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| Monthly Newsletter Volume 7, Issue 10 |
October 2013
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Greetings!
Things are humming along here at Angels. One of our primary focuses this past year has been the recruitment and training of new foster families and we are starting to see the results. We are out talking about fostering and Angels to all who will listen. We are attending family-oriented community events (Will we see you at Boo at the Zoo?). We launched our "Foster Some Love" informational sessions thanks to some of our wonderful Angels' parents and community volunteers. A grant from the Santa Barbara Foundation has allowed us to publish a weekly ad in the Santa Maria Sun. And our Angels families continue to be our best ambassadors and recruiters!
 As a result, more people are asking for information and are considering fostering through Angels. Many of these interested folks have gone on to start the certification process with us. From the September training session, an enthusiastic group of eleven people finished training and are already eagerly working on their certifications! Additionally, this year, we have instituted a post-training survey to receive immediate feedback on the training format, process and content. This information has been very helpful in evaluating and fine-tuning our training program, ensuring that our families are receiving relevant and applicable resources and tools to assist them with fostering. With all these exciting events happening, I'm very pleased to share that by year-end Angels will have trained double the number of families as we did in 2012!
HOWEVER, even with this year's increase of families training, the need for families is greater! Angels continue to receive calls about young children needing homes that we are unable to provide. So, please continue to help us to recruit committed and caring homes for children. Let's triple the number of families available for infants and toddlers in crisis in 2014!
Sincerely,
Jennifer L. Mills, MSW, LCSW
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Angels Announcements
Newly certified families: None to report this month.
New Placements: None to report this month.
Adoptions: None to report this month.
Angels Stipends: Please note that monthly checks are processed on the 15th of each month and typically take 7-10 days to arrive in the mail. If you haven't received your child's check by the 25th of the month, or have any questions about payments, please contact your social worker.
Angels in the Community
We're looking for opportunities throughout Santa Barbara County to speak about Angels Foster Care and the urgent need for foster families. If you know of a local club, group, church or synagogue that would be interested in a presentation about Angels, please contact Ellen.
Social Media
Become a Facebook friend of Angels today and receive frequent posts about our latest news.
Twitter: follow us @AngelsFosterSB
Read the Angels Blog
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 Angels Parent Education
ANNUAL HALLOWEEN PLAYDATE
Join us with your Angels child for a gathering at the park. Crafts, snacks and playground fun! Costumes encouraged!
11 a.m. Tuesday, October 29th at Tucker's Grove
REUNIFICATION SUPPORT GROUP: For current Angels foster parents
The purpose of this group is to provide a safe, welcoming, and confidential place for current foster parents to connect and support one another until long term decisions about their foster child are made, or to help them cope with decisions that already have been made.
7:00 p.m., Tuesday, November 5th at the Santa Barbara office
Please contact Stacy to RSVP or with questions: stacy@angelssb.com
ANGELS FOSTER PARENT PRE-CERTIFICATION TRAINING
If you know of anyone who may be interested in joining our next series of training classes, please have them call the Angels' office or pass their name along to us.
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Announcing...
A Holiday Art Contest for Angels Children & Siblings!
We're seeking a design for our annual Angels holiday card and want to feature an original illustration from an Angels child or sibling. We welcome your contributions!
Please have your child create a design with the holiday theme "Celebrating the holidays with my family."
- Use 8 1/2 x 11" white paper (horizontal or vertical is fine)
- Colored markers and/or paint are preferred over crayons or colored pencils
- Deadline: November 1, 2013
- Submit to: Angels Foster Care, attn: Ellen, 3905 State Street, #7-115, Santa Barbara, CA 93105.
We hope to use one of the contributed designs on our 2013 greeting card!
Questions? Please contact Ellen at 884-0012 or ellen@angelssb.com.
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Social Worker Corner: Confidentiality & Social Media Review
We know you love to take photos of your adorable Angels children, and want to share them with those close to you. With Halloween approaching, no doubt there will be a lot of fun costume photos! However, care must be taken in how these photos are shared. Here are some reminders of the guidelines to follow when posting photos and sharing information about your Angels children, in order to preserve confidentiality:
If you plan on posting any photos of your Angels child online using social media (Facebook, Instagram, blogs, etc.), your privacy settings must be set to your friends/family only. And do not use the child's photo, or a photo with the child in it, for anything viewable by the public - such as a profile photo or cover photo. Also remember not to post the child's first and last name. Be sure to stay informed on current privacy settings, and double check your account, because policies can change frequently. You also need to caution your friends and family about not posting photos on their pages. If your Angels child attends school, you also need to make the school aware that photos of the child cannot be put on the school website, Facebook, etc.
 Friends and family will often have questions about your Angels child or their case, and while this curiosity is natural and well-intended, you must be careful to respect the confidentiality of your foster child and his/her birth family. We know it can be difficult to keep so much of what you're experiencing private, but when in doubt about what to share, keep to a minimum. For example, statements about your child's case such as "After the next court hearing we may be able to start the adoption process" or "She is having visits with her birth mom, and things are going well" would be appropriate to share.
Be prepared with responses to questions about your Angels child, such as "What's their story?" You can explain the need to keep their story confidential, and/or you can say something similar to this quote from an Angels parent: "Honestly, their story is that they needed a family to love them and we said YES! That's all the 'story' I want to follow them from now on, so please understand. We have them for the next 6 months (at least). I hope in time you will all be able to meet and fall in love with them as we have!" Please feel free to discuss any questions you have about sharing with your Angels social worker.
- Betsy Nickels, Social Worker
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Angels Contacts
(805) 884-0012 Social Worker Betsy Nickels, MA, EdM (805) 884-0012
Outreach Coordinator
Newsletter Editor
Ellen Dameron ellen@angelssb.com (805) 884-0012
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