A publication dedicated to making foster care and adoption in North Carolina the best they can be
by Bob DeMarco • There are several organizations out there that have published materials my family have found useful in working with schools. I’d like to share some of them with you. If you need assistance navigating the waters of an Individualized Education Plan (IEP), the Exceptional Children’s Assistance Center (ECAC) is an excellent resource. They offer many training oppportunities,
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by Lisa DeMarco • IEP meetings can be incredibly intimidating if advocacy doesn’t come easily to you. I have learned a great deal in the past six and a half years and have been transformed from a “I-never-want-to-rock-the-boat-or-make-anyone-feel-uncomfortable” person to a mom who can speak up for the best interest of her child even when everyone else doesn’t agree. When
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by Jonathan Rockoff • Your license has been approved! You spent the past few months going through the licensing process and learning as much as you could about a child welfare system with many moving parts. Yet if your child is school-aged, you still have more to learn. School Districts & Enrollment Even before your license is approved, one of
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by Bob DeMarco • I feel strongly that school is an area resource parents can help make huge strides in their kids’ healing and give them the greatest opportunities for success. As we think about and talk about school for kids who have experienced trauma we must understand two things. First, if your child or youth is separated from their
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by the Children’s Defense Fund • On February 9, 2018, President Trump signed into law the landmark bipartisan Family First Prevention Services Act, as part of Division E in the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 (H.R. 1892). Family First includes long-overdue historic reforms to help keep children safely with their families and avoid the traumatic experience of entering foster care,
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by Lisa DeMarco and family • Like most parents, my husband Bob and I are willing to go to great lengths to help our children grow up strong, healthy, and happy. We did this with our four biological children, and we are actively doing it with our two youngest children, who spent several years in foster care before joining our
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by Wanda Douglas • Recruiting and retaining foster parents is never going to be easy. Becoming a foster parent requires a lot of time and energy. So does being a foster parent. But it can also be one of the most rewarding experiences of a lifetime. Foster parents know this better than anyone, which is why—if they get the support
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by Britt Cloudsdale • Misty Taylor and her husband have been fostering since 2012. She’s always had a passion for children, and when she and her husband had trouble having a biological child, Misty felt God was calling them to parent children who need them most. So far, she and her husband have had a total of 18 placements, including
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by Angela Quijada • Resilience, to me, is the ability to constantly and quickly bounce back in any situation that exerts physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual stress. All of us are born with some resilience. Some people build most of theirs as they grow. They have both a genetic connection to resilience and life experiences that give them an opportunity
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by Barbara Ley • We hear a lot about mindfulness these days. At its core, mindfulness refers to the ability to bring conscious attention and awareness to one’s present experience with non-judgment, acceptance, and compassion. A growing body of research demonstrates its numerous physical, emotional, and mental benefits, and mindfulness practitioners have developed countless programs and resources around the world
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