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Donations are used to support Colorado's adoptive families.
In This Issue
Smile & Donate!
Sensory Friendly Events
Members of Congress
Adoption Data
THANK YOU!!
Adoption-Related Training
LGBTQ Discrimination
Foreign Adoptions
Respite Resources
Clothes to Kids Denver
Preparing Adoptive Parents
Pancakes with Santa
Support Groups

Help COCAF

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Use AmazonSmile when you shop Amazon, and support COCAF at the same time! Shop at AmazonSmile and 0.5% of your eligible Amazon purchases can be donated to the nonprofit of your choice - including COCAF. Your donations help adoptive families in Colorado find the services they need to keep their families safe, healthy, and thriving. Click here to start shopping.

CLASSROOM

It's the Most Wonderful Time 
of the Year 
Workshop & Party
Friday
December 7, 2018
9:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Unity Spiritual Center
3021 S University Blvd
Denver CO 80210
Contact CSFPA for more info at 303-463-7989 or by email at [email protected]

Colorado Adoption Information Class
Tuesday
December 11, 2018
6:00 p.m.
The Adoption Exchange
14232 E Evans Ave
Aurora, CO 80014

Colorado Adoption Information Class
Tuesday
January 8, 2019
6:00 p.m.

Animal Assisted Therapy
3-Day Intensive Training
Wednesday-Friday
January 26-28, 2019

Colorado Adoption Information Class
Tuesday
February 12, 2019
6:00 p.m.

TBRI® Caregiver Training

 
Correcting Principles - Addressing Fear-Based Behaviors
December 7, 2018

2019 TBRI® Caregiver Training
TBRI® Intro & Overview

January 25, 2019
May 17, 2019
August 2, 2019
November 15, 2019


TBRI® Caregiver Training 
Full Series

March 13-15, 2019
June 19-21, 2019
September 18-20, 2019
December 4-6, 2019


WEBINARS

Adoption Options Orientation
Wednesday
December 12, 2018
6:30 p.m.

CHOICE Mentor Support Advocate Orientation
Thursday
December 13, 2018
6:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.

Social Work Ethics with Adoption Practice
Thursday
December 13, 2019
10:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.

Foster Care Adoption Orientation
Wednesday
January 16, 2019
6:30 p.m.

CONFERENCES

Creating Trauma-Sensitive Schools 2019 Conference
February 17-19, 2019
Washington Hilton
Washington, D.C.

NACAC 2019 Conference
July 17-20, 2019
Las Vegas, NV

AMC Autism Logo  
Sensory Friendly Films
  
AMC Theatres (AMC) and the Autism Society have teamed up to bring families affected by autism and other disabilities a special opportunity to enjoy their favorite films in a safe and accepting environment on a monthly basis with the "Sensory Friendly Films" program. 

Participating theatres:
 
Ralph Breaks the Internet
Saturday
December 8, 2018
 
Creed II
Tuesday
December 11, 2018
 
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
Saturday
December 22, 2018



Sensory Friendly Events 

Longmont Get Air Trampoline Park
2251 Ken Pratt Blvd, 
Longmont, CO 80501
Every Saturday from 8:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m.
Big Air - $13, Little Air - $9
Dedicated time just for jumpers with special needs. Music is played at a lower volume and the park's atmosphere is calmer. One parent or guardian can support jumpers on the trampoline for free. Siblings of jumpers are welcome to jump for the same price but should be more careful during this time.

*A Special Time Just For You is not available during blackout dates or holidays.
 
Chuck E Cheese Sensory Sensitive Sundays
Sunday, October 7 (1st Sunday of every month)
9:00 - 11:00
Select Chuck E Cheese locations below will be open 2 hours early on the first Sunday of every month, specifically for children with autism and other special needs. 
 
