children, Arissa and Terron, and wanted to continue building their family. “I have always wanted a big family, but once we had our boy and girl I was good with that, and decided to go other means,” Richard said.

            Anisa continued, “I just feel that the more the kids the better.”

            The Bartz started their process of growing their family through a program called Proctor Care. This is a similar program to the foster care system, yet is geared more toward children that have had trouble in juvenile court compared to children whose surroudnings and lifestyle led them to be removed from their home.

            “We were in the Protor program for about four years and we had many boys come through our home but when our daughter reached the age of 11 or 12 we felt more comfortable helping girls in our home,” explained Richard. “That is when we decided to get licensed with Foster Care and we have been doing it for about eight years now.”

            Anisa said that her and Richard decided to do sibling group through foster care because they wanted to keep children and families together rather than separating them. “There are so many people in foster care that just go for single children or babies, but we felt strongly that there are teenagers out there that don’t have homes and live out on the street and that they need our help. I have always gotten along better with teenagers than young kids, and if I had a bigger house with more space I would adopt more.”

            Not only is the need for homes for teenagers in foster care why Richard and Anisa foster teens, but they also are the owners of Great Danes. “We have four Great Danes and they are like our babies to us,” said Richard. “The dogs are our lives and we felt that if we fostered young children and babies that they would fear the dogs and also could be harmed by them.”

            Both Anisa and Richard credit their ability to be able to raise these girls by the support and their family. “My mother is one of the greatest supports that we have; she is an inspiration and an awesome grandma to each of these girls,” explained Richard. “We just have such a wonderful support group from our family and neighbors and we are so thankful for them.” Anisa added, “The girls work really hard to make sure that they try to get a long and to be happy with a great sense of humor, that they also help us to make this all work out. They are awesome girls and I am so glad we have them.”

            Choosing to foster and eventually adopt each of these girls was a family decision. “When we decided to start the foster program, we asked our children Arissa and Terron if they were okay with it; together we decided it was something we wanted to do. And with every situation that has arose in the past years, any child that is in our home is included in the decision making because it involves all of us,” said Richard.

            Each girl in the Bartz home brings their own unique personality to their family. Between the five girls, there are two sets of siblings: Trinity (17) and Staysha (16), and Deja (13) and Dezire (15) and then Olyvia (16) who holds her own. Each were fostered with the Bartz and between January of 2008 and and August of this year,  and each have been legally adopted.

            Though from different backgrounds and races, the girls do have all one thing in common;  their parents.

            “To me, being adopted means freedom,” stated Olyvia who had been in the foster care system for many years and through many homes and families. “My parents are willing to let me make my own decisions and learn from them, they don’t say I have to do this and I have to do that. Having a family and parents who care about me is freedom.”

            Trinity shared a similar feeling toward adoption. “The Foster Care system has so many rules and regulations that we really can’t do anything. But once we were adopted our parents still have rules, but less than that of foster care.”

            Deja added that “being adopted makes me feel safe.”

            Anisa described that we must embrace who the child is so that they do feel safe and at the liberty to make choices. “When you adopt a baby or young child, they don’t have a background or their life already set; but teenagers come with history and they have their own personalities and I feel like we are here for them to help them figure out who they are and to give them life guidance. It it hard to connect with a teen, but it can be done.”

            Since the teens come from different backgrounds, they also come from varied religions. Richard and Anisa make sure that each girl is able to still practice what they believe in.

            “We have a wide range of religious beliefs in our home and thankfully we have friends and neighbors who are willing to take each girl to the church of their choice,” Anisa said. “We aren’t here to push a religion or lifestyle on them; we are here to guide them and let them be themselves.”

            The family likes to call themselves the BMW’s (blacks, mexicans and whites) because even though they are different color, they are still each others family.

            “ The girls do try hard to get along, but they argue with each other, but what family doesn’t?” stated Anisa. “What’s crazy is how the biological siblings argue more with each than with other siblings.”

            The girls had some advice for families who are wanting to participate in foster care who may want to foster teenagers.“It can be scary at first because of teenagers come with backgrounds and personalities, but people need to learn to dig deeper—even beyond what the case worker tells you— because there is always more to us than what’s on the outside,” said Olyvia.  Trinity added, “Instead of freakin’ out about the situation, just look at it has an opportunity to get to know the person thats there.”

