Utah Foster Care’s 4th Annual Symposium featuring Dr. Daniel Siegel was a truly memorable event for 400 foster families, child welfare professionals and clinicians. For foster parents, ongoing training is essential in updating and sharpening their skills in dealing with more and more challenging behaviors in children in foster care.

Dr. Siegel, author of numerous books including The Whole-Brain Child, encourages foster parents to understand that they can play a crucial role in the process of re-wiring the brains of children. He has coined the phrase, “Inspire to Rewire”.

Want to know more? Check out Dr. Siegel’s web site and find out more about “mindsight”:

http://drdansiegel.com/about/mindsight/

UFC’s Director of Education, Mick Woolsey organizes the symposium and talked about Dr. Siegel’s research with local NPR affiliate KUER-FM.

http://www.kuer.org/post/researcher-brings-neuroscience-utah-foster-families

Thanks to four of our wonderful UFC Board members, Lisa Watts Baskin, Dave Hardy Heidi Naylor, and Kathy Carter for their support in attending our Symposium!

The post UFC Symposium: Inspire to Rewire! appeared first on Utah Foster Care.

Hill Air Force Base airmen, Loretta Park, Barbara Booth

By Standard-Examiner staff

03/29/2013

OGDEN — Two individuals and several units from Hill Air Force Base were honored at a luncheon Thursday for their contributions to foster care.

Loretta Park, a reporter for the Standard-Examiner, Barbara Booth, a long-time foster care parent, and representatives from Hill received the first Gold Hearts Awards from the Utah Foster Care Foundation.

Park spent a year as a foster child and has written stories for the Standard-Examiner about her experiences, as well as other aspects of foster care.

Brenda Durtschi, the foundation’s northern region area representative, noted that the personal side of Park’s experiences come out in her stories. “People call after her stories run,” she said.

In her remarks accepting the award, Park said, “We should honor those (who protect children) and offer a place of refuge to kids in their dark hours, kids who feel unsafe and don’t know they should feel safe.”

Booth and her husband, Jeff, have been foster parents for 21 years and have had more than 90 foster children, adopting one of them.

Most stay with the family for two or three months, she said, although some stay longer.

Booth, of Ogden, said she has become close to the parents of some of the foster children. Her experiences as a foster parent have broadened her perspectives and helped her appreciate some things she hadn’t before, “meeting and being enriched by those I wouldn’t have met otherwise.”

Both Booth and Park also thanked their families for their support.

The Hill units, specifically the 75th Air Base Wing and the 388th and 419th fighter wings, were honored for their support of the foundation’s Christmas Giving Tree program.

Members of the units have donated their own time and resources to help distribute Christmas gifts to kids in foster care in an area that stretches from the Idaho border south to Point of the Mountain and west to Tooele.

The Utah Foster Care Foundation is a nonprofit organization that finds, educates and supports families in providing foster care.

Currently, 2,800 children throughout the state are in foster care.

Interested?

To learn more about foster care opportunities, call 877-505-5437.

The post We Love Our Foster Family Supporters appeared first on Utah Foster Care.

Utah Foster Care Development Coordinator

Utah Foster Care Foundation’s Wishing Well Fund provides financial support so that the “wishes” of children in foster care can come true.  Here is a true story about the Utah Foster Care Wishing Well Fund.

Jordan was 16, new into foster care, in a new school in the middle of the semester. Working hard to get good grades, he pursued his interest in music; his motivation soared when he found his natural talent. He secured a spot on his high school’s chorus team with an exciting trip to Washington planned later in the year.

Jordan had missed all of the fundraising opportunities for the $650 per student trip because of the school transfer. His foster mom wished she could have paid for him to go, but it was impossible to afford it. What a huge relief it was for her to hear about Utah Foster Care’s Wishing Well Fund. The ‘wish’ funds (in this case, $300 toward the trip) were sent directly to the school so Jordan could go on the trip.

Build their confidence, give them a skill, help them make a friend, and feel normal. Normal. That’s the goal. For 7 years, your gifts have made wishes come true but there are always more requests than dollars available. The average wish costs $190. Your gift will make the seemingly impossible happen.

Give to Utah’s children in foster care today at http://loveutgiveut.razoo.com/story/Utahfostercare.

This year, Utah Foster Care is partnering with the Community Foundation of Utah thru their annual “Love Utah Give Utah” initiative — bringing donors and causes together on March 22nd for a day of action. Won’t you please join us on this special day?

The post Love Utah Foster Care — GIVE! appeared first on Utah Foster Care.

