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The Caregiver Courier
July 2017
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Back to School Events
It's that time of year again!
2017 Back to School - Back to Basics
Once again the Department of Family Services, in partnership with numerous community vendors and donors, will host the 2017 Back to School Event. With the support of our community partners and donors, we were able to distribute over 1200 backpacks to children in foster care, in-home care, relative and kinship care during the 2016-2017 school year. Our goal for 2017-2018 is to ensure that 1500 school-aged children in our child welfare system receive backpacks and school supplies. All children 5 years old and older in DFS care will be eligible to receive a backpack with school supplies. We also have numerous vendors that will have resources available for our caregivers at this event.
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Education Spotlight: CCSD
Summer Programs Help Kids
Retain Knowledge
Summer offers a great opportunity for kids to relax,
have fun and recharge their batteries for the
upcoming school year. However, research has
shown children often don't retain everything they
learned in the previous year.
Dr. Leslie Strasser Murdock, DFS's educational
liaison, shares some great summer programs
provided by CCSD to assist parents and children
so they'll be ready for the new school year.
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FREE RELICENSING TRAININGS!
Foster Kinship, Foster Change and DFS have partnered to offer QPI Workshops on navigating the "QPI/Just In Time" training website. In addition to receiving assistance with navigating the website, free child care and refreshments will be provided! This is a great opportunity for our caregivers to complete some or all of their required training.
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Spotlight Series: Trauma-Informed Parenting, Pt. 7
Becoming an Advocate
Previous articles in this Trauma-Informed Parenting series have explored how trauma affects children. In this month's installment, we are changing the focus to YOU - the trauma-informed foster parent. Your role within your child's team is crucial. SAFY's Haley Watson explains how you can ensure that your child gets the help they need to recover from the effects of trauma.
Previous Modules
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CHAMPS!
QPI is excited about the launch of CHAMPS, a national communications and policy campaign focused on quality parenting. Jennifer Rodriguez, Executive Director of YLC, is co-chairing this campaign, which brings diverse partners together, drawing on the leadership and success of our QPI sites, to re-orient child welfare policy and practice around excellent parenting. We are proud of QPI's impact in moving the field nationally! We invite you to join CHAMPS and stay tuned for more details and materials.
CHAMPS is a new national communications and policy campaign to ensure bright futures for kids in foster care by supporting our most powerful intervention, quality parenting. The Facebook page can be found here: https://www.facebook.com/FosteringCHAMPS/
CHAMPS -- which stands for CHildren Need AMazing ParentS - is launching because the time is right for highlighting the vital importance of foster parenting to the public and decision makers. CHAMPS builds on research that shows loving, supportive families - whether birth, kin, foster or adoptive - are critical to the healthy development of all children. We know that our policies can either support or interfere with children receiving the daily parenting they need. Supporting quality foster parenting is the foundation of better outcomes for children in foster care. It can help children heal from trauma, keep siblings together, increase stability and well-being and ensure that children achieve belonging through reunification with birth families, placement with relatives, or through adoption.
You can learn more about CHAMPS by visiting the website www.fosteringCHAMPS.org. We hope you can help us spread the word about CHAMPS to your friends and colleagues.
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Grace Point Church Offering Monthly Foster Parents Night Out
After the success of its inaugural Foster Parents Day Out, Grace Point Church is expanding its free respite program so foster parents can get an occasional night out! Beginning in August, Grace Point will offer respite care from 6 - 9 p.m. on the first Friday each month.
What:
Foster Parents Night Out
When:
6 - 9 p.m., first Friday each month, beginning Friday, Aug. 4
Where:
Grace Point Church, 3794 W. Ann Rd., North Las Vegas
What Do You Get Out of it?
Make it a "date night," catch a movie, unwind at your favorite coffee shop...whatever you need, it's a little "you" time to use as you choose! During that time, Grace Point will provide a fun, safe and nurturing environment for your children in care as well as your biological children.
The full list of upcoming Foster Parents Night Out evenings includes: Sept. 1, Oct. 6, Nov. 8, Dec. 1, Jan. 5, Feb. 2, March 2, April 6, May 4 (Star Wars Day!), June 1 and Aug. 6. Keep watching the Caregiver Courier for more details and registration information.
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2017 Nevada Legislative Session Assembly Bill 99
Executive Director of The Center, André C. Wade, MPA, wrote to provide this update about a recent Nevada legislative change:
"AB99, the bill regarding LGBTQ Youth in Out of Home Placements (foster care and juvenile justice placements) is designed to provide staff and caregivers the knowledge and tools they need to care for a young person that identifies at lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer (LGBTQ). Knowingly, or unknowingly, caregivers and staff care for and interact with children who identify as LGBTQ. The bill doesn't require a caregiver to care for an LGBTQ child; however, it does require that all staff and caregivers be trained on LGBTQ competencies. To better respond to the needs of transgender identified children, references to 'sex' are changed to 'gender' as it relates to gender identity. Lastly, child welfare providers are to implement a third party grievance process that will better ensure that the concerns of all young people, regardless of sexual orientation and gender identity, are heard and treated fairly."
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Children's Mental Health: Finding Help, Finding Hope
Children, in particular, need to have positive mental health if they are going to live up to their full potential and thrive in a life that is filled with promising experiences. It is important to encourage children to have the willingness to do what is best for themselves and the people around them.
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Let Your Voice Be Heard! Join a QPI Workgroup Today
As a caregiver, we know you have ideas for improvements in child welfare that you'd like to share with decision makers. Now is your chance. Get involved with the Quality Parenting Initiative and join one of our six workgroups:
- Training: Meets the second Tuesday of each month
- Recruitment: Meets the first Wednesday of each month
- Community Partnerships: Meets the third Tuesday of each month
- Support & Retention: Meets the third Thursday of each month
- Communications: Meets the third Friday of each month
- Child Welfare: Meets the fourth Tuesday of each month
Within these workgroups, child welfare professionals, community partners and caregivers convene monthly to develop solutions to issues they face every day. Your input can make the difference in the lives of children and families in Clark County.
Click here for more information about QPI training, initiatives and workgroups.
Click here to complete the workgroup interest form.
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What's Going on This Month? Check the QPI Calendar
Speaking of workgroups, download the July QPI calendars for the latest workgroup meetings and partner organization events and gatherings.
Do you have an event or meeting that you'd like to share with our caregiver community?
Send an email message with your event information. Please be sure to include the date, time, location and contact information for your event.
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What is QPI?
Making sure every child living in foster care has a caregiver (foster, relative, fictive and/or adoptive) who provides skilled, nurturing parenting while helping the child maintain connections to his or her family.
Enhance Your Skills
Various trainings are offered in the community to help enhance caregivers' capacity to parent. Please click on the links below to learn more about exciting training opportunities from which you can benefit.
The QPI Nevada Brand
Foster parents nurture children who have experienced trauma and provide a safe, loving and healing environment in which the children can thrive. They are parenting partners who honor and support family relationships. Foster parents are dedicated, informed and committed advocates for children. They are instrumental and fully supported members of the child and family team. Great foster parents make a difference for children and families in our community.
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121 S. Martin Luther King Blvd.
Las Vegas, NV 89106
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