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DONATE Today!
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Donations are used to support Colorado's adoptive families. |
Classroom Training
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I'm Aging & Still Taking Care of Others Tuesday November 5, 2013 7:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. First United Methodist Church Rooms 133 & 134 420 N. Nevada 80903 Colorado Springs, CO For more info call 719.473.8477 or email [email protected] Problematic Sexualized Behaviors in Children: Effective Interventions Tuesday November 5, 2013 9:00 a.m. - noon Mile High United Way Founder's Room 2505 18th St. Denver, CO 80211 Click here for more info.. Evidence-Based Treatment for Explosive Aggression Disorder in Children & Adolescents Training for Professionals Wednesday OR Thursday Nov 6 OR 7, 2013 8:00 a.m. - noon ARC of Arapahoe/Douglas 6538 S Racine Circle Centennial, CO 80111 Click here for more info. Somewhere Between Movie & Panelist Discussion Saturday November 9, 2013 11:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. Email [email protected] for more info or to register. Beat the Holiday Blues Thursday November 14, 2013 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Red and Jerry's Event Center 1840 Oxford St Sheridan, CO Click here for more info. When Is My Skin Going to Turn Your Color? Saturday November 16, 2013 9:00 a.m. - noon CCAI 6920 S Holly Circle Centennial, CO 80112 Click here for more info. Understanding Attachment & Creating a Nurturing Environment Monday November 18, 2013 6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. First Evangelical Lutheran Church 803 3rd Ave, Longmont, CO Click here for more info. FREE National Adoption Day Event: Adoption Through the Eyes of a Child Thursday November 21, 2013 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Discovery Church 2605 W 144th Ave Broomfield, CO 8:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Click here to register.
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Webcasts
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These webinars have been recorded and are available 24X7
Supporting Youth in Transition: The Importance of Case Worker Visits
Click here to for more info.
Adoption Tax Credit: A Guide for State Advocates
Click here for more info.
Child Welfare and the Affordable Care Act
Click here for more info.
Successful Stepfamily Living
Click here for more info.
Improving the Economic Security of Children in Foster Care & Young People Who Are Transitioning out of Care
Privatization of Child Welfare Services: A Guide for State Advocates
Click here to download.
Collaborating with Kinship Caregivers Curriculum and TA
Click here to download.
Finding What Works: Helping Young Adults Transition into Adulthood
Click here to download.
The Uninterrupted Scholars Act: How Do Recent Changes to FERPA Help Child Welfare Agencies Get Access to School Records?
Improving the Economic Security of Children in Foster Care and Young People Who Are Transitioning from Foster Care
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Webinars
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The Uninterrupted Scholars Act: Promising Information-Sharing Practices
Thursday
November 14, 2013
11:00 a.m. - noon
Click here for more info.
"I'll Tell Them When They're Older..." Talking to Children about Their History
Tuesday
November 19, 2013
6:00 p.m.
Click here for more info.
W.I.S.E UP!sm For Parents: Empowering Children to Handle Questions about Adoption
Thursday
November 21, 2013
11:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
Or
Monday
November 25, 2013
4:00 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.
Or
Tuesday
November 26, 2013
7:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.
Click here for more info.
Parenting the Hurt Child
Tuesday
December 10, 2013
6:00 p.m.
Click here for more info.
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FREE AFP Online Classes
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These classes are available free to families who have adopted internationally or privately. To get your online training code and instructions for accessing your free training class, contact Michelle Betsch at [email protected] or
303-829-4296.
Conspicuous Families
Discipline and the Adopted Child: Ain't Misbehavin'
Finding the Missing Pieces
The Journey Of Attachment Tough Starts: Brain Development Matters |
Conferences |
National Empowerment Center
Alternatives 2013
Wednesday - Saturday
December 4-7, 2013
Austin, TX
Click here for more info.
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Ametz Adoption Program/JCCA for Adoption Professionals |
Click here for more information on any of these online courses.
Understanding And Meeting The Needs Of Jewish Adoptive Families
Thursday
November 21, 2013
11:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Drug And Alcohol Exposure: Children Form The Us And Abroad
Thursday
January 16, 2014
10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Ethical Challenges In Adoption Practice
Thursday
February 13, 2014
11:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Untangling The Web: The Internet's Transformative Impact On Domestic And International Adoption
Wednesday
April 30, 2014
10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
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Sensory Friendly Films
AMC Theatres (AMC) and the Autism Society have teamed up to bring families affected by autism and other disabilities a special opportunity to enjoy their favorite films in a safe and accepting environment on a monthly basis with the "Sensory Friendly Films" program. November 9, 2013 10:00 a.m. Free Birds December 7, 2013 10:00 a.m. Frozen 2-D Click here for more info.