            Richard and Anisa also shared advice for parents who are interested in fostering or even adopting teenagers.

            “Try to make things happy, and make light of whats going on around you. Make sure to have fun together and remember that laughter is a huge part of happiness,” stated Anisa. Richard also commented, “Its an emotional, spiritual roller coaster,” joked Richard. “ But the blessings that come from raising these girls outweigh all of that. It’s never quiet around here but we wouldn’t want it any different.”

            November is also a time to reflect on being thankful and the girls gratitude toward their parents showed through their actions and words toward them.

            “When I was first adopted, I had a really hard time letting go of my past and got into some trouble and so then I was taken out of the home and was sent to group,” explained Dezire. “I was able to come back once I graduated from the group, but I realized that I didn’t know what I had until it was gone and I now I know that I need this family; I need my sisters and my parents.”

            Staysha also commented on needing her family. “I love my adopted parents because they have opened their door to me and let me and my sisters be ourselves and they accept me for who I am.”

            Brenda Durtschi, the area representative for the Utah Foster Care Foundation, was present during the conversation and stated “Many people take for granted the youth that are in foster care and look at them differently. But people need to realize that when they foster a teen, that what you see is what you get; you know about their backgrounds and what you are going to be dealing with. Teenagers need the guidance care and safety just like any other child.”

            The Utah Foster Care Foundation is a private, non-profit organization contracted by the Division of Child and Family Services (DCFS) to find, education and support foster and adoptive families to care for the children in Utah’s foster care system.

            In Utah, there are 2600+ children in foster care at any given time and more than 1400 licensed foster/adoptive families in this state. Last year, 539 children in Utah were adopted from the foster care system and mostly from their foster parents.

            For more information about Foster Care, visit www.utahfostercare.org or call 877-505-KIDS (5437).

Specific gift requests from individual children are now in the hands of local businesses and churches along the Wasatch Front. But you can still help!

If you would like to donate to a child in foster care, gift cards and cash are most appreciated and needed. Any last-minute requests will be met with this funding.

How can you donate? Mail or bring checks to:

Utah Foster Care Foundation
Attn: Giving Tree
5296 South Commerce Drive (320 West), Suite 400
Murray, UT 84107

For debit or credit card transactions, call 877-505-5437.

Any contributions that are not utilized specifically for needs during the holiday season will be used to meet the needs of children throughout the remainder of the year.

Many thanks to the generous community members and businesses that help make our Giving Tree Program a success, including Ogden Rotary Club, United Men’s Methodist Assn., Beehive Grill, Eden 2^nd Ward, Parker Corp., Hilltop United Methodist Church, Bobby Lawrence Karate Studios, TD Williamson, Electrical Consultants, Inc., Stevens Henager College, Strong & Hanni, and the following Catholic churches: St. Mary’s, St. James, St. Florence and St. Joseph. Two young men are also collecting gifts as part of their Eagle Scout projects.

The Uintah Basin is also joining in on holiday giving through Wal-mart and Our Savior Lutheran Church in Vernal.

And in Price, employees from the Eastern Utah Credit Union will be serving up dinner and gifts for our dedicated foster families there.

Happy Holidays!

Nikki Mackay

Director, Foster Family Retention Services

Learn more about keeping brothers and sisters together in foster families at our first-ever forum addressing this issue.

Fostering Siblings Forum

Tuesday, October 11^th

7:00pm 

UFCF’s Murray offices, 5296 South Commerce Drive (320 West), Suite 400  

 One foster parent tells us, “We have always taken sibling groups and have loved “almost” every minute of it. Not only does it make it easier on the kids to have their back- up, but the familiarity makes it a lot less scary and so they are less guarded.”

 “Don’t misunderstand, it doesn’t solve all the problems. Bbut it sure stops some in their tracks before they can get started. I highly recommend it if it is possible for you.”

You’ll hear from more Wasatch Front foster parents with experience caring for siblings at the forum. This will be a great opportunity to ask questions about bringing siblings into your home and, hopefully, one step closer to keeping sibling relationships intact. Please RSVP by calling Angelique at 801-994-5205 so we can plan for treats. See you there!

