Foster Parent News
September 2014
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Foster
Parent
News
Volume 11 Issue 8
September 2014
Kids Grow Better in Families
Executive Director:
Jermaine H. Johnson, MS, LMFT
Director of Operations:
Marianne L. Werth, LCSW
Treatment Foster Care Program Manager
Adrienne Tucker, MA
Assistant Treatment Foster Care Supervisor
Nakia King, NCC
The foliage has been losing its freshness through
the month of August, and here and there a yellow leaf
shows itself like the first gray hair amidst the locks of a
beauty who has seen one season too many. ~Oliver Wendell Holmes
There is something deep within us that sobs at
endings. Why, does everything have to end? Why does
all nature grow old? Why do spring and summer have to
go? ~ Joe Wheeler
Inside this Issue:
Treatment Foster Care
Adolescent Programs “TLP”
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3
September is National Prepared- 5
ness Month
TLP Alliance Committee
6
Earn Your Training Hours
7
Calendar
8
Autumn mornings: sunshine and crisp air, birds
and calmness, year's end and day's beginnings.
~Terri Guillemets
It is the summer's great last heat,
It is the fall's first chill: They meet.
–Sarah Morgan Bryan Piatt
Adolescent & Family Growth Center, Inc.
Foster Parent News
September 2014
TREATMENT FOSTER CARE
The Foster Care Department is hosting several training events this month.
Current Foster Parents and staff will receive a training on Positive Youth Development, presented by
guest speaker Tracie Johnson, LICSW, on:
Thursday, September 18th, 7:00pm-9:00pm
Pre-Service training for Prospective Foster Parents will begin on
Wednesday, September 17th, from 5:30pm-8:30pm. The pre-service trainings will be on-going every
Wednesday, from 5:30pm—8:30pm for the next ten weeks.
Please contact the Foster Care Department or your Foster Home Case Manager with questions or comments.
Prioritize Self Care
Adolescent & Family Growth Center, Inc.
Adolescent & Family Growth Center, Inc.
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Foster Parent News
September 2014
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ADOLESCENT PROGRAMS
Adolescent Programs News
Back to School Month at TLP
Greetings from Adolescent Programs Staff! The summer was
filled with fun community activities, building relationships
and social skills, and gaining work experience through the
EYE Program (for some of our teens). September is a month
of transition as our teens adjust to their school and TLP schedules.
Fall Group Schedule
We will start the Fall 2014 Group Session the week of October 6th. This 10-week group session will run through the week
of December 8th. The following groups will be offered:
Community Meeting (Mondays and Fridays)
This is a forum for staff to reiterate rules, discuss schedules
and acknowledge TLP teens that are demonstrating positive
leadership. This is an opportunity for TLP teens to give input
about the program, demonstrate leadership and treatment progress via level presentations, and address other concerns regarding the treatment community.
Process (Mondays)
Important Dates to Remember
September 29th: Fairfax County Public Schools Closed. Student Holiday. Prince William County, Arlington County,
and Alexandria City Public Schools are open. TLP will
run on a summer schedule.
Teens share treatment issues and have the opportunity to offer
and receive feedback from peers and staff.
Independent Living (Tuesdays)
Back to School Reminders
Teens will continue to develop their skills in a number of areas including meal planning, laundry, transportation, and money management.
School Schedules
Art (Wednesdays)
Please make sure your case manager is informed of any school
changes during the school year, such as early release dates,
early dismissal, after school activity participation, suspensions, etc. Once they are aware of your teen’s needs, they will
communicate this information to the TLP staff. If you are not
able to reach your case manager and there has been a last minute change in your teen’s schedule, please contact the AP
Counselor that works with your teen.
Transportation
On Wednesday, September 4, 2013 TLP will return to the
after-school schedule. This means that pick-ups will begin
from school. As a reminder, teens need to be at the designated
pick-up location 10 minutes after the bell has rung. If they do
not arrive, a treatment team member will be contacted. If they
do not arrive to the pick-up location after another 10 minutes,
then AP staff will have to leave without the teen because it
delays pick-ups for other teens. Drop-offs will begin at 5:15
p.m. every day from TLP, except Friday. On Fridays, dropoffs begin at 5:00 p.m. to get a head start on Friday traffic.
Teens will complete therapeutic art projects that provide
means of expression and an opportunity to try different artistic
mediums.
Getting to Know You (Wednesdays)
Teens will participate in interactive group activities with a
focus on getting to know each other and teambuilding.
Sex Ed/Dating (Thursdays)
Teens will learn about STDs, safe sex and abstinence, community health resources and how to maintain healthy relationships (sexual and non-sexual).
Conflict (Thursdays)
Teens will increase their understanding of conflict with peers,
family members, and in the workplace, as well as how to resolve conflicts appropriately.
Sincerely,
Dawn Gresham, M.S.
Adolescent Programs Counselor II
Adolescent & Family Growth Center, Inc.
Foster Parent News
September 2014
ADOLESCENT PROGRAMS
RECAP OF SUMMER ACTIVITIES WITH THE YOUTH
Adolescent & Family Growth Center, Inc.
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Foster Parent News
September 2014
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Presidential Proclamation - National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month, 2014
NATIONAL CHILDHOOD OBESITY AWARENESS MONTH, 2014 BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES
OF AMERICA
A PROCLAMATION
Childhood obesity is one of the most urgent health issues we face in the United States. Nearly one in three American
children are overweight or obese, putting them at risk for many immediate and long-term health problems -- including
high cholesterol, high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, and cancer. As a Nation, we have a responsibility to
ensure our children have every chance to fulfill their potential, and that starts by providing them with the opportunities
to make healthy choices. Recent data show progress is possible: obesity rates have fallen by 43 percent among children ages two to five years old. But we must remain committed to improving the health of kids of all ages. This month,
we build on our progress and raise awareness of the benefits of healthy eating and active living so our children can
lead prosperous and productive lives.