* Reduced lighting and noise
* Food and games offered
* Trained and caring staff 
 
COLORADO SPRINGS
2925 GEYSER DRIVE

FT COLLINS
105 W PROSPECT RD

LITTLETON
7510 PARKWAY DR

SUPERIOR
305 MARSHALL ROAD
 
CO Springs - SF Storytime Pikes Peak Library District: 21C
2nd Monday of every month
1:30 - 2:00pm
 
1175 Chapel Hills Dr., 
Colorado Springs, CO 80920
 
Sensory Story Time : Interactive story time that is especially welcoming for children on the autism spectrum and families who are looking for a smaller, more adaptive library experience. Call 719.884.9800 x6310 if you have any questions.
 
 
Denver Aquarium Low Sensory Morning
2nd Sunday of every month
8:30 - 9:45am
 
Downtown Aquarium
700 Water St
Denver, CO 80211, USA

Denver Aquarium has started offering a low-sensory morning with our ambient sounds and the flash flood exhibit turned off and lights turned up for a calmer, quieter time for any families that need it.  Sounds and lights get turned back on at 9:45am for the regular business day. 

The cost is the regular ticket price at our box office. 
Adults (12 - 64) are $20.50, Seniors (65+) are $19.50, Children (3-11) are $14.50
2 and under are free

 
Resources for Contacting Members of Congress

Find your legislators online:


Call the U.S. Capitol Switch Board to Connect with your legislators office by phone:
(202) 224-3121

A switchboard operator with connect you directly with a legislators office that you request. 
Adoption Data

Using information collected through various monitoring and reporting systems, the Children's Bureau analyzes and reports data on a variety of topics, including adoption, foster care, and child abuse and neglect.

FREE RESOURCES
Looking for books or movies about adoption?  Or how to deal with school-related adoption issues?  

 
So far this year, Deborah Cave, COCAF's Executive Director, has worked with 91 families. That's almost two families a week who needed intensive support to keep their adoptive families safe and stable.
 
Some of these families had to go to fair hearings - a process that is time intensive and emotionally exhausting for both the families and Deborah. Some required a lesser level of assistance, but they all needed help, and they all came to COCAF knowing that they would get the support they needed at no cost.
 
This is COCAF.
 
COCAF has no paid staff - everyone is a volunteer. Deborah works tirelessly on the advocacy issues. Lori Holden is our social media guru. Roxanne Thompson provides advice on therapeutic services and works with the adopted children's choir. I write the newsletter and field the "informational" calls. Any money we have is used for our administrative costs: phone, website, and office supplies. When we have "extra" money, we have used it to help adoptive families in a financial crisis.
 
If you've benefitted from any of COCAF's services and you have a few dollars to donate, think about donating to COCAF. Helping adoptive families thrive is a worthy cause.
 
To donate, click here to be redirected to our website. Then click on the DONATE button on the top right of the screen.

Happy holidays,
Colleen Tarket, 
COCAF Board of Directors

THANK YOU!!!
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Thank you for those of you who have already donated to COCAF this year!
 
Joanne Brothers
Tony Coppola
Sarah Dillion-Jensen
Charles Friedman
Paula Koyama
Kim Lewis
Josh Muller
Carla Quinn
Sheryl Reynolds
Sean Selters

Your generosity is much appreciated!
Deborah, Colleen, Roxanne, & Lori
Adoption-Related Training 
From the North American Council on Adoptable Children
NACAC Logo
Did you know that the North American Council on Adoptable Children (NACAC) has a plethora of pre-recorded trainings available? Here's a list of topics covered:
  • Parenting
  • Adoption assistance (aka adoption subsidy)
  • Adoption practice
  • Adoption tax credit
  • Advocacy
  • Post-adoption services
  • Youth advocacy 
Click here to go the complete list of classes.
 
LGBTQ Discrimination Hurts Children 
From Voice for Adoption
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Report Released: Welcoming All Families: Discrimination Against LGBTQ Foster and Adoptive Parents Hurts Children

As a growing number of states pass laws allowing private adoption agencies to turn away LGBTQ couples, a new report shows the discriminatory impact these policies have on prospective parents and the harm they inflict on the U.S. child welfare system.

