Proclamation Signing
As part of National Foster Care Month, Governor Heineman signed a Proclamation recognizing May as National Foster Care Month on May 7 at 10:30. All Foster Parents were invited to attend! The ceremony took place in the Warner Chamber, located on the second floor of the Nebraska State Capital across the Rotunda from the Norris Legislative Chamber. There was an open house (until noon) at the NFAPA office immediately following the ceremony. We hope to see more foster parents come and support National Foster Care Month next May!
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Let Your Voice Be Heard
Foster parents, this is the chance to make your voice heard! NFAPA is working closely with Health and Human Services to improve the quality of care that Nebraska youth receive throughout the state by empowering you, the foster parents, to be the voice of the children. NFAPA has worked with HHS to put together this survey to find out what your experiences have been working with HHS and other agencies that affect the children placed with you. Now is your chance to make positive changes for Nebraska children in foster care, and ultimately you as their caregivers! Come join us by filling out this survey, and let your voices be heard to make Nebraska's foster care system the best it can be!
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Whats Happening in the Court System: Lancaster County
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has been working with the Lancaster County Court Judges, County Attorney, GAL's, CASA, FCRB, Parents Attorneys, and others as part of, "Through the Eyes of a Child" Initiative meetings with the courts.
In Lancaster County, starting April 1, children will be expected to attend dispositional and review hearings. All ages, as appropriate. It is presumed the child/youth will be at their court hearing unless it is determined by the HHS worker in consultation with the GAL that the child should not attend. HHS has responsibility to get the children to court. Foster parents, providers will be asked to transport youth to the hearings. In cases where that is not possible, HHS staff will be responsible for transporting.
The issue of getting kids to court is one that other judges are also starting to look at as part of the change and improvement. It is hopeful that other courts around the state may sometime in the future also want to have children at court if the children are not already attending.
The fact that children will be required to attend court hearings should facilitate Resource Parents receiving notice of court hearings and hopefully, the opportunity to be heard in court.
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Foster Parents Ask: HHS Listens!
Foster Parents have been expressing at conferences and in-service trainings their concern about using Social Security numbers as a way of tracking training hours. NFAPA has taken this concern to HHS and it has been determined that the practice of using Social Security numbers is no longer necessary.
Other News:
Are you interested in foster care maintenance rates nationwide? Click on the file "National Foster Care Maintenance Payments" and review. The file is a PDF which requires Adobe Acrobat. National Foster Care Maintenance Payments
Do you know what it costs to raise a child? Click on the file "Cost of Raising a Child" for more information. Cost of Raising a Child.
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Article from the Lincoln Journal Star
Cindy Lange-Kubick: Welcome, Cadi, to your 'new' family
Sunday, May 04, 2008 - 12:17:31 am CDT
A camera clicks inside a fourth-floor courtroom Friday morning.It captures a little girl in a white dress at 48 minutes and 47 seconds after 10.She is standing on her papa's lap, clapping.As she waited in the hallway, Cadi got a hug and a kiss from Cindy Loos: "She's going to be my niece!" (Robert Becker)Her papa is clapping.Her mom is clapping. And so is her brother Manny and her brother Tommy - the one she calls Nana, although no one can figure out why.Her grandma is clapping and so are her aunt and her uncle. And the woman from the foster care place and her best friend, Jenna - a 2-year-old with wide eyes - and Jenna's mom, and all of the other people who have waited two years, three months and 28 days for this.
Imagine a wedding.Or the day the doctor says the cancer is gone.Or your teenager in a cap and gown.Something you've been longing for. Dreaming about. Wanting more than you've wanted anything.This is that moment.The moment the judge makes the girl's new name official. Cadijohn Alvina Cynthia Rivera.And makes Manuel and Christina Rivera her official parents."Permanency," Judge Toni Thorson calls it.
Cadi's birth mother loved her, but she couldn't take care of a baby.And Christina and Manuel couldn't have more babies of their own.They already had hers (Tommy, 22), his (Jonny, 19, and Charity, 22), and theirs (Manny, 13).But they wanted one more. A little girl.An international adoption was too expensive, so they became foster parents, hoping to adopt here in Nebraska.They took foster parenting classes.Then one January day they visited a baby in a hospital nursery."Manuel almost knocked the nurse over trying to get to her."Cadi was 48 hours old when they wrapped her in the blanket Christina had worn home from the hospital nearly 41 years before."I can't believe she walked at 8½ months," Christina says, "because someone was always holding her."
Then came the hard part - worrying that someone would snatch her back, and waiting for a system that won't be hurried.Cadi had five caseworkers in 28 months. It felt like starting over each time a new one took over. Christina called their supervisors, state senators and the governor, trying to speed things up.She began taking blood pressure medication."Until the day the adoption goes through, you can't get their hair cut without permission."But love, love just comes."She's everybody's baby," Christina says. "If you meet her, you can't help but love her."
