The NFPA conference was held on June 24-27, 2011 in Mobile, Alabama offering great trainings, a powerful speaker (Derek Clark) and the opportunity to meet foster parents from around the country. The 2012 NFPA conference will be held June 14-17 in Chicago, Illinois at the Oakbrook Hills Marriott.

NFPA has been going through the process of re-organization and is currently working on a Strategic Plan. Some of the successes over the last year are as follows: Board and Committees are meeting regularly, Finances are secure, known and understood, Membership records are updated, NFPA has transferred from an employee to a management contract, NFPA has strong leadership and NFPA is Alive and improving. The NFPA bylaws were presented voted on and were passed. NFPA continues to offer Walk Me Home fundraisers with a few changes to improve the program. One of the changes is the percentage of profit from the fundraiser has change to 80% for the non-profit and 20% for NFPA.

Wanda Douglas was appointed the new RVP for Region 4 that includes Florida. There were multiple other appointments to the NFPA board. I am proud to announce that our very own LaShaun Wallace is the Member Services Chair. I was honored to be asked and accepted the position as Region 4 Advisor and Resource Development Chair for the NFPA board. For a complete list of  NFPA board members visit the website at NFPAonline.org. The NFPA website has been updated and provides great information. NFPA conducted secure online voting for the first time this year and it was successful. 

NFPA now offers two programs to help support the National Foster Parent Association; Friends of NFPA and the NFPA Online Store. Visit the Online store at www.willenterprises.com and hit the shop tab and then the NFPA logo to purchase NFPA merchandise and support NFPA. 

As the president of Florida (FSFAPA), I attended 2 days of meetings with the State Affiliates/State Presidents from around the country gaining and sharing information to help improve the foster care system in each state and nationwide. I hope to use the information gathered to help create new programs and improve FSFAPA to better support foster/adoptive families in Florida.

Sincerely,

Kimberly Hernandez, President/FSFAPA