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Events
Somewhere Between Movie & Discussion
Saturday
November 9, 2013
11:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.
TAFicity, Inc is offering a Panel Discussion Event featuring the film, "Somewhere Between." Watch the film, then join in a panel-lead discussion of the themes and other topics related to the film (international adoption, transracial adoption, searching for birth-family, etc.). Each of the panelists offers a significant perspective to the discussion - as adult adoptees, siblings to transracial adoptees, adoptive parents, biological parents, and adoption professionals. Light refreshments will be provided after viewing the film.
Contact Patti by email at [email protected] for more information or to register.
26th Annual Fantasy Ball: No Place Like Home
Benefiting The Adoption Exchange
Saturday
November 23, 2013 6:00 p.m.
Donald R. Seawell Grand Ballroom
Denver Performing Arts Complex Speer & Arapahoe, Denver, CO 80204
The evening includes cocktails, silent auction, live auction, dinner, and dancing.
Click here for more information.
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November is National Adoption Month. If you have time, consider the National Adoption Day event co-sponsored by COCAF: Adoption Through the Eyes of Children. See the article below for more information.
November is also the start of the holiday season and all the craziness that brings into our lives. Remember to schedule downtime for everyone, and try not to sweat the small stuff. Stress is not good for anyone!
COCAF wishes a fun and harmonious Thanksgiving to all!
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A FREE National Adoption Day Event:
Adoption Through the Eyes of a Child
Join us for a free adoption-focused Resource Fair and training by Debbie Riley from Center for Adoption Support and Education (C.A.S.E.), national adoption expert and author of Beneath the Mask,
about "what adopted children comprehend, think, and feel about adoption as they develop from the pre-school years through adolescence."
The event is Thursday, November 21, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., at Discovery Church, 2605 West 144th Avenue, Broomfield. Attend the full-day training, or choose between a morning session focusing on younger children and an afternoon session focusing on older children.
This event is brought to you by Boulder County Department of Housing and Human Services, Broomfield City and County Department of Human Services, the Colorado Post-Adoption Resource Center (COPARC), and COCAF.
Click here to register.
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COCAF Update In September, Deborah Cave, COCAF Executive Director, successfully represented an adoptive family in a fair hearing regarding a fair and appropriate adoption assistance payment rate (subsidy) for their adopted children. In the decision delivered in October, the Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) stated: "...the County Department erred by basing the subsidy only upon the children's special needs, and not considering the ordinary needs associated with caring for and raising the children." Deborah also requested the State's assistance in reviewing one county's written subsidy policy for what COCAF felt were inconsistencies with State and federal regulations. The State will work with the county to correct these inconsistencies. COCAF is also working on database that will show the average monthly subsidy payments by county. When completed, COCAF will upload the information to our website, www.cocaf.org. |
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Custody Relinquishment Policies to Access Mental Health Services From Voice for Adoption (VFA)
In a recent letter to the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance, Voice for Adoption (VFA) identified custody relinquishment policies to access mental health services as an issue, especially for adoptive children. Colorado was identified as one of the worst states in this respect. Here is an excerpt from their letter: "Families do not want to lose custody of their children and should not have to for the sole purpose of accessing intensive mental health services for their children. A report from the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law found this to be an issue all over the country, noting: 'Affiliates of the Federation of Families and child advocates across the country identify custody relinquishment as a problem in at least half the states. They report the most frequent incidence in Colorado, Indiana, Iowa, Nebraska, Tennessee and West Virginia.'" Click here to read the entire letter. |
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Social Media and Your Kids Concerned about your child in our new social media world? Between smart phones, tablets, and computers in every environment, our children have ample opportunities to get into lots of trouble in the virtual world. ConnectSafely offers advice and tools for making good decisions on how to protect your children. Click here to go to ConnectSafely. |
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Parenting a Child Who Has Been Sexually Abused From the National Resource Center for Permanency and Family Connections (NRCPFC)
Parenting a Child Who Has Been Sexually Abused: A Guide for Foster and Adoptive Parents, a Child Welfare Information Gateway factsheet, discusses how foster and adoptive parents can help children and adolescents who have experienced sexual abuse. It provides basic information about sexual abuse and links to other information so that parents can education themselves about the topic. The factsheet suggests ways to establish guidelines for safety and privacy in the family, and it offers suggestions about when to seek professional help and where to find such help. Click here to go to the factsheet.
