Make A Difference Blog Archives by Date Blog
Join us in celebrating the families who have stepped up to foster, spreading awareness, learn about becoming a foster parent yourself. Every child deserves a loving, supportive environment to grow and thrive in.
Today, was Adoption Day for 3 teens and their forever family! This is why we do what we do every day.
The power of co-parenting is when foster and biological parents work together to nurture, guide and love a child throughout their journey of life. There is no such thing as "too many" caring adults in a child's life.
My wife, Joy-Lynn and I became Foster Parent Mentors (FPM) through Heartland for Children in 2012. When we were approached with the opportunity to be an added support for incoming Foster Parents, we jumped at the opportunity because we saw the value in having someone who other Foster Parents could relate to as being an invaluable resource; especially, if the individual(s) were completely new to the fostering and/or parenting experience.
As FPMs through Heartland, we've had the chance to interact with incoming Foster Parents on many levels including assisting with respite, providing guidance or best practices with difficult behavioral issues, advocating for a child who had to be moved from one home to another, making recommendations on working with case management, providing another vantage point through the process of Termination of Parental Rights (TPR), and many other areas that Foster Parents can encounter during their first and continuing years of child advocates.
What we've gained as FPMs is a heightened level of understanding of how important it is to identify the needs of incoming Foster Parents. Being able to make recommendations on how the training component has and can continue to successfully equip incoming parents with the proper training and education; is a value add that Heartland has really welcomed input on.
Cebien Alty - HFC Foster Parent, Foster Parent Mentor