A publication dedicated to making foster care and adoption in North Carolina the best they can be
Child welfare professionals have long known that resource parents can be powerful allies when it comes to finding new foster parents. Indeed, when they are creatively involved in an agency’s efforts, current foster parents and kin caregivers may be the single best recruitment tool there is. Given present trends in foster care, the time has come for us to truly
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by Jonathan Rockoff • I recently had a chance to speak with foster parent Sollenski “Sky” Webb. Sky is licensed through Methodist Home for Children, a private foster care agency serving youth throughout the Central and Eastern part of North Carolina. Sky was born and raised in Snow Hill (pop. 1,595) in Greene County, North Carolina, where she has been
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Every child-placing agency in North Carolina genuinely wants to support foster parents. Why wouldn’t they? After all, it takes a lot of time, money, and effort to find, orient, train, and license potential caregivers for children and youth in foster care. But providing the ongoing training, appreciation events, and networking opportunities needed to support and sustain resource parents can be
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by Jonathan Rockoff • For years I had the honor of working alongside some of the most selfless people I have ever met, individuals who opened their homes and hearts to children with a multitude of needs. These unheralded heroes I refer to are the foster parents of North Carolina. They are without doubt one of the most precious resources
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May 2018 (Vol. 22, No. 2)
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by Bob DeMarco • When children have experienced trauma, we sometimes need to parent them differently. This can make all the difference for our kids, but it can also lead us to isolate ourselves from those who can support us. Left unchecked, this can lead to ineffective parenting and a generally unhappy home. Really, social interaction is a lifeline for
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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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If they feel they are not getting the support they need from their agency or they are unhappy for another reason, foster parents sometimes consider switching agencies. They wonder: could things be better elsewhere? It’s possible, of course. But transferring agencies can be messy and bumpy for everyone involved, including the children. Before you take such a drastic step, here
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by Becky Burmester • As a veteran foster parent (two decades and counting), I am familiar with licensed foster parents whose homes have remained empty. These foster parents frequently contact their social workers seeking placements, yet no children are placed in their homes. They ask themselves: Why is this happening? There is supposed to be such a need for foster
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by Rick Zechman • Report cards. Visits. Court. Shared parenting. Medical and therapy appointments. Children’s achievements. The list goes on. Resource parents and their agencies have a lot to talk about! Unfortunately, “immediate,” urgent topics tend to crowd out time for discussing important, longer-term things such as resource parents’ satisfaction with their role, their relationship with the agency, how they’ve
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