First Lady Michelle Obama's
Let's Move! initiative is striving to ensure every young person has a chance at a healthy childhood. For more than 4
years, Let's Move! has brought together stakeholders across the public and private sectors to encourage and expand
access to physical activity and nutritious foods -- two components of a healthy lifestyle. Across America, more communities have gained access to healthy and affordable food and the information needed to make more nutritious choices.
Businesses are marketing healthier foods to kids, and families are buying healthier products.
Family members, caregivers, and other role models can also play a critical role in helping children make healthy choices. Those who support our kids can model healthy behaviors by staying active and preparing healthy meals at home.
Families can plant kitchen gardens, cook together, and encourage lifestyle choices that support a healthy weight.
My Administration is working to make sure the hard work parents and caregivers are doing to teach kids healthy habits
will not be undone outside the home. We have fought to improve the overall quality of school meals, and as students
return to school this fall, they will have more opportunities than ever before to make healthy choices -- including
changes in foods offered in vending machines and a la carte lines. This past year, my Administration announced a
new proposal to prohibit items that cannot be sold or served in schools from being marketed in schools. These
measures build on the progress already made by the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010, which this year will allow
more than 22,000 schools across the country to qualify to serve free, healthy breakfasts and lunches for all their students.
Each American has an important part to play as we build healthier communities for young people across our Nation.
During National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month, we continue our work to provide every child with healthy food,
active play, and a good example to follow. By committing to a healthy lifestyle for our families and eating right ourselves, we can help turn the tide against childhood obesity across our country.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested
in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim September 2014 as National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month. I encourage all Americans to learn about and engage in activities that promote
healthy eating and greater physical activity by all our Nation's children.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-ninth day of August, in the year of our Lord two
thousand fourteen, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-ninth.
BARACK OBAMA
Adolescent & Family Growth Center, Inc.
Foster Parent News
September 2014
TLP/Alliance Committee
Earn Training Credit this Month by Reading this Article and Answering
the Questions Below
For those of you who are not aware, the TLP/Alliance Committee was formed in 2011 to evaluate the effectiveness of AFGC services and how the current model of care is related to trauma
and alliance factors. Current members include: Nikkiah Wyatt-Smith, former Adolescent Programs Clinical Supervisor; Nakia King, TFC Assistant Supervisor; Kesha Taffe, TFC Admissisions
and Placement Coordinator; Dorine Ndayizgiye, Therapist/Family Specialist; Lauren Crosby,
Therapist/Case Manager; David Glaser, Therapist/Family Specialist; Gary Schwanke, Adolescent
Programs Clinician and Counselor; and Dawn Gresham, Adolescent Programs Counselor II.
We have held focus groups, conducted surveys, and researched trauma-informed models and
best practices to help identify areas for improvement in our current model of care. We have
used the feedback and research to help develop a new service model called “CARES,” which is
an acronym for the core values: Community, Accountability/Responsibility, Respectful and
Healthy Relationships, Empowerment, and Safety.
We are currently in the process of planning the implementation of the CARES model at AFGC
and in the foster home. We will be asking for your input along the way. We will provide more
details in the near future.
In the meantime, we would like to get some feedback from you at this time. Please answer the
questions below and submit your responses by e-mail to Dorine ([email protected]) or
to your Case Manager by the end of this month.
Adolescent & Family Growth Center, Inc.
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Foster Parent News
September 2014
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Earn Training Credits by reading the Newsletter. Take advantage of this opportunity
to make sure you satisfy the 24 hour per year requirement.
Read this month’s newsletter, answer the following questions, and return to your Foster Home Case Manager for credit.
*******************************************************************************
1.
What information and support would you find helpful in parenting your foster children,
considering their treatment challenges and situations that come up in the foster home
and community?
Earn your Training
Hours
2. What information and support would be helpful in developing healthy relationships with
your foster children?
3. What would be helpful in establishing and maintaining healthy communication with the
biological parent(s) of your foster children?.
4. What are some of the challenges you have faced when working with the biological families of your foster children?
5. With your current or former foster children, what are some skills and knowledge that you
would like to further develop?
The Foster Parent
News is distributed
monthly through
email and traditional
mail. Please let us
know if you would
prefer the paperless
version only.
THANKS!
Name___________________________________________________
Adolescent & Family Growth Center, Inc.
Foster Parent News
September 2014
Adolescent & Family Growth Center, Inc.
8000 Forbes Place
Springfield, VA 22151
Phone: (703) 425-9200
Fax: (703) 425-9206
Email: [email protected]
We’re on the web
www.afgcinc.com
September 2014
Monday, September 1st—Labor Day—AFGC office is closed
Wednesday, September 17th—Pre-Service Foster Parent Training, 5:30pm-8:30pm
Thursday, September 18th—Foster Parent Training Presenter Tracie Johnson, LCSW 6:00pm-9:00pm
Wednesday, September 24th—Pre-Service Foster Parent Training, 5:30pm-8:30pm
Web sites that offer Foster Parent Training Certificates:
www.Fosterparenttraining.com
www.fosterparentcollege.com
www.Fosterparents.com
Adolescent & Family Growth Center, Inc.
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