Department of Family Services – Children, Youth and Families

CONTACT INFORMATION: Monday–Friday 8 a.m.–4:30 p.m.
703-324-7500 TTY 711
12011 Government Center Parkway, Pennino Building
Fairfax, VA 22035
Oriane Eriksen
Director

Foster Family News - 2020 May

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Welcome to the 2020 May issue of Foster Family News, a monthly newsletter for current and potential Fairfax County foster parents.

Table of Contents
  • A Note of Appreciation for Foster Parents from the Director
  • Recognition of New Foster Parents
  • May is Foster Care Month
  • Bridging the Gap: Keeping Families Connected
  • Milestones: Length of Service Recognition
  • Parent Support Line and other Virtual Parenting Supports
  • A Staff Tribute to All Foster Parents
  • Spotlight on the Pre-Service Training & Home Study Unit
  • Events
  • Frequently Asked Questions: Can a child or youth have contact with their birth family via telephone, email, text, or social media? 
  • Story in Statistics: Families Certified to Serve as Foster Parents
  • Upcoming Trainings and Conferences

 

A Note of Appreciation for Foster Parents

Michael A. Becketts and Oriane EriksenDear Foster Parents,

We can all agree that every child should live in a loving, stable and nurturing home. As foster parents, you have taken an extraordinary step in opening your hearts and your homes to children in need of a safe place to call home.

Nationally, May is Foster Care and Foster Family Recognition Month. During this month, we celebrate you and express our profound appreciation for your commitment to providing a home for children in need. Foster parents in Fairfax County care for nearly 200 children in crisis. You are a part of the team that cares for their wellbeing, offers love and support, and contributes to their positive sense of self.

Every day, you help to make sure that our youth have the normal experiences that children need as they grow up. You help children overcome past traumatic experiences so that they can reach their full potential.

Thank you for the important role you play in nurturing children who have experienced abuse and neglect, supporting family reunification, and building strong communities.

Sincerely,
Michael A. Becketts, Director, Fairfax County Department of Family Services
Oriane Eriksen, Division Director, Children, Youth and Families

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Recognition of New Foster Parents

adult hands holding child hands holding heart thank youCongratulations to the foster parents who have completed the training and certification process between May 1, 2019 and April 30, 2020. These families who have stayed the course and opened their homes to children in need are embarking on a rewarding and exciting journey as foster parents. Thank you! We hope that you will be with us for many more years!

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May is Foster Care Month

May is Foster Care and Foster Family Recognition Month graphic Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chairman Jeff McKay proclaimed May as Foster Care and Foster Family Recognition Month. During this month, we celebrate foster parents and express our profound appreciation for your commitment to providing a home for children in need. Foster parents in Fairfax County care for nearly 200 children in crisis.

We recognize the role of foster care in providing children with opportunities to be part of safe, caring families, and helping them connect to permanent homes through reunification, permanent placement with relatives, or preparation for adoption. Visit our community engagement toolkit for ways to spread the message.

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Bridging the Gap: Keeping Families Connected

silhouette two people connecting hands form heartDue to COVID-19, this is a challenging time for all of us. With social distancing required for public safety, how do we make it safe for children in foster care to have critical time with their birth or adoptive families?

Fairfax has moved to a virtual platform for visitations, and we have some suggestions for other things you can do as a foster family to bridge the gap and continue to strengthen the relationship between the birth or adoptive parent. 

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Milestones: Length of Service Recognition

blue ribbonThanks to these foster parents who have reached these important milestones with our program. Each year we recognize those who have served as foster parents for a notable length of time in five-year increments.

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Parent Support Line and other Virtual Parenting Supports

Parent Support Line graphicParents, you are not alone during this challenging time. As an extended support, each foster family has been assigned a resource specialist.  The resource specialist works in conjunction with the foster care and adoption specialist, to address any needs that may occur as it relates to a foster parent being able to meet the needs of a child in their home. The resource specialist can make referrals for identified services, assess a foster family’s training needs, facilitate respite services, and more. Need help getting in touch with your resource specialist? Call Karen Roberts at 703-324-7448. An afterhours support line is also available to foster parents with placements; call us at 703-257-3974 with any questions.

DFS has created a new Parent Support Line (703-324-7720) to help with any parenting needs. You can talk to a live person ready to help or email BuildingStrongerFamilies@fairfaxcounty.gov Monday through Friday from 8 a.m.–4:30 p.m.