By Mick Woolsey, LCSW

Director of Education

Utah Foster Care

 Utah Foster Care is thrilled to welcome Dr. Daniel Siegel to this year’s 4^th annual Symposium for a full-day seminar that reviews the findings in his pioneering and practical book, The Whole-Brain Child.  In the book, he and parenting expert Tina Payne Bryson demystify the meltdowns and aggravation, explaining the new science of how a child’s brain is wired and how it matures.

For three years, foster families from around the state of Utah have been privileged to hear Dr. Bruce Perry, Dr. Doug Goldsmith and other well-known professionals in the field of child well-being. This year follows that same tradition with internationally-acclaimed Dr. Daniel Siegel!

(Remember: 6 CEUs are available, as well as 6 licensing renewal hours.)

Here are some excerpts from Dr. Siegel’s web site, with examples of what you will hear at this seminar:

 A toddler throws a tantrum in the middle of a store. A preschooler refuses to get dressed. A fifth-grader sulks on the bench instead of playing on the field. Do children conspire to make adults’ lives endlessly challenging? No—it’s just their developing brain calling the shots!

Here’s the deal …

 The “upstairs brain,” which makes decisions and balances emotions, is under construction until the mid-twenties. And, especially in young children, the right brain and its emotions tend to rule over the logic of the left brain. No wonder kids can seem—and feel—so out of control. By applying these discoveries to everyday parenting, you can turn any outburst, argument, or fear into a chance to integrate a child’s brain and foster vital growth.

 During the seminar, Dr Siegel will share twelve key strategies, including:

• Name It to Tame It: Corral raging right-brain behavior through left-brain storytelling, appealing to the left brain’s affinity for words and reasoning to calm emotional storms and bodily tension.
• Engage, Don’t Enrage: Keep your child thinking and listening, instead of purely reacting.
• Move It or Lose It: Use physical activities to shift your child’s emotional state.
• Let the Clouds of Emotion Roll By: Guide your children when they are stuck on a negative emotion, and help them understand that feelings come and go.
• SIFT: Help children pay attention to the Sensations, Images, Feelings, and Thoughts within them so that they can make better decisions and be more flexible.
• Connect thru Conflict: Use discord to encourage empathy and greater social success.

To reserve your spot, go to traumaandattachment.eventbrite.com.

Join us as we continue to educate ourselves and learn more ways to help children in our care.

See you in Midway!

The post Symposium-Why Should You Attend? appeared first on Utah Foster Care.

By Mike Hamblin

Director of Recruitment

Utah Foster Care

“When I realized that I was making a decision about a specific boy, and not just any random teen, it made a difference.”

Karrie, a Salt Lake Region foster parent, was referring to the difference it made in her ability to make a decision.  As she considered what children she might care for, she was thinking about age ranges.  But later, as she considered the specific children, her focus became the child and she found herself no longer looking at the child’s age.  This realization didn’t just make a difference in her decision making.  It also made a difference…a big difference…in the lives of teens she has since cared for.

In January, a Fostering Teens Forum was held in the Murray Utah Foster Care offices.  In spite of the cold and snowy evening, more than 50 gathered to hear three foster families and a teen adopted from foster care share their experiences.  Some were currently licensed families considering whether or not to care for older children.  Others were looking at becoming foster parents for the first time and simply wanted to know more.  All had the opportunity to ask questions and find out what it might be like to care for a teen.

“What kind of support do families caring for teens get?”  “How do you deal with sibling rivalry?”  “Can they be left home alone when I go to the store?”  “Do you have children the same age and how do they fit together?”  “Do you recommend caring for children younger than yours or older?”  “What can you do to build a relationship with them?”  And to the teen on the panel, “How long did it take you to feel trust?  How long before it felt like your home?”

I think what stood out to me wasn’t that these are teens IN FOSTER CARE.  But that they are TEENS, who happen to be in foster care.  And the three foster families on the panel seemed to emphasize that, reporting that friends and neighbors have all experienced situations with their own children that aren’t much different than what they have seen as foster parents.  (As the father of two teen boys, I am a witness to the fact that they don’t always get along, sometimes things get broken, and that no one likes to clean their room or do homework – well, unless it is their turn to wash the dishes.)

About half of the children in foster care are teens.  And caring for teens is not without its benefits – like no diapers and they feed and dress themselves.  Yet we struggle to find enough families for all of the children who are ready to be placed in a family setting.  For some reason we get scared by the age, when perhaps a better focus when determining our capacity to care for them would be the youth’s behavior and needs.  As one of the panelists put it, “You think you’re scared?  Think how scared these kids are.  The stakes are higher for them.”

