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Volume 2 Edition 3
| April 2010
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National Foster Care Month is Right Around the Corner...
...And we are incredibly busy planning for our 2nd Annual FAMilies Festival at Quassy this Saturday. It looks like we will have another fabulously warm, sunny day to mark the opening of our National Foster Care Month celebrations. Details about the event can be found later in the newsletter.
Also, check out the events calendar on our updated website to find great things to do with your families this month. Our partners at CAFAP have mailed a great guide to the month's festivities. Check your mailboxes this weekend for your copy. CAFAP will also make a PDF version available on their website in early May. You can also sign up for their annual conference by clicking on the link.
Foster and adoptive families should have received their invitations to the Mother Daughter Tea on May 16th. They were mailed out two weeks ago. RSVP early as space is limited. If you did not receive your invitation, email me so we can remedy the oversight. The students at Miss Porter's are so excited. It is sure to be an amazing event! And what a great way to celebrate Mother's Day with your daughters!
One of the other special events planned for National Foster Care Month is the "Home is Where the Heart Is" Family Music Festival. This festival, being held in Middletown (rain or shine) is also planned for May 16th. it is free and open to the general public. Bring your picnic baskets and blankets or purchase food from the vendors there, including the Cupcake Truck. This is an event sure to please family members of all ages! Click here for more information about this event.
Look for our 2nd annual special Tribute Edition of the newsletter in mid-May. Like last year we will be dedicating the entire newsletter to foster and adoptive families, in tribute to what you give to children each and every day of the year. The newsletter will be filled with stories sure to inspire you and touch your hearts! Again, if any of you would like to share your foster care or adoption story; our staff would love to work with you to bring your tale to our readers. Our contact information appears at the bottom of this newsletter and on our website.
Hope to see you this weekend at Quassy!
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 Improving School Climate
Did you know that in 2008, Gov. Rell signed a law to strengthen state and local efforts to prevent school bullying? The law, An Act Concerning School Learning Environment (P.A. 08-160), requires that every school board in CT implement a bullying prevention strategy. It also requires the Department of Education to develop model policies on bullying. And finally it mandates that bullying prevention become an in-service training topic for school personnel. Given the prominence of news reports on this topic recently, FAM thought that parents might like a quick rundown on what CT is doing to protect our children in their schools. FAM has paraphrased the CT Commission on Children's policy update from November 2008 below. (To see the complete update, please click on the link at the end of this article.) Each school board must develop and implement a prevention and intervention strategy to address bullying. The law suggests a number of approaches for achieving these goals but does not mandate any particular approach.
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Clarifies that school boards must implement the bullying policies they are required to adopt. School boards have been required since 2003 to adopt a bullying policy, though this bill significantly expands the policy requirements.
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Requires schools to investigate written reports of suspected bullying, regardless of who submits the report or whether the reporter is known or anonymous (no disciplinary action may be taken solely on the basis of an anonymous report).
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Requires schools to identify the appropriate school personnel responsible for taking a bullying report and investigating the complaint.
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Specifies that each school must invite all parents of students who commit bullying acts and all parents of bullied students to attend at least one meeting.
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Required each school board to submit its bullying policy to the State Department of Education by February 1, 2009. This should be available to anyone who asks for a copy.
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Mandated inclusion of each school board's bullying policy in the school district's publication of the rules, procedures and standards of conduct for schools and in all student handbooks by July 1, 2009.
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Requires each school annually to report the number of verified acts of bullying to the State Department of Education, within available appropriations.
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Directs the State Department of Education to take specific actions to assist schools in reducing the incidence of bullying, effective July 1, 2009 and within available appropriations, including: analyzing data on the relationship between bullying, school climates and student outcomes; documenting school district needs; collecting information on effective strategies; developing models for grades K-12; and finally the submission of a report on their findings to the General Assembly in 2010.
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Revises the definition of "bullying" in state law. Under the bill, "bullying" means "any overt acts by a student or a group of students directed against another student with the intent to ridicule, harass, humiliate or intimidate the other student while on school grounds, at a school-sponsored activity or on a school bus, which acts are committed more than once against any student during the school year." This new language replaces the prior law's phrase: "repeated against the same student over time".
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Adds bullying prevention as a required in-service training topic for teachers, administrators and pupil personnel, effective July 1, 2009. School boards that implement an evidence-based model approach to prevent bullying are exempt from this requirement.
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Requires that all persons in a teacher preparation course leading to certification be encouraged to complete a school bullying and suicide prevention component, effective July 1, 2009.
