Vol. 8, No. 2• May 2004
Letter from the President of the NC Foster Parents Association
by Sheryl Ewing
Thank you being a foster parent. You may never know how you are changing—or saving—a child’s life, but have faith and trust that you are. I appreciate you and the NC Foster Parents Association Board of Directors appreciates you.
We have just had our annual Board of Director’s Retreat and you will meet our new Board members in this issue of Fostering Perspectives. Every time we add new members we get excited about all the possibilities and things we are going to do for North Carolina’s foster, adoptive, and kinship parents!
Our Goals for 2004
Conferences. Our goal is to provide affordable, accessible training opportunities to as many of North Carolina’s foster and adoptive parents as possible. Therefore we will offer a conference on April 24 and 25 in Research Triangle Park. Starting this year, our annual two-day conference will always be the last weekend of April so we can give you information to take back to your community to celebrate May as National Foster Care Month.Our grant from the NC Division of Social Services helps support these conferences so we can provide wonderful training at a low cost.
Advocacy. Last year we helped get foster care board rates increased, proving that NCFPA advocacy efforts have a real and positive effect on the lives of foster parents. This year we will continue our efforts, in part through our membership in the Covenant with North Carolina’s Children <www.ncchild.org/covhome.htm>.
If you are interested in joining our Advocacy Committee, contact me (e: [email protected]; t: 910/792-6133) and I will let you know when they meet. Any member of the NCFPA may serve on this committee. We still need a Foster Parents Bill of Rights for North Carolina!
An important part of advocacy is participating in statewide activities. That’s why the NCFPA has members involved with the following:
- SaySo (Strong Able Youth Speaking Out). We have a member helping with “Giving a Child a Smile,” SaySo’s project for Make a Difference Day
- The NC Division of Social Services Child and Family Services Plan
- The MRS (Multiple Response System) Advisory Council
- The Early Intervention/Child Protective Services Collaboration Committee
- The Covenant with North Carolina’s Children
- The NC LINKS Advisory Council
One of our Board members also assists her local DSS with MAPP training as a trainer. We also have Board members trained as Shared Parenting trainers. And we have Board members who are leading and starting new local foster parent associations and adoption support groups.
Membership. The larger our organization is, the easier it will be to make North Carolina the best place to foster and adopt. Therefore, in 2004 we are going to look at new ways to increase our membership. The NCFPA wants to be an advocate for foster and adoptive parents with a LOUD voice. If you are not already a member, please join us.
New Board
We have a new slate of officers:
- Sheryl Ewing, President
- Donna Greene, Secretary
- Matt Davies, Treasurer
- Gerri Fox, Region 1 Vice President
- Kay Gillis, Region 2 Vice President
- Region 3 and 4 Vice Presidents: vacant
Donna Greene has been nominated and is running for Vice President of the National Foster Parent Association for Region 4. We are very excited to have someone from North Carolina on the National Foster Parent Association Board.
Additionally, we are successfully collaborating with NC Kids and the Family Support Network of North Carolina. We have been writing letters of support for possible grants where we would assist with increased support services for foster and adoptive families.We appreciate hearing from you. We want to know: How can the NCFPA serve you better? What are your top three wishes as a foster or adoptive parent? What are your top three needs? E-mail your thoughts to [email protected].
Thank you again for all you do to help North Carolina’s families and children.
Copyright � 2004 Jordan Institute for Families
