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.

 Click on the calendar at right to see FAM events. 

Check out all the great information we've been posting on Facebook recently!

•  It's time for Tuesday Trainings for foster, adoptive and relative caregivers. Today's topic: The 5 Love Languages. Read the main article as well as each of the five "Showing love with..." article links.
  Once a week we post a training that many agencies will approve for post-licensing credit. Check our "Notes" section for more information and to download a copy of the Resource Parent Training Credit Form. Once you have completed the training you will need to fill this form out in order to receive credit.  Click here for Five Love Languages article link.
• Lesson: Cuddle your kids! Your affection towards the children you parent can lessen the impact of child abuse and neglect.  Child Abuse, Lack of Parental Warmth Linked to Health Risks in Adulthood
•  Good reminder to share with family and friends... How Much Did YOUR Kid Cost?
•  What a brave young man... An Orphan Goes to Church and Asks Someone, Anyone to Adopt Him
• Want to know what the "Davion Effect" is? Check out the video below. (This is an update on a prior post.)
  There are so, so many Davions out there. 15 Year Old Davion Only and His Adoption Plea  
• Why are youth in foster care more vulnerable to sex-trafficking?
  "...youth in foster care are subject to an ever changing environment.... this has many consequences for youth, like the normalization of a stranger's controlling your life decisions, and a lack of opportunity to gain meaningful relationships and attachments." Foster Care and Sex-Trafficking Survivor Testifies on Hill  

  

Each month one of our member agencies feature a "star" whose service to children in foster care deserves special recognition.

 
Stars receive a small gift from FAM and a certificate of appreciation from the nominating agency.  This month, we share a family from our partner, the Department of Children and Families, Torrington office. 

Dear Brad and Yvonne Ober,

We would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge your commitment to the young man you are currently fostering. You have been fantastic and gone above the call of duty by making this young man a part of your family despite his difficulties. You have continually shown that he is part of your family and that you will 'do what it takes' to provide him with the loving home he deserves. As you know, he has his challenges and you have met these challenges with ongoing support and love which has allowed him to thrive. We are pleased to announce you as Star of the Month thru FAM, Foster Adoptive Mission. We celebrate you for caring for an Autistic young man with no prior experience with children with autism.  This young man is thriving in your home as you have shown him nothing but love, acceptance and support. I am amazed when I visit, as I am there an hour and despite his behaviors you all are completely relaxed. 

Congratulations!!!

Candice Intino

Department of Children and Families
Torrington Area Office 

Can you imagine...
Choosing to be "homeless" so that you can continue to attend your high school? And having the maturity and foresight to make that decision at age 15?  

Can you imagine...
Moving into your first dorm room accompanied by relative strangers who took you in and took you shopping a night before you left for college so you wouldn't be escorted to your first day at college by DCF staff?   

Can you imagine...
Couch-surfing all summer after your freshman year at college because your only other choice is to go to a homeless shelter?

Can you imagine...
The only constant in your life being a pink lamp that you cherished and made sure to bring with you on every move despite the many other possessions you lost along the way?
 
Can you imagine...
Having no family to go home to on vacations, holidays and summers home from college?

Can you imagine...
Needing to possess the maturity at age 18 to realize that a DCF-subsidized education is your way out and you need to take advantage of this opportunity because "do-overs" and lazy semesters where you can fail because your parents are there to help you pick up the pieces and move on are just not an option?
 
Can you imagine...
Keeping the secret shame of foster care from your college roommates?

Can you imagine...
The loneliness of living like this?
Can you imagine?

 PDF - The Costs of Aging Out Of Foster Care In America