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Permanency Pact
Youth transitioning from foster care are often unsure about who they can count on for ongoing support. Many of their significant relationships with adults have been based on professional connections which will terminate once the transition from care is completed. It is critical to the youth's success to identify those adults who will continue to provide various supports through and beyond the transition from care. Clarifying exactly what the various supports will include can help to avoid gaps in the youth's safety net and misunderstandings between the youth and the supportive adult. To help create a permanent connection, the Foster Club has created a free tool, the Permanency Pact. Click here to learn more. |
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Impact of Adoption on Adopted Persons From the Child Welfare Information Gateway
Impact of Adoption on Adopted Persons factsheet, from the Child Welfare Information Gateway, for families discusses the impact of adoption on adopted persons who have reached adulthood. There are several themes that emerge from personal accounts and data from academic studies about issues that adopted persons may face. This factsheet addresses these themes, which include loss, the development of identity and self-esteem, interest in genetic information, and managing adoption issues. Click here to go to the factsheet. |
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Federal News From The Voice for Adoption (VFA)
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Colorado Adoption Fact Sheet From the North American Council on Adoptable Children (NACAC)
NACAC has published the 2011 Colorado adoption fact sheet. This resource provides data on the number of waiting children, length of time children spend in foster care, and Title IV-E payments (adoption assistance payments/subsidies). Click here to go to the report. |
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Autism Society Needs Your Help
The Autism Society of Colorado (ASC) needs your help collecting information.
On August 1, 2013, the Colorado Department of Human Services implemented new rules for the determination of a developmental disability. These new rules allow for a developmental disability to be based on EITHER an intellectual impairment (IQ scores) OR an adaptive behavior limitation. This is a great change for individuals with autism because eligibility is no longer limited to individuals with an intellectual disability (IQ of 70 or lower), but will now include people who may have a substantial adaptive behavior limitation. These adaptive behavior limitations may be in skills such as eating, dressing, bathing, grooming, behaving safely in the home and community, following rules, managing money, making friends, etc.
Qualifying for DD services opens up new resources and revenues to access needed services in Colorado. You can apply, or reapply if you were previously denied, through a Community Centered Board (CCB) to have a determination of whether your son or daughter may be eligible for services. The determination is based on the results of State required evaluations. In some situations, these evaluations may be available to a family from testing done through a school district. If the evaluations are not available, then a family may be required to cover the cost of these evaluations on its own. These evaluations do not include receiving a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder. They only include either an intellectual evaluation OR an adaptive behavior evaluation.
The Autism Society of Colorado wants to know if you were required to pay for any evaluations in order to determine if your son or daughter was eligible to receive State or Medicaid funded services. ASC has taken the position that it should not cost families to apply for publicly funded services. They need your help to ensure that families do not have to pay money in order access public programs.
ASC appreciates your help and promises to keep the information you provide confidential. They will not use your name or information without first contacting you and getting your permission.
If you have been required to pay for any evaluations in order to access services, even if the final outcome was a denial of services, please send your information to John Miles at [email protected].
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Eastern European Adoptee Survey
Louisiana State University is asking for your help in a study that aims to investigate cultural self-identification of children adopted from Eastern Europe. The study has been approved by the IRB (#3393). Click here to go to the survey. |
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Transportation Needs Survey CDOT is conducting a statewide survey of the transportation needs of elderly and disabled individuals for the development of the CDOT's first Statewide Transit Plan. To complete the survey, click here. |
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Online Trauma & Attachment Training
Looking for trauma and attachment training that fits your busy schedule? ATN Learning Center offers online training for families of traumatized children and those with attachment issues. Click here for more information.
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Foster Kids and Education
The Invisible Achievement Gap is a report from The Center for Teaching and Learning at West Ed that illustrates the affect of foster care on students' educational success and breaks new ground on this important issue. The report links official state-level student education and child welfare data, creating California's first-ever education snapshot of all students in foster care in grades K-12. The report highlights data from the 2009-2010 academic year and reveals a stark achievement gap by comparing students in foster care to the state's K-12 population as a whole, as well as to other subgroups. Two key findings include: (1) High school students in foster care had the highest dropout rate and lowest graduation rate. (2) Students from foster care performed lowest on standardized tests in almost every area and were more likely to change schools during the school year. Click here to go to the report. |
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Adoption Tax Credit Updates
Curious about the status of the Adoption Tax Credit legislation? Click here to see the most current information.
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Support Groups
Sometimes our children provide us with challenges that we're just not quite ready to handle. And sometimes support groups can help us find the answers we need, or at least make us feel okay about the unique challenges we're facing. Here are some support groups that might be helpful.