There will be three more opportunities during February; in Ogden, Orem, and St. George, to attend a Fostering Teens Forum and learn more about caring for teens. Please RSVP by calling 877-505-5437. Dinner will be provided and in-service training hours are available for currently licensed families.

Ogden DCFS Offices

950 25^th Street, Ogden

Thursday, February 7^th

6-8pm

St. George UFC Offices

491 E. Riverside Dr., #2B

Wednesday, February 20^th

6:00-7:30pm

Orem UFC Offices

274 West Center St.

Thursday, February 21^st

6:00-7:30pm

The post Not Just a Random Teen appeared first on Utah Foster Care.

En teoría, Alexandra y su esposo, José González, estaban preparados para recibir a un trío de hermanos, a los que recibirían en su hogar de forma temporal.

Los pequeños, de entre 3 meses y 5 años de edad, habían sido retirados de sus padres por un caso de negligencia, que se descubrió cuando el menor de ellos tuvo que ser llevado al hospital con una severa lesión en la cabeza.

“Emocionalmente no estás preparado para ver algo así. A los dos más grandes me los entregaron, pero el menor tuvo que quedarse por varias semanas más en el hospital. Cuando fui a conocerlo me dio miedo, pensaba que no iba a poder, que no iba a ser capaz de darle el cuidado que el necesitaba, me daba miedo levantarlo, lastimarlo”, relató Alexandra.

El pequeño Luis (el nombre ha sido cambiado para proteger la identidad del menor), de solo unos meses de nacido, tenía el cráneo destruido, un lado de su cuerpo estaba completamente paralizado y varios huesos, incluida una costilla, estaban fracturados.

PADRES FOSTER

Alexandra y José, siempre soñaron con tener cuatro hijos.

“Nuestras hijas nacieron por cesárea y cuando nació la tercera, entendimos que sería peligroso intentar tener una cuarta”, explicó José.

Por ello, el matrimonio, consideró dar albergue temporal a otros niños y sumar así a nuevos miembros en su familia.

En aquel entonces, las pequeñas Ailyn, Evelyn y Nicole, entendieron que tendrían tres hermanos que pasarían un año en su hogar y dedujeron que el más pequeño, tendría que recibir un trato especial.

De esa forma, la familia González, brindó cuidado y cariño, para los tres hermanos, mientras que la situación de su custodia era definida por las autoridades.

Finalmente, los dos hermanos mayores fueron enviados a México para ser reencontrados con su padre biológico y el menor se quedó solo, pues sus padres perdieron definitivamente su custodia.

“Hablamos con nuestras hijas y ellas también estuvieron de acuerdo, fue así que decidimos adoptar a Luis legalmente”, detallaron.

“El aquí se sintió protegido, aquí aprendió a gatear, a caminar, a decir mamá y papá, para nosotros era correcto que se quedara aquí y entendimos que el Señor preparó así las cosas para que nuestra familia se completara”, aseguró Alexandra.

Actualmente, los González se preparan para continuar recibiendo otros hijos temporales y de esa forma, enseñar a su familia que el amor puede compartirse más allá de los lazos de sangre.

MAS FAMILIAS

En la región, la Utah Foster Care Foundation, se encarga de encontrar, educar y apoyar a familias foster que puedan brindar cuidado temporal a los niños que son separados de sus padres biológicos, por la Division of Child and Family Services (DCFS).

“En la mayoría de los casos, las separaciones se dan como consecuencia de una adicción en los padres; no es que ellos no quieran a sus hijos, es un momento que están atravesando, el que no les permite cuidarlos y hacerse cargo de ellos. Entonces, el gobierno del Estado les da una oportunidad, para que puedan recuperarse, pero es difícil, pues puede ser más fuerte una adicción”, refirió Christina LeCluyse, reclutadora de familias para la fundación Utah Foster Care.

LeCluyse, indicó que en Utah hay aproximadamente 2,700 niños en cuidado temporal cada año, de los cuales un 26% es de origen latino.

Es importante, encontrar familias de un mismo perfil étnico para evitar desestabilizar aun más a los menores, que requieren adopción temporal.

El próximo mes de febrero, la Utah Foster Care Foundation, comenzará clases en español para familias interesadas en convertirse en padres temporales.

Las personas o parejas interesadas, deben ponerse en contacto con la fundación de manera inmediata, para una consulta inicial.

Existen ciertos requisitos de elegibilidad para poder ser padres foster, pero no es necesario estar casado para hacerlo.

Si le interesa llame al 801 994 5205, para más información.

