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Foster
Care & Adoption News: |
Six-Hour
Training Opportunities for Parents
IFAPA is offering 10 trainings in August and
September around the state. There may be limited
training opportunities available during the months of
October through December. If your license needs to be
renewed before the end of the year, it is recommended that
you complete your training prior to the end of September.
View Training Schedule
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IFAPA
Appreciation Day at Adventureland Park
The Iowa Foster and Adoptive Parents
Association is offering foster and adoptive families a day
of fun at Adventureland! The park will be open 10am to 8pm
on Saturday, September 6th. IFAPA will be mailing out the
ticket order forms to families at the end of July. If
you want to order your tickets ASAP and want to get more
information about this event,
click here.
Adventureland has also added a new attraction
called Kokomo Kove. It features seven waterslides and other
water features. Swimsuits are required, towels are not
provided. A changing area is available. This attraction is
included in your admission ticket price. For more
information about this new attraction visit
www.adventurelandpark.com.
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DHS Wants to Hear From You
The Department of Human Services is interested in your
feedback on the following two issues:
Issue #1 - What restrictions, if any, do
you think there should be on foster parents smoking while
caring for foster children?
Issue #2 - The Child Death Review Team
has asked the last two years that the Department require
foster parents to be certified in CPR and First Aid and
maintain the certification. Do you think foster parents
should be required to be certified in CPR and First Aid?
Why or why not?
Please e-mail your feedback to Crystal
Thomason at
cthomason@ifapa.org.
Please put "feedback for DHS" in the subject line of your
e-mail and specify in your e-mail whether you are a foster
parent, adoptive parent, social worker, etc. All responses
will be given to the Department of Human Services and will
be kept confidential. Please send all responses by Friday,
August 22, 2008.
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NEW
BOOKLETS FOR FAMILIES!!
Transracial Parenting in
Foster Care and Adoption: Strengthening Your Bicultural
Family
This guidebook was created
to help parents and children in transracial homes learn how
to thrive in and celebrate their bicultural family; and for
children to gain a strong sense of racial identity and
cultural connections.
View Booklet
Completing
the Circle: Uncovering, Discovering & Creating Connections
for Your Foster & Adoptive Children
This guidebook was created to help foster
& adoptive parents identify, locate, and engage as many
caring individuals as possible - biological and other -- to
support the child in your care over his or her lifetime.
View Booklet
To request a copy of either booklet,
e-mail Crystal Thomason at
cthomason@ifapa.org.
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RUSTY JOHNSON'S
American Dreams Concert
Saturday,
September 20, 2008 - 7:00pm
Hoyt
Sherman Place, 1501 Woodland Ave, Des Moines
Join Rusty and his band at
Hoyt Sherman Place on Saturday, September 20th for an
unforgettable night of jazz and pop music. Special
guest artists will include the legendary Dallas-based
pianist, Buddy Shanahan, and International touring vocalist
and NBC’s “Friday Night Lights” actress Liz Mikel.
When not touring or
performing, Rusty takes to another of his passions, child
welfare advocacy. Raised in the Iowa foster care system,
Rusty uses his personal experience to connect with youth,
foster parents, communities, and legislators.
Concert proceeds will
benefit the Iowa Friends of Foster Children Foundation. For
seventeen years, the Friends Foundation has helped Iowa’s
foster children attend summer camps, take music lessons,
join a sports team and pay for items such as senior
pictures, graduation cap & gown and prom attire. The Iowa
Friends of Foster Children Foundation provides foster
children with the funds they need for those special “extras”
in life which they otherwise would not receive.
BUY YOUR TICKETS
NOW!! ALL SEATS $25
Hoyt
Sherman Box Office:
1501 Woodland Ave, Des
Moines - Box office hours: Monday – Friday 11am to 5pm
Box office number:
515-244-0199
Ticketmaster:
www.ticketmaster.com
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99 Families in 99 Days!
Do
you love sharing your stories about foster care?
Iowa
KidsNet is ready to pay you $99 for doing it!
Iowa
KidsNet is launching a new 99-county family recruitment
campaign with the goal to get 99 referrals of new families
from current resource families, all within 99 days. And it
includes a bonus for families like you – you could get a
check for $99 for making it happen.
“Everyone
knows the best recruiters of great resource families are
current families. We’re so excited to partner with our
current families for this summer campaign, which will help
us boost the number of families in Iowa and to reward our
families who help us achieve our goals,” said Kelli Malone,
Iowa KidsNet project manager.
Ready to
help recruit? Here's how it works: As of June 2, Iowa
KidsNet is now tracking referrals from current families. If
you know of a family that is interested in becoming a
resource family, have them call their local recruiter listed
below. That recruiter will link them with a customer service
specialist, record their information and list your name as a
referring family. When that family completes their third
PS-MAPP class, you will receive a check for $99.
Watch how
your county is doing – Iowa KidsNet will be tracking their
progress online at
www.iowakidsnet.com. By
Sept. 8, they hope to have at least 99 new families in the
process, thanks to you!
To learn
more, visit
www.iowakidsnet.com or contact your local
recruiter below.
Recruiter Service Area Phone
Email
Debbie
Millizer Ames 641-691-5017
dmillizer@iowakidsnet.com
Kim Van De
Kieft Cedar Rapids 641-780-6797
kvandekieft@iowakidsnet.com
Ruthie
Oberg Council Bluffs 402-319-8162
roberg@iowakidsnet.com
Kelly
Scheidler Davenport 563-506-3213
kscheidler@iowakidsnet.com
Regina
Johnson Des Moines 515-252-0682
rjohnson@iowakidsnet.com
Karen
Fox Dubuque 563-513-7026 kfox@iowakidsnet.com
Della
Degner Sioux City 515-271-7399 ddegner@iowakidsnet.com
Mary
Foy Waterloo 319-415-7066 mfoy@iowakidsnet.com