LGBTQ Families
This support group is on hold until new facilitators can be identified. The Boulder area LGBT adoptive parenting group is seeking at least two volunteer facilitators/co-leaders for their group. If you are interested in helping out, contact Jen Spolnik at 303-499-5777.
Welcome Child Adoption/Foster Care Support Group Second Sunday of the month (November 10, December 15, January 12, February 9, March 9, April 13, May 11, and June 8) 6:00 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. Timberline Church, Room 214 2908 S. Timberline Road Fort Collins, CO 80525 For more information contact Michele Sanner by email at mlsanner@gmail.com or by phone at (970) 481-5749. Click here to register for childcare.
Xpress Yourself Art & Play Therapy Support groups for internationally adopted children & adolescents CCAI 6920 S. Holly Circle Centennial, CO 80112 Call 303-850-9998, ext 22
Called to Adopt Support Group 4th Saturday of the month, 6:00 p.m., Christ Community Church, Greeley, CO Click here for more info.
The Men's Group for Adoptive Dads
Thursdays, 6:00 a.m. - 7:00 a.m.
Christ Community Church (south door)
1301 15th St, Greeley, CO 80631
For more information, contact Tim Paxton at 970-691-5737 or by email at [email protected].
Sensory Processing Disorder Parent Support Group Facilitators: Sarah Ahn and Jenny Burnsed, LPC Last Monday of every month 6:00-8:00 p.m. Bixby School, 3750 Table Mesa Drive, Boulder There is no fee associated with this group, though donations are gratefully accepted. Please contact Sarah at [email protected] for questions. Therapeutic Post-Adoption Support Group 2nd Thursday of the month, 5:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. Windsor Timberline Church 360 E Crossroads Blvd, Windsor, CO Click here for more information. Aurora Mental Health Adoption Support Group 2nd & 4th Mondays of the month Aurora Mental Health 11059 E Bethany Drive, Aurora, CO 80014 Click here for more information. The Be The Change Challenge (For parents of challenging children) 2nd Tuesday of each month, 9:30 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. ACL Boulder, 5744 North 71st Street, Longmont, Colorado 80503 Call 630-841-0458 Click here for more info.
EMPOWER Colorado Adams County Rainbow Center
3rd Thursday of each month, 6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. 2140 E 88th Ave, Thornton, CO 80229 Contact: KimNichelle Rivera 303-226-5536 EMPOWER Littleton/Aurora/Englewood 1st & 3rd Thursday, 6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. Arapahoe/Douglas Mental Health Network 155 Inverness Drive West, Englewood, CO 80112 Contact Carol Villa at 303-790-1055 for more information or email [email protected]
NAMI Connections Recovery Support Group for Adults
Wednesdays, 7:00 p.m. 8:30 p.m. ADMHN Building, 3rd floor 5500 S. Sycamore St, Littleton, CO 80120 Contact: Carol 303-790-1055 NAMI Family Support Group Teleconference 2nd & 4th Tuesdays of each month Contact: [email protected]
Louisville Parent Support Group Second Tuesday of the month 7:00 - 8:30 Art Underground 901 Front Street, Louisville, CO 80027 $25 per session; reservations required. Call 720-352-1743 or mail your payment to Parent Support Group, 608 Main St, Louisville, CO 80027 |
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COCAF strives to provide Colorado's adoptive families with the information and resources they need to keep their families healthy and happy. If you have ideas for topics you think we should cover, please let us know. And if you find a good resource -- definitely let us know. Please forward your ideas or information to me at [email protected]. Materials received by the 20th of a month will be considered for inclusion in the next month's newsletter.
Wishing all families peace, serenity, and a good sense of humor,
Colleen Tarket, COCAF Board Member (and newsletter put-ter-together-er)
COCAF does not recommend or endorse any specific book, website, survey, study, or provider of services. The purpose of the COCAF e-newsletter is to provide families with potential resources. All information contained in this newsletter is for general informational purposes only and as is without warranty expressed or implied, and shall not constitute legal, medical, psychiatric, educational, or parenting advice. COCAF is not be liable for any damages arising from using the information in this newsletter, including direct, indirect, incidental, punitive, and/or consequential damages.
No information on this site should be considered legal advice. Laws vary by state, so you are urged to research the specific laws, and your rights, within your state. If you have specific questions regarding your rights, or the laws in your state, please contact an attorney. |
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Use this area to provide your subscribers information about your organization.
We believe that all children have the right to a permanent loving family. We are dedicated to improving services for every pre- and post-adoptive family and to increasing the knowledge and accountability of public systems. We are committed to advocacy in state and local service planning and delivery, in support of all pre and post adoptive families.
Sincerely,
Deborah Cave, Executive Director
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