As foster parent Corey Stevens puts it, “Our first placement was a sibling group of 3, what’s one more!?”

Dan Webster

Salt Lake Valley Area Representative,

Utah Foster Care Foundation

Deborah Lindner,

Communications Mgr., UFCF

Dawn and husband Dave live in South Jordan and are the parents of six children, some adopted from foster care. She also teaches English at BYU. She talks about bringing six different families together to create her own unique family in a promotional interview for the show http://www.cbs.com/shows/survivor/video/2099627769/survivor-south-pacific-meet-dawn. 

As someone whose job it is to share positive stories about foster families, I know Dawn Meehan’s story will be one to watch. More interviews with her will be appearing in the local Salt Lake City media, leading up to the season premiere of “Survivor-South Pacific” on Wednesday, September 14^th at 7:00pm on KUTV Channel 2.  We invite you to “LIKE” our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/UtahFosterCareFoundationto follow her progress on the show and hear more of her story.

And, there is a unique opportunity for prospective foster families to meet Dawn and Dave, along with other couples, at a Foster & Adoptive Family Forum on Thursday, September 29^th at 7:00pm. The forum at LDS Family Service’s Riverton office (3740 W. Market Center Dr.) is free and open to all families. For more information, contact Amy Boyack at 877-505-KIDS (5437).

 Deborah Lindner-Communications Manager,Utah Foster Care Foundation

Coming downtown is easy. You can drive, of course — but if you don’t want to wrestle with parking, then you should consider taking TRAX or Frontrunner. TRAX has stations close to State Street all the way down to 10000 South, in Sandy — and once you get out of downtown, they’ve all got free parking lots. If you’re coming from the north, consider hopping on the Frontrunner — the kids will love it, and they’ve got group rates!

More info on TRAX
More info on FrontRunner

Of couse, if you decide to drive, The Gateway has paid parking available.

Once you’re downtown, make the most of your trip! Consider starting your day at the Downtown Farmers Market, which runs from 8am to 1pm on Saturday in Pioneer Park — a short 800 feet south of the Gateway.

Of course, there’s plenty to do at the Gateway! There’s Discovery Gateway and the Planetarium … there’s the movie theatres and did I mention the shopping?

And when you get hungry, there are plenty of options — including Festival sponsors Thaifoon, California Pizza Kitchen, and Flemings.

But the best thing about coming downtown is that you’re not stuck in any one place … TRAX is free downtown, from Gateway all the way to the City Library (an architectural gem, worth the detour, just for the views!). So gather up the kiddies and trot out to 400 West. There’s a TRAX station right there. Climb aboard a train (there’s one about every 7 minutes) heading NORTH. You can hop off at the Temple Square station to see the sights or check out the City Creek building projects — most of them nearly complete! Or wait two more stops and hop off at Gallivan Plaza station and grab a bite to eat at some of the best eateries in the state. If the kids are driving the menu chioces, you can’t go wrong with Rich’s Burgers! If the grown-ups have a say, you should really check out Eva or The Atlantic. All three choices are pocketbook friendly.

If you’re going to City Library, be sure you’re on a UNIVERSITY line train. There’s the library, of course, and a few wonderful shops on the plaza — including a wonderful comic book store (my favorite)!

So there you go! Come on down to the Festival and make a day of it!

( Need more ideas? Check out Visit Salt Lake! )

This year, they’ll be at the Chalk Art Festival, raising money and recruiting folks who can to join the effort. Of course, festival booths aren’t the Field of Dreams. You’ve gotta make people WANT to visit! So the FoFC team are holding an opportunity drawing! And it’s been made possible by the generous support of a few local companies:

Western States Lodging
Eschelon Edge
Revolution Snowboards
Thanksgiving Point

Be sure to visit the booth and enter for your chance in the drawing! There are dozens of wonderful prizes!

Revolution® Snowboard Package
Thanksgiving Point Yearly Family Pass
Eschelon Edge® Spa Packages
Family Weekend Stay at any Western States Lodging Hotel
Boulder Mtn Ranch Horse-drawn Winter Sleigh Ride @ Deer Valley for Five