Vol. 10, No. 2 • May 2006

May 2006 Message from the NC Foster and Adoptive Parent Association President

by Stacey Darbee

Greetings! The NC Foster and Adoptive Parent Association sponsored a fabulous training institute again this past April. What a success it was! This year’s theme, “You Make The Difference,” really resonated with the foster, adoptive, and kinship parents and agency personnel attending the event.

Although the conference has ended, the lessons we learned and the memories we made have not. New friends and renewed relationships, laughter, great meals, time for self care and respite, superlative workshops: we believe the memories and knowledge you gained at the conference will sustain you when the going gets tough. We at the NCFAPA hope this conference really did make a difference in your lives, enabling you in turn to make a difference in the life of a child.

I would like to personally thank the board of directors for their tireless work: you helped make this event a success. I owe a special debt of gratitude to Jeanne Preisler of Omni Visions for her invaluable help. We also sincerely thank the North Carolina Division of Social Services for the funding it gives the Association: this gift enables us to serve foster and adoptive parents across the state.

Celebrating Two Special Members
We would like to celebrate Wanda and Tony Douglas’ contributions to the NCFAPA. When members elected Wanda as treasurer of our board we really got a “2 for 1” deal: her husband Tony has attended every board meeting and has helped the association in countless ways. The Douglases truly understand and embrace the meaning of partnership. This is evident in their marriage of 18 years, in their commitment to family, in their agency relationships, and in their commitment to the association.

We are proud to announce that Wanda and Tony Douglas will be keynote speakers at the Daniel Memorial Institute’s 13th Annual National Foster Care Conference, May 17-19, 2006 in Daytona Beach, Florida. Their address, “Say ‘Yes’ to Your Dreams,” will deliver the message that you already have what it takes to put your feet on the “yes path” and walk toward the fulfillment of your dreams. Congratulations Wanda and Tony!

May 16 Rally in Raleigh
On May 16, 2006 a coalition of groups and agencies will sponsor a Foster Care/Adoption Day at the General Assembly in Raleigh. This day has been developed to thank the legislature for its past actions in support of foster care and adoption in North Carolina, and to raise awareness in the General Assembly of the continuing needs of foster and adopted children, their parents, and our state’s child welfare system.

On May 16 we will send a clear message that permanence has many different faces and that every one of them needs to be supported by the community at large. There will be exhibits during the entire day. At 3 p.m. we will convene for a panel presentation to the General Assembly. This panel will be made up of foster parents, adoptive parents, birth parents, kinship parents, former foster children who have “aged out” of the system, and adopted children.

We hope you will join us on May 16. This is a wonderful opportunity to have an impact on the future of foster care in North Carolina! This special day will also highlight the blue ribbon campaign of National Foster Care Month <www.fostercaremonth.org>. For more information please visit <www.NCFAPA.org>.

How We Serve You
The mission of NCFAPA is to promote quality foster and adoptive services through collaborative advocacy, education, resources, reunification, and networking. We continue to partner and advocate with others in the field of child welfare. Our partners include NC Kids Adoption and Foster Care Network, the Covenant for NC Children, SaySo, the Jordan Institute for Families at the UNC-Chapel Hill School of Social Work, the Collaboration to Adopt USKids, and the National Foster Parent Association. We also have a seat on many advisory groups and stakeholder teams.

These are benefits of the association that one can’t feel or touch, but we are “out there” being the voice of foster, adoptive, and kinship parents in North Carolina.

There are over 12,000 potential members for this association. We need your support to make sure your voice is heard.

Please become a member today.

Copyright � 2006 Jordan Institute for Families