The report from the Center for American Progress, Voice for Adoption, and the North American Council on Adoptable Children describes how religious exemption laws - and a lack of explicit laws protecting LGBTQ people - allow child welfare agencies to block LGBTQ couples from becoming foster or adoptive parents, harming the best interests of children in care.

Among the findings in the report:
  • In Texas, about a quarter of private agencies include a statement of faith on their website that rejects same sex adoption.
  • Each child adopted from foster care reduces state and federal spending and saves taxpayers almost $29,000 per child per year when compared with those children remaining in foster care.
  • Finding adoptive homes for just a thousand 10-year-old children in foster care, who would otherwise have aged out of care at 18, would save taxpayers about $230 million over eight years.
The report urges states to enact nondiscrimination laws for prospective foster and adoptive parents that are inclusive of sexual orientation and gender identity. It calls on states with religious exemptions for child placement agencies to repeal those measures.

Read the report : "Welcoming All Families: Discrimination Against LGBTQ Foster and Adoptive Parents Hurts Children" by Frank J. Bewkes, Shabab Ahmed Mirza, Caitlin Rooney, Laura E. Durso, Joe Kroll, and Elly Wong.

Foreign Adoptions & State Recognition 
The Child Welfare Information Gateway

The State Recognition of Intercountry Adoptions Finalized Abroad factsheet provides an overview of Federal requirements that apply to adoptions finalized in another country by U.S. citizens. It also discusses requirements that adoptive parents must meet in their State of residence in order to gain State recognition of the adoption and to receive a new State-issued birth certificate for their adopted child. The topics addressed include recognition of foreign adoption decrees, when readoption is required by the State of residence, and applying for a State birth certificate.
 
Click here to read this factsheet.
Respite Resources 
From the Colorado Respite Coalition
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Colorado Respite Locator

Are you looking for respite? Use the Colorado Respite Locator online tool to find providers in your area. Click here to go to the locator.

Family Respite Voucher Program

This program provides financial assistance to eligible families to access respite care through contracted providers. Apply online; click here to go to the application.

Contact Elle Billman at 303-233-1666 x225 for questions about the program.

For more information about the Colorado Respite Coalition, click here to go to their website.
 
Clothes to Kids Denver 

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Get free clothing for your school-aged children at Clothes to Kids of Denver.

2890 S. Colorado Blvd, Unit M-3, 
Denv er, CO 80222
 
Clothes to Kids of Denver provides high-quality, second-hand clothing to students in need. Families are invited to select a wardrobe in a welcoming, store-like setting. A Clothes to Kids wardrobe includes give tops, four bottoms (pants/shorts/skirts/dresses), one coat, one pair of shoes, and five pairs each of new underwear and new socks. To make it as easy as possible for students to visit our boutique, there are now three ways that students automatically qualify to shop at Clothes To Kids:
 
1) Students who qualify for Free and Reduced Lunch (FRL) are eligible to shop at Clothes To Kids using a copy of their FRL Letter.
2) Students attending one of the nearly 150 schools on our Universal Qualification List are eligible to shop at Clothes To Kids using proof of enrollment.
3) Students in foster or kinship care are eligible to shop at Clothes To Kids using any documentation proving that they are in foster or kinship care.
 
If your children automatically qualify, call 720-379-4630 x2 to make an appointment to shop.

For instructions IN SPANISH on how to make an appointment, click here.  

Students in need who do not automatically qualify can still get a referral to shop. If you are a caregiver and you need a referral, please contact your case manager or social worker and refer them to the following website: http://www.clothestokidsdenver.org/referral-process/
Adoption:  Preparing Adoptive Parents 
From the Children's Bureau Express

Adopting a child is a lifelong experience that often involves challenging, complex, and evolving relationships between children, their birth families, and their adoptive parents. Preparing adoptive parents is key to ensuring not only the well-being of the adopted child but of the adoptive family as a whole.  Adoption: Preparing Adoptive Parents  is a brief intended for child welfare workers that discusses topics such as what preparing adoptive parents entails, desired outcomes of preparation, why preparing adoptive parents is important, social workers' responsibilities in preparing adoptive parents, and more.
 
