|
|
The Caregiver Courier
March 2018
|
|
|
|
2018 Spring Holiday Egg Hunt!
|
Springtime is almost here. That means it is time for the 2018 Egg Hunt! This year's event will be held on March 27 at Links for Life Park.
We are looking forward to another a great event with activities, snacks, and more!
|
|
National Sibling Day
St. Jude's Ranch will be hosting its 3rd Annual National Sibling Day event on April 7 at Tivoli Village.
Click on the flyer for more info about how to RSVP.
|
|
Spring Celebration
The annual spring celebration isn't until April, but we want to make sure you have it on the calendar. Plan to attend on April 7 at Floyd Lamb Park.
Click on the picture for more details.
|
|
Education Spotlight: School Stability Rights
|
Do you know the rights of your foster child in regards to the school they attend while in your care? DFS educational liaison Dr. Leslie Murdock explains how a decision regarding a child's schooling will be made and the support provided to the foster parent to help during this transition.
Click
here
to learn more.
|
|
Tutoring Help from the CASA Foundation
|
|
This month the CASA Foundation is focusing on the critical need our foster children have for assistance with learning. So many children have missed days and years of school. Each time they change schools, the academic delays and challenges increase. Their best hope to make up these gaps in their education is individualized tutoring.
The
CASA Foundation
is proud to be able to provide for that need through the
Tutoring Club
which has four locations around town. Other academically enriching programs can also be covered. Thanks to a generous grant from the MGM Grand, we are expanding our funding in this area. Consider the learning needs of the children in foster care. If they could be assisted by tutoring and their caregivers are motivated to help get them there, The CASA Foundation can help!
|
|
DFS to participate in the Federal Child And Family Services Reviews in May and September 2018
As part of the Nevada Continuous Quality Improvement process, Clark County will be participating in Round 3 of the Child & Family Services Reviews (CFSRs) this year. The reviews in Clark County are scheduled in both May and September. CFSRs are completed in partnership with both State and Federal support.
CSFRs Enable the Children's Bureau to:
- Ensure conformity with federal child welfare requirements
- Determine what is actually happening to children and families as they are engaged in child welfare services
- Assist states in enhancing their capacity to help children and families achieve positive outcomes.
The CFSRs bring people together who can make a difference in state child welfare systems. Hearing from parents, caregivers and youth about their first-hand experiences is important. Information that parents, caregivers, and youth provide about their experiences helps child welfare agencies make changes to strengthen their work with families.
For more information about CFSRs for parents and caregivers click here
English
|
Spanish
For more information about CFSRs for youth click here
English
|
Spanish
|
|
5 Facts to Know About Challenging Behaviors
|
|
There are always some unknowns when you accept a placement. You won’t always know the child’s full history of why they entered care, what trauma they have endured or what connections they formed and are now severed. All of these factors can lead to the child exhibiting some challenging behaviors. However, we know these behaviors can often be a way of communicating.
We encourage you to take some time to
read this article
and know there is always a need for foster parents who are willing to accept children into their home who communicate in these ways.
|
|
Empowered to Connect Conference
The Empowered to Connect Conference is a two-day conference not only for adoptive and foster parents, ministry leaders, and professionals, but also parents and educators who deal with any children who come from hard places and it is designed to help them to connect with the children in order to help them heal and become what they were created to be.
Led by the TCU Institure of Child Development, the conference is ideal for adoptive and foster parents, those considering adoption or foster care and those who are serving and supporting others, including social workers, agency professionals, counselors, therapists, church staff and ministry leaders and others all involved in adoptive and foster care ministries or services. It is also designed for parents and educators who work with children from hard places, not only adoption and fostering.
If you have any questions please contact Allen Slaughter
[email protected]
. Click on the photo for more details or
here
to register.
|
|
 |
School Holiday Reminders
The Caregiver Courier would like to offer friendly reminders of upcoming school holidays (based on the Clark County School District 9-month Calendar)
Monday, March 26 - Monday, April 2:
SPRING BREAK-NO SCHOOL
For more CCSD calendar information, click
here
.
|
|
|
|
March 2018 Events
March brings the beginning of spring. As the seasons get ready to turn, the warming weather will provide plenty of opportunities to get out of the home with the family.
Check out
this month's list of events in the community.
|
|
|
|
2018 Foster Parent Training Requirements
|
Foster parents are required to complete 12 hours of training in 2018.
Click
here for more details about the courses that need to be completed and where those training can be accessed.
|
|
Spotlight Series:
Trauma-Informed Parenting,
Pt. 3
Trauma can interfere with the development and functioning of a child at any age. A brain that has been impacted by trauma can heal. Healing is done over time and only in the context of a secure and regulated relationship with another person. This month, we look at Understanding the Effects of Trauma for part three of our eight-part series on trauma-informed care.
Melinda Rhoades of SAFY takes us through the various ways trauma impacts a child and provides techniques for the trauma-informed parent to implement to help a child heal.
Previous Modules
|
|
Caring for a child is one of the most important things a person can do. Caring for a child who is not your own requires a special kind of dedication. There are many children in Southern Nevada who are unable to remain in their homes. Families who open their homes and hearts to these children are committed to improving their lives and their futures. Foster Change is committed to those families.
We are proud to be the foster and adoptive family association in Southern Nevada. For just $20/year, we offer monthly community connection groups, parents' nights out, family events, educational opportunities, play dates, and free car seat and CPR/first aid training. Many of our events include free childcare and meals. We also work together to advocate for support for all foster and adoptive families in Nevada. We look forward to meeting your family!
|
|
Foster One Recruit One
The greatest tool to recruit new foster parents...are current foster parents.
Clark County DFS wants to help you host a recruitment party. We will provide the information and refreshments, all we need from you is a location and a minimum of five (5) potential foster parents confirmed to attend.
See this
flyer
for more information.
|
|
Grace Point Church Offering Monthly Foster Parents' Night Out
Grace Point Church is hosting a
FREE
respite program so foster parents can get an occasional night out! Grace Point will offer respite care from 6 - 9 p.m. on the first Friday each month through August 2018.
Who: All foster caregivers (licensed, unlicensed, relative, fictive kin)
What: Foster Parents' Night Out
When: 6 - 9 p.m., first Friday each month. Next date: Friday, April 4th, 2018
Where: Grace Point Church, 3794 W. Ann Rd., North Las Vegas
How to register:
Click here
. (Registration closes two days before the event and opens the Saturday after each event for the following month's event.)
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: April 6, May 4 (Star Wars Day!), June 1 and Aug. 6. Keep watching the Caregiver Courier for more details and registration information.
|
|
10 Ways to Support Foster Children in Clark County
We are so appreciative of all the amazing people who have opened their homes to become foster parents.
However, becoming a foster parent is not the only way to help a child in need.
We have compiled a list of 10 ways you can support foster children in Clark County. Check out the full list
here.
|
|
Entrenamiento en Español
There's a new feature on the QPI Nevada Just in Time training website! There is now a button (Entrenamiento en Español) on the homepage. This button directs caregivers to a new page that features a link to the "Trainings in Spanish" topic in the video library and the Spanish version of the FAQ document.
|
|
Foster Info Sessions
DFS hosts multiple info sessions each month to get those interested in becoming foster parents started on the path to becoming licensed.
For a full list of dates and locations, click
here.
|
|
|
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 Clark County 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
|
|
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.
|
|
121 S. Martin Luther King Blvd.
Las Vegas, NV 89106
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