The post Se Buscan Padres Temporales appeared first on Utah Foster Care.

Area Representative, Salt Lake Valley

I’m often reminded just how incredible our foster parents are. One of the highlights of my job as a Foster/Adoptive Family Recruiter is running into foster parents with whom I’ve worked at some point along the licensing process. To see them get licensed, receive placements, struggle through the challenges, enjoy the successes, and either help a child reunify with their parents or are given the chance to adopt, is immensely gratifying to me. Helps me realize that countless hours spent working out in the community to find these families have been worth it. Recently, I had one such chance encounter which was especially rewarding.

I was packing up after a day at the Murray office just as a pre-service class was about to begin. As I walk towards the training room, I ran into one of our many great foster parents. It surprised me to see her there; for a moment I thought she had come for a Cluster. She replied “no, I’m just here to come to training with (a potential foster parent).”  I was floored! Here’s a foster mom with so much already on her plate, who lives far away from the office, and she takes precious time out of her week to come and sit through a training she’s already done…heck, she could probably teach the class!…all in order to be a support to her friend. I have since thought to myself, “Here’s someone who gets it…here’s someone who is willing to ride the, frightening at times, waves of foster care with someone else.” I don’t know that I praised her enough for doing so.

It’s this kind of support which I see so often via the Cluster pages on Facebook and in person during Clusters and other events, that is of immeasurable help to the new and the seasoned foster parents. To know that a group of people are so willing to set aside their lives to help a fellow foster parent in need is humbling. It’s powerful to know that these same people are a significant force for good in our community. They are setting aside their own life and interests to serve our most vulnerable societal demographic; children in foster care.

Exactly 2 months prior to his death, the late Martin Luther King Jr. said “Everybody can be great…because anybody can serve. You don’t have to have a college degree to serve. You don’t have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love.”  You don’t need to be perfect to be a foster parent. But by being a foster parent you will find yourself helping and toiling among the greatest among us.

And THAT is what makes foster parents incredible.

The post Parents Supporting Parents appeared first on Utah Foster Care.

Communications Manager, Utah Foster Care

The holidays are a fun and inspiring season to be working for Utah Foster Care!

Every day, at our office in Murray, I see families, individuals and businesses bringing in specific gifts that children in foster care have requested this Christmas. They are generous, kind people like Katie Bradshaw, who has been fulfilling Giving Tree wishes for several years.

Meanwhile, our staff member in Price, Kobi Prettyman, is up here for a meeting. She brought photos from last night’s Christmas Pajama Party for foster families and case workers in Carbon and Emery Counties. Yes, there are children in foster care in rural Utah too!

One hundred people received a hearty chicken dinner, a visit from Santa, and presents at what has become an annual event during the holidays. Everything was donated by the Price Kiwanis Club and Eastern Utah Community Credit Union. The credit union employees even served dinner!

“We value the difference these foster families make in the lives of children from our own communities,” says Kobi, a foster and adoptive parent herself. “Sometimes, children in foster care have never received gifts or celebrated Christmas. This party brightens their holidays and helps them feel like any other child at this magical time of year.”

“We are so grateful to the Kiwanis Club for their generosity in funding the party and gifts, and to the Eastern Utah Community Credit Union for providing and serving a delicious meal to deserving families.”

Stay tuned for more stories of kindness.

The post Generosity Everywhere appeared first on Utah Foster Care.

Jervis and Cheryl Lee are foster parents who helped meet two of the most important needs in foster care. They have fostered and adopted sibling groups so the children could stay together in the same family. And then, they fostered and adopted a teen-aged girl. Jordyn also appears in the theater ads, speaking about the importance of a permanent family for her and other teens in foster care.

The Lees are currently a family of eleven, comprised of biological, adopted and children in foster care.

Special thanks to Jessica Steadman, Bethany Hosking, and the Lee family for their participation in these videos. Utah Foster Care is interviewing other families to include in future ads and in more in-depth videos on utahfostercare.org. The theater ads can be seen in Megaplex Theaters in Logan, Ogden, Centerville, Lehi, St. George and the Salt Lake metro area.

So, when you go out with the family to see “Wreck it Ralph” or “Life of Pi,” look for the best story-tellers in the world: our terrific foster moms and dads!

The post Foster Parents on Silver Screen appeared first on Utah Foster Care.

If you’ve ever wondered what kind of an impact a foster parent can have on children and teens, you’ll want to read this article, written by columnist Lee Benson in the Deseret News.  

The post Why Foster Dads Matter appeared first on Utah Foster Care.