Information on Operation Respect Connecticut, a merger with the national group, Operation Respect, founded by Pete Yarrow of Peter, Paul and Mary, and supported by the Governor's Prevention Partnership is available by clicking the link below. This group works to improve CT schools' climates. http://www.preventionworksct.org/oprespect.html
To read the report, "Brave Enough to Be Kind," a report from the Governor's Prevention Partnership published in cooperation with the state Commission on Children and the state Department of Education, click here. |
 Our Teens and Alcohol Prom season is fast approaching and with it comes parental worries about teen alcohol use. Perhaps this is why April is designated Alcohol Awareness Month. Local communities often use Alcohol Awareness Month as a platform to increase teen understanding and knowledge of the real physical and emotional consequences of teenage drinking, especially since prom season can be a time of increased peer pressure to drink. The statistics on teen alcohol use are sobering. Did you know that:
- 80% of high school seniors report drinking, and two thirds of them state that they can buy alcohol on their own. In fact, first use of alcohol typically begins at age 12. In fact approximately 8% of the nation's eighth graders; 24% of tenth graders; and 32% of twelfth graders have been drunk during the last month. Nearly 20% of 12 - 20 year olds are considered binge drinkers. (AMA report-see below)
- Teen smoking is associated with increased risk of alcohol use.
- Use of alcohol and other drugs are associated with the leading causes teen injury and death, namely automobile accidents, suicide and homicide.
- Alcohol use by teens, whose brains are still maturing, can have long-term, irreversible effects. (AMA report)
The risks associated with early alcohol use are widespread and serious. This article just mentions a few. Below you will find links to websites where more detailed information is available to parents who wish to talk to their teens about this sensitive topic.
The National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence: Youth, Alcohol and Drugs fact page
http://www.ncadd.org/facts/youthalc.html
The CT Coalition to Stop Underage Drinking - a partnership with the Governor's Prevention Partnership
http://www.jointogether.org/organizations/Connecticut-Coalition-to-Stop-Underage-Drinking.html
A Parent's Guide to the Teen Brain: "Through the use of video, interactive segments, scenario-based role-playing experiences, and practical advice from experts, A Parent's Guide to the Teen Brain explores the science behind teenage brain development and how it shapes normal teenage attitude and behavior. Find tools and tips - all designed to help you connect with your teen. Gain insights into teen brain development and apply your new knowledge of normal teenage behavior to real life."
http://www.drugfree.org/TeenBrain/
Harmful Consequences of Alcohol Use on the Brains of Children, Adolescents, and College Students - an AMA report
http://www.ama-assn.org/ama1/pub/upload/mm/388/harmful_consequences.pdf
The Cool Spot: the Young Teen's Place for Information on Alcohol and Resisting Peer Pressure.
http://www.thecoolspot.gov/index.asp
Dangers of Teen Drinking: website sponsored by the Federal Trade Commission
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This month we have something different to share. One of our adoptive moms sent in a poem about her daughter. We hope it touches hearts and brings awareness to the sensitive topic of mental health issues in young children
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Waiting Children
Please click on the AdoptUSKids link to view CT's children and youth waiting to be adopted. |
| Upcoming Events | 7th Annual
Fairfield County Women's Expo
Stamford Plaza Hotel
Stamford, CT May 1 - May 2 10th Annual FAMilies Festival
Quassy Amusement Park
Middlebury, CT
May 1, 2010
Mother Daughter Tea
Miss Porter's School
Farmington, CT
May 16
Home is Where the Heart Is Family Music Festival
Wadsworth Mansion
CAFAP Annual Conference
Groton, CT
May 21-22
Healthy Living Expo and Road RaceBartlem Park
Cheshire, CT
May 23
FAMily Race Day
Lime Rock Park
Lakeville, CT
June 19
10th Annual Family Fun Day
Quassy Amusement Park Middlebury, CT
August 6
Bells Of Hope Statewide Churches and Schools
November 7 |
| Save the Date! | |
2nd Annual FAMilies Festival
At Quassy Amusement Park Join us on May 1st (raindate 5/2) as we celebrate the incredible diversity present in
foster and adoptive families through dance, music, food and fun!
A coupon for $5 off a carload for all FAM attendees was sent and is also available on our website. Click here to access it. |
Open House schedule available on our website
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Prospective foster and adoptive parents are welcome at any Open House listed on our website. Please call Deb Kelleher or email for information or to schedule an individual appointment. 203-706-0101
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Wednesday's Child 
WTNH Channel 8 airs a weekly segment featuring CT children available for adoption and families formed through adoption. Click on the logo above to see recent video segments hosted by Ted Koppy. You can also access older video segments by clicking on the RSS Feed icon (orange square with radiating lines) located on the bottom right corner of the "More Wednesday's Child" section. | |
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| Contact Information |
NW Regional Coordinator: Deb Kelleher 203.706.0101 Email
Milford/New Haven Regional Coordinator: Ashley Minihan 203.394.8506 Email
Greater Fairfield County Coordinator: Lori Boersma 203.583.9374 Email Meriden/Middletown Regional Coordinator: Susan Herget 203.583.9312 Email | |
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