A publication dedicated to making foster care and adoption in North Carolina the best they can be
Jade (age 12) Jade is a charming, bright, and bubbly young girl. She is very affectionate and loves to give hugs. Her resiliency, loving spirit, friendliness, and energy are what make her unforgettable! She loves playing with her Barbies and making crafts. Jade is truly a survivor with a heart desire to have a family while maintaining contact with her
Read more
June is Reunification Month, the perfect time for resource parents to reflect on their role in supporting reunification. There is promising evidence that building a strong relationship between parents and resource parents increases the likelihood of reunification. “When foster parents support or mentor birth parents, they can enhance the ability of birth parents to stay informed about their children’s development
Read more
Agencies often encourage resource parents to use their natural supports and resources while providing care to children in foster care. And rightly so! Having a strong support system helps you weather the surprises and occasional storms that inevitably come their way. Yet when children must leave your home because permanency has been achieved, the people you rely on and are
Read more
by Amy Huntsman • I have seen too many young people leave foster care without a trusted adult to help guide them. Sometimes they’ve spent years in group homes with no consistent caregiver. For some, the court and child welfare system has not allowed them to have an ongoing relationship with their family. For others, their trauma hinders them from
Read more
by Jeanne Preisler • The N.C. Division of Social Services entered unknown territory a few years ago to develop the North Carolina Child Welfare Family Advisory Council (CWFAC). All the Voices at the Table This council is unique because it has all perspectives “at the table” engaged in meaningful conversations and problem-solving. This includes birth parents, kinship parents, foster parents,
Read more
Foster care placements are temporary—they are meant to end. This is made abundantly clear in recruiting materials and in foster parent pre-service training. In court and in ongoing meetings there are frequent reminders of this fact. Nevertheless, the ending of a placement can be particularly hard for the children and resource family. Fortunately, there are things child welfare professionals can
Read more
Knowing where we will be tonight, tomorrow, and even next year is a privilege many of us take for granted. For children and youth in foster care, uncertainty about the future causes a great deal of stress and anxiety that affects them on countless levels. Tammy Bradley, Foster Care Director at Children’s Hope Alliance, says that at her agency the
Read more
Foster Care 18 to 21 should be offered to young adults who are 18, 19, or 20 years old and wish to enter or remain in the program. No one should be terminated or denied entry to North Carolina’s Foster Care 18 to 21 program as a result of the unique challenges from COVID-19. The Consolidated Appropriations Act (Public Law
Read more