We're providing parenting assistance from a distance through videos, virtual Parent Cafés and parenting tips, and more.

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A Staff Tribute to All Foster Parents

We Appreciate You and All You Do floral graphicFoster Parents are an essential part of the team that works together for the well-being of children in need of a home and family to care for them. Our Foster Care & Adoption staff have so many words of encouragement and support to share in honor of these fantastically selfless folks. Join us in celebrating their commitment to children.

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Spotlight on the Pre-Service Training & Home Study Unit

Pre-Service Training and Home Study Unit thank you photo collageThe work of the Pre-Service Training & Home Study Unit is about recruiting prospective foster families and providing trauma-informed pre-service training and working with prospective families through certification. Supervisor Dana Trower answers a few questions about the unit:

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Event Central

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While it may not be possible to go to group events, our partners at the Fairfax County Park Authority and Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) have been busy putting together online resources that can provide some exploration and fun during this period of social distancing.

Fairfax County Park Authority Virtual Exploration Center offers a collection of resources to help you stay healthy, connected and engaged while our parks are closed. This page will be updated regularly, so check back often for new resources. And be sure to us on social media for new updates and ideas to help with your at-home exploration and recreation.

FCPS' Healthy Mind Blog features a series of five articles (to date) on "Keeping Your Children Occupied While at Home." This ongoing series pulls together “a wealth of information being shared online in response to this challenge.” The articles “highlight some of the best ideas and resources available to help keep your children busy and engaged.”

Department of Family Services graphic logoThe Department of Family Services supports families and county residents of all ages and stages of life – and that definitely includes foster parents and familiesLike and Follow @FairfaxCountyFamilyServices for news, events, tips, stories, training opportunities and more.

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Each newsletter will include this section to help answer questions, spotlight the people who support foster families, highlight the donors and sponsors who generously give to foster care programs and activities and friendly reminders for foster families to sign-up for trainings.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

question marksQuestion: Can a child or youth have contact with their birth family via telephone, email, text, or social media? 

Answer: Every family situation is different. Foster parents will likely be advised, by Child Protective Services during the initial placement, whether it is appropriate for a youth to have contact with birth family. Foster parents should feel empowered to ask about contact. They should also be able to ascertain whether the youth has such a device enabling contact, at the time of placement. For questions about contact after the child has been in your home for a period of time, please discuss with the foster care and adoption specialist as it will look different for each child. 

Check out other frequently asked questions and answers from past issues.

STORY IN STATISTICS

Families Certified to Serve as Foster Parents

Currently in Fairfax County more than 112 families are certified to serve as foster parents.

DONORS AND SPONSORS HIGHLIGHTS

Thank you to Formed Families Forward and community donors for thinking of our foster families and kinship foster families at this time. They provided a generous donation of gifts cards from grocery and home good retailers to help offset the increase in their grocery bills and other expenses during this COVID-19 stay-at-home order. 

TRAININGS AND CONFERENCES (For Fairfax County Foster Parents Only)

mechanical wheels Sadly, due to the current COVID-19 health crisis, our Fairfax County in-service trainings are temporarily on hold while we work on bringing them to an online platform in the future. We understand your need for on-going training, and we encourage you to explore other options for virtual trainings at this time.

Foster Parent College (FPC) is a great way to obtain training on key topics from the safety and comfort of your home. FPC provides newly approved and seasoned foster parents with a curriculum designed to build new skills and reinforce information acquired from New Generation PRIDE (formerly PRIDE). As approved foster parents with Fairfax County, all classes are free and available to you 24/7. We plan to email you weekly with in-service training suggestions; however, you may choose to take any class you believe will be helpful for your own personal growth and development.

If you have questions or need support, please reach out to one of the in-service trainers: Lauren DeFife or Terri Williams-Henderson. You may also contact FPC on 541-343-6636 or toll free on 1-800-777-6636 for technical difficulties. As always, once a class is completed, please email the certificate to either Lauren DeFife (if your last name begins with A-J) or Terri Williams-Henderson (if your last name begins with K-Z).

SUGGESTIONS

envelopeWhat do you want to see in Foster Family News?

Submit your suggestions to Angela Morlu.

 

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Check out past issues of Foster Family News.

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Fairfax Virtual Assistant