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Adoptive Parents
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Are you an adoptive parent?
Join the
CT Adoption Community Network on Facebook for news and information on trainings and adoption-related events.
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Waiting Children
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Please click on the AdoptUSKids logo to view CT's children and youth waiting to be adopted. 
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Suggested Reading
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Books on Foster Care And Adoption
Click here to download a PDF file containing an updated comprehensive list of books on foster care and adoption topics, including childrens' books.
Have we forgotten one of your favorite books? Please let us know and we will be happy to add it to the list.
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Open House Schedule
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Want to learn more about foster/adoptive parenting?
Prospective foster and adoptive parents are welcome at any Open House listed on our website. Please call one of the regional coordinators listed at the bottom of this newsletter or
for more information or to schedule an individual appointment.
Click here for the most current listing of open houses across the state.
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Good News Garage
Car Donations Making a Difference
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Do you know a youth in need of a vehicle OR do you have a vehicle to donate?
Good News Garage(GNG), a program of Lutheran Social Services is one of the first nonprofit social enterprise car donation programs in the U.S. The mission of Good News Garage is to create economic opportunity by providing affordable and reliable transportation options for people in need, including foster youth.
Since its founding in Burlington, Vermont, in 1996, GNG has awarded more than 3,800 reliable vehicles to in
dividuals and families in need.
Good News Garage repairs as many donated cars as possible in order to provide them to low-income individuals who need transportation to gain access to employment, shopping, school and medical facilities.
You may donate your car online or call Good News Garage toll-free, at 877.GIVE.AUTO (448.3288). All vehicle donations are eligible for a tax deduction.
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Greetings!
The winter months are upon us. And boy is it cold! It's a new year and our newsletter has a new look! We hope you like it. Let us know what you think!
Foster, kinship and adoptive families are the backbone of the child welfare system. You are the ones who get up in the middle of the night with sick kids; listen to kids tell their stories; hug a child who is sad or afraid; help with homework; attend sports and dance classes; and take part daily in children's healing. We would just like to take a moment to thank you for all that you do.
If any family is interested in sharing their story so that others can learn more about the powerful way fostering and adopting impacts lives - your lives and the lives of the kids you parent - please contact me. It would be a privilege to work with you to tell your story. Thank you for your continued support,
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News and Items of Interest
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Click on the calendar at right to see FAM events.
Check out all the great information we've been posting on Facebook recently!
- For an easy to understand explanation of when you can and cannot claim a foster child on your tax return, click here. You are urged to consult a qualified tax professional to discuss your particular situation.
- Obtaining Background Information on your Prospective Adopted Child: This informative Factsheet provides guidance and summarizes the importance of obtaining as much thorough and accurate medical, genetic, and social history information as possible about prospective adopted children.
- Instability and Early Life Changes Among Children in the Child Welfare System: Are you raising a child who entered the foster care system during infancy? Did your child experience trauma during his or her early life? This study looks at the effects of high levels of stress and trauma on the development of infants and young children.
- PACT: a great resource for families who have adopted transracially.
- Good news for DCF: CT Mirror article on out-of-state placements.
- 7 Ways to Give Your Child a History: When a child is adopted from foster care at an older age, he needs to understand his story up to placement and the significance of his joining a new family forever. This article provides hands-on activities you can use to start this conversation.
- The IRS has released the instructions for 2012 Form 8839. Form 8839 is necessary to file for the adoption tax credit, and the instructions contain a worksheet for taxpayers to calculate how much of the credit they will get with their 2012 taxes (with the rest of the credit carrying forward to future years).
Click here for the form.
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Star of the Month
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Each month one of our member agencies feature a "star" whose service to children in foster care deserves special recognition.
Lucy and Richard Valentino are very special foster parents who transferred from Casey Family Services to Community Residences, Inc. in 2012. The Valentinos make everyone feel welcomed from the moment you step into their home and notice the smell of homemade pasta and fresh baked cookies lingering in the air. Mr. Valentino is the owner and operator of Valentino's Fuel and Service and Mrs. Valentino assists managing the family's business. They are a family with four grown children who have been making a difference in the lives of Connecticut's foster children for more than fifteen years. The Valentinos hit the ground running when they transferred to CRI. They now have a teenage foster daughter living with them, and the match has been a great one.The Valentinos give their all to being foster parents, and they appreciate all of the support that is offered to them through CRI. The Valentinos are dedicated, loving and empathetic...they are able to understand where their foster daughter is coming from and what she has been through, and help her to move forward in her life. The Valentinos show their dedication to making the placement work with devotion to in-home services, outpatient therapy, extra-curricular activities and the encouragement of a connection with siblings. The Valentinos recognize the needs that their foster daughter has and are more than willing to work with her and accommodate her every need. The Valentinos have been through their ups and downs throughout their years as foster parents, but through it all they have always maintained a special connection with their foster children. The Valentinos are an extraordinary family and we are excited to welcome them to our team. Elizabeth Noonan, MFT Therapeutic Foster Care Supervisor
Community Residences, Inc. |
Making a Connection Mentoring Program
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Waterbury Youth Services needs mentors
Making-A-Connection Mentoring focuses on supporting youth, ages 10-16, who are currently involved in the court system. They come to us through probation or court supported services in the Danbury, Torrington, and Waterbury area. The program is voluntary for the youth and it will provide a positive role model in their life. The program staff supports mentors by providing gift cards, gas cards, and tickets to events such as the movies, museums, and local attractions, and most importantly provide
 s support and training to our mentors.
Our youth are looking for someone who has a sincere interest in them. An ideal mentor is respectful, an active listener, flexible, and non-judgmental. In order to achieve a successful relationship, the program requires a commitment of 6 hours per month for one year.
This is a great opportunity to foster the developmental assets in our most vulnerable youth. If you know of any adult over 21 interested in serving as a mentor, to help build self esteem, and to engage youth in their school and community, please contact Dexter Rodriguez, Mentor Coordinator at 203-573-0264 x308.
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Final Words...
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And for those of you who already have -
thank you!
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