When they go to Wal-Mart, the clerks call out "Hi, Squeakers!" because her white shoes make noise when she walks.And the lady at McDonald's - Cadi calls her the Hola Lady - advises Christina on the best way to style a black girl's hair and has been praying for this day to come - just like the pastor at Cadi's church.Then the day comes.Christina fixes Cadi's hair, two tiny pigtails, the way the McDonald's lady told her.They walk through the metal detectors at the Hall of Justice at 9:53. Manny comes with a camera. Grandma Alvina comes with pink Kleenex. Aunt Cynthia brings a birthstone necklace for Cadi to wear with her white princess dress.When Tommy comes with his wife and little boy, Cadi runs down the fourth-floor hallway. Squeak, squeak, squeak. Nana! Their lawyer, Stefanie Flodman, comes in a blue lawyer's suit. Her son, Joe, is almost 5. She adopted him last year.Jenna's mom and dad, Sherri and John Wilson, adopted her last year, too. Christina and Sherri met in foster parents' class. Now the girls and the two moms who chose them are best friends.
It is 10:42 when they all file into Judge Thorson's courtroom.Christina and Manuel and Cadi sit together. Manuel takes off his ball cap.The lawyer asks Christina questions.How long has Cadi been in your home? Since she was two days old. Has she been part of your family? Completely.Then Manuel: I love her so much.The caseworker testifies.This is in Cadi's best interest, she says.Then the moment arrives.
The judge signs the decree and the Kleenex comes out.
The guests begin to clap.
And a little girl in a white dress is standing on her papa's lap, clapping too.
Reach Cindy Lange-Kubick at 473-7218 or clangekubick@journalstar.com.
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Article from the Grand Island Newspaper
Lifting children up Kay Strong (center) with three of her daughters Alysia, 15 (left), and Lynndsi, 17, both of whom are adopted, and Caitlin, 5, who is currently in guardianship. By Meredith Gardner Her foster children have gone into the fetal position and rocked while hiding under tables. They've broken and thrown things in outbursts of anger. They've urinated in areas of the house other than the toilet. They've been verbally aggressive. And sometimes, they've withdrawn completely.
It's fair to say that foster parents are in many cases the first to help the children they care for deal with any past emotional abuse, said Allen, who is also the executive director of the Nebraska Foster and Adoptive Parent Association (NFAPA).
In fact, the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services expects that all foster parents at some point will care for abused children, said Todd Landry, director of the state HHS Division of Children and Family Services.
"Certainly, it can be a significant challenge," Landry said of foster parents' experience caring for abused children. "We do our best to make sure our foster parents are trained and prepared to deal with that."
Emotional abuse is characterized by a repeated pattern of behavior that conveys to children that they are worthless, flawed, unloved, unwanted, endangered or only of value when they serve another's needs, according to the Child Welfare Information Gateway.
Anyone who suspects that a child has been abused is required by Nebraska law to report it to the Health and Human Service Child Abuse and Neglect Hotline at 1-800-652-1999 or their local law enforcement agency.
"I would say every child in foster care has suffered emotional trauma," said Kay Strong of Grand Island, who has provided foster care for 10 years. Even those who weren't emotionally abused can have a difficult time dealing with being removed from their home.
"Kids react to things in ways we don't understand until we know more fully the picture," she said. "And the children don't know how to share what's gone on in their history because it's normal to them."
To help the children and themselves cope with these issues, Nebraska foster parents undergo 27 hours of pre-service training before they receive their license. They also complete 12 hours of additional training every year.
Included are ways to assist children with emotional issues they may face, Allen said, with topics including attachment disorder, family relationships and bonding, among others.
Caseworkers can also provide assistance, and the state contracts with NFAPA to provide support groups and services to foster parents, Landry said.
Foster parents must carefully build relationships with their foster children, approach them in ways that help the child feel safe, discipline appropriately and provide positive feedback, local and state experts said.
Under many circumstances, children in foster care who have been abused or neglected undergo professional counseling, Landry said. Foster parents may also be encouraged to attend the counseling to find out how they can better assist the child in overcoming the obstacles of the past.
As foster parents work with the children under their care, they help the children rebuild a trust in adults and regain self-esteem.
"We always approach this and want to approach this with the child's best interest in mind and at heart," Landry said.
For more information on foster parenting in Nebraska, contact 1-800-7PARENT.
Independent/Scott Kingsley
Foster parents deal with emotional scars
meredith.gardner@theindependent.com
During her 11 years as a foster parent, Pamela Allen of Aurora has seen the gamut of emotional abuse aftereffects.
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Taxes
If you have questions regarding tax issues and foster children in your care, please contact Kim Anderson at 308-390-3530. She would be happy to provide you some information.
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Kids Are Waiting