Click here to read the brief.
EVENTS 
Pancakes with Santa
Saturday, December 15, 2018
Heart of the Rockies Christian Church
6501 Brittany St, Fort Collins, CO 80525

Support foster and adoptive children with ALL YOU CAN EAT PANCAKES and a professional picture with SANTA! Event includes crafts and cookie decorating fun!  Tickets PRE-SALE $8; tickets DAY of EVENT $10.

Click here for more information.
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Support Groups

Sometimes our children provide us with challenges that we're just not quite ready to handle.  And sometimes support groups can help us find the answers we need, or at least make us feel okay about the unique challenges we're facing.  Here are some support groups that might be helpful.

Boulder Valley Christian Church
Support group for foster and adoptive moms
Tuesdays, 10:00 am to noon
Facilitated by Lisa Firle, MA., LPCC
Boulder Valley Christian Church, 7100 S. Boulder Road, Boulder.
For more info or to register: [email protected]

Parents of Children with PTSD
First Friday of the month, 9:00 a.m.-11:00 a.m.
464 Inca St, Denver, CO 80204
$25 per person or $40 couple
Some scholarships are available.
For more information, contact Jan Tomski at [email protected] or by phone at 303-881-7630.

Adult Adoptee Support Group
Every 1st & 3rd Thursday, 4:30 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Sondermind, Suite 12, 100 Arapahoe Ave., Boulder, CO 80302
Cost $25-$35

Jefferson County Kids Group
Shepherd of the Hills Presbyterian, 11500 W. 20th Ave, Lakewood 
5:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.. 
RSVP to Mindy Beckler at 303-432-5205

North Adams Grandfamily Support Group
Third Thursday of the month 6:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.
Zion Lutheran Church, Fellowship Hall, 14th & Skeel, Brighton, CO RSVP to Elaine Riedl at 303-912-8337.

Fathers Forever
2nd & 4th Thursdays
5:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.
Resilience Center,  1298 Peoria St,  Aurora, CO  80011
For more information, contact Don Reynolds (720-353-6103) or Aaron Lockwood (303-901-4486).
 
Grandparent & Kinship Support Group
2nd & 4th Wednesdays
9:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.
Aurora Mental Health Center, Viewpoint Office, Lotus Room
11059 E Bethany Dr., Aurora, CO  80014
For more information, contact Aline Ratliff (303-885-5163).
 
Foster Care & Adoptive Parents Support Group
Last Sunday of every month from 2:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Discovery Church,  2605 W 144th Ave, Broomfield, CO  80023
For more information, email [email protected] . 
  
Online Support Group for Adoptive, Foster, & Kinship Parents
Second Tuesday of the Month
Morning session 9:30 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.
Evening session 7:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.
Session includes a short presentation followed by a discussion.  
Email Deb Felio at
for the toll-free number and access code.
 
Adoptive Parents Support Group
1st Tuesday of the month   
5:30pm-7:00pm
Supervised activities and group therapy for children
Lakewood Nazarene Church
Lakewood, CO
RSVP to Family Support Specialist, Mindi Bekler, 720-251-5876

Teen & Tween Adoption Support for Parents
Potluck
2nd & 4th Monday of each month
6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
Resilience Center
1298 Peoria St
Aurora, C O 80011

Young Adult Mental Illness Support Group
For ages 18-28
1st & 3rd Thursday of every month
6:00 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.
1st week Classroom F-G
3rd week Classroom E
St Anthony Hospital
11600 W 2nd Dr
Lakewood, CO 80228
Contact Courtney at 720-369-2629 for more information.  
  
Welcome Child Adoption/Foster Care Support Group
Second Sunday of the month
6:00 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.
Timberline Church, Room 214
2908 S. Timberline Road
Fort Collins, CO  80525
For more information contact Michele Sanner by email at mlsanner@gmail.com or by phone at (970) 481-5749.

Xpress Yourself Art & Play Therapy  
Support groups for internationally adopted children & adolescents
CCAI
6920 S. Holly Circle
Centennial, CO 80112
Call 303-850-9998, ext 22

Called to Adopt Support Group
4th Saturday of the month, 6:00 p.m.,
Christ Community Church, Greeley, CO

The Men's Group for Adoptive Dads
Thursdays, 6:00 a.m. - 7:00 a.m.
Zoe's, 715 10th St, Greeley, CO 80631
For more information, contact Tim Paxton at 970-691-5737 or by email at [email protected].
 
  Sensory Processing Disorder Parent Support Group
Facilitators:  Sarah Ahn and Jenny Burnsed, LPC
Last Monday of every month 6:00-8:00 p.m.
Bixby School,  3750 Table Mesa Drive, Boulder
There is no fee associated with this group, though donations are gratefully accepted.  Contact Sarah at [email protected] for questions.
 
Therapeutic Post-Adoption Support Group
2nd Thursday of the month, 5:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.
Windsor Timberline Church
360 E Crossroads Blvd, Windsor, CO

Aurora Mental Health
Adoption Support Group
2nd & 4th Mondays of the month
5:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.
Aurora Mental Health
11059 E Bethany Drive, Aurora, CO 80014
Contact Sheila Reynolds 303-525-2123 or Stephanie Seriff 303-856-7698 for more information

Colorado Adams County Rainbow Center
3rd Thursday of each month, 6:00 p.m. -  8:00 p.m.
2140 E 88th Ave, Thornton, CO  80229
Contact:  KimNichelle Rivera 303-226-5536

EMPOWER Littleton/Aurora/Englewood
1st & 3rd Thursday, 6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
Arapahoe/Douglas Mental Health Network
155 Inverness Drive West, Englewood, CO 80112
Contact Carol Villa at 303-790-1055 for more information or email [email protected]

NAMI Connections Recovery Support Group for Adults
Wednesdays, 7:00 p.m. 8:30 p.m.
ADMHN Building, 3rd floor
5500 S. Sycamore St, Littleton, CO  80120
Contact:  Carol 
303-790-1055

NAMI Family Support Group Teleconference
2nd & 4th Tuesdays of each month
Contact:  [email protected] 
 
Louisville Parent Support Group
Second Tuesday of the month  7:00 - 8:30
Art Underground
 901 Front Street, Louisville, CO 80027
$25 per session; reservations required.  
Call 720-352-1743.  
  

COCAF strives to provide Colorado's adoptive families with the information and resources they need to keep their families healthy and happy.  If you have ideas for topics you think we should cover, please let us know.  And if you find a good resource -- definitely let us know.  Please forward your ideas or information to me at [email protected].  Materials received by the 20th of a month will be considered for inclusion in the next month's newsletter.
  
Wishing all families peace, serenity, and a good sense of humor,
Colleen Tarket, COCAF Board Member (and newsletter put-ter-together-er)
 

COCAF does not recommend or endorse any specific book, website, survey, study, or provider of services.  The purpose of the COCAF e-newsletter is to provide families with potential resources.  All information contained in this newsletter is for general informational purposes only and as is without warranty expressed or implied, and shall not constitute legal, medical, psychiatric, educational, or parenting advice.  COCAF is not be liable for any damages arising from using the information in this newsletter, including direct, indirect, incidental, punitive, and/or consequential damages.

 

No information on this site should be considered legal advice.  Laws vary by state, so you are urged to research the specific laws, and your rights, within your state.  If you have specific questions regarding your rights, or the laws in your state, please contact an attorney.

  
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We believe that all children have the right to a permanent loving family. We are dedicated to improving services for every pre- and post-adoptive family and to increasing the knowledge and accountability of public systems. We are committed to advocacy in state and local service planning and delivery, in support of all pre and post adoptive families.

  
Sincerely,
Deborah